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2025, December 25 ~ Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-12; John 1:1-14

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
DECEMBER 25, 2025
CHRISTMAS III

Isaiah 52:7-10

Reading

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the LORD to Zion.
9 Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

The Jewish Study Bible points out that one of major religious issues faced by First Isaiah was whether Judea should attempt to confront its enemies by using military and diplomatic means and or if it should rely on YHWH to protect them. Isaiah (unlike most of his contemporaries) preferred the latter option.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that three themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is the moving force behind all historical events; (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship; and (3) the image of a new ruler who will usher in a new age of justice, righteousness and peace (which developed into the concept of “messiah” in early Jewish and early Christian writings).

Today’s reading is central to the message of Second Isaiah during the Exile. It described the return of YHWH to Jerusalem and Mount Zion. The JSB emphasizes that it is “God’s very own Presence” that returns. The NOAB notes that the “sentinels” (v.8) are the prophets who sing for joy that the Babylonian Exile will end. “Nations” (v.10) is a translation of the Hebrew word “goyim” which is also translatable as the “Gentiles.” In the triumphant return of YHWH to Zion, the Gentiles will also see that YHWH brings salvation.

Hebrews 1:1-12

Reading

1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.”

8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And, “In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing;12 like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.”

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63/64 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament describes Hebrews as containing the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek, and the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contains a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It introduced to the Jesus Folllower community a number of important theological themes such as the idea of the Christ as the “high priest of our confession” (3:1) and simultaneously that Jesus the Christ was the perfect sacrifice (5:8). It is perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism in stating that the Temple cult/sacrifice system was superseded by the one-time sacrifice of Jesus.

The JANT explains: “Supersessionist theology inscribes Judaism as an obsolete, illegitimate religion, and in the New Testament this idea is articulated no more plainly than in Hebrews. Drawing on Jeremiah’s reference (31.31) to a ‘new covenant’… the author of Hebrews calls Mosaic Law ‘only a shadow of good things to come’ and insists that ‘in speaking of a new covenant,’ he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear’ (8.13). Such language helped foster the view that Judaism was an inferior religion, at best a precursor to Christ.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “The central role of interpretation of the Jewish scriptures (used by the author in their ancient Greek translation the Septuagint) in the argument of the sermon [the Letter to the Hebrews] shows the continued importance of the Bible and of Jewish tradition for those who believed in Christ. The author seeks both to ground the argument in scripture and to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions….The work attempts to interpret the significance of Jesus Christ and his death in categories familiar to the author and audience.”

In today’s reading, the author identified the Son with Holy Wisdom that was present at creation (Prov. 8:22 and 30) in the words ”through whom he also created the worlds.” (v. 2) The author also anticipated the language of the Gospel According to John – “all things came into being through him [the LOGOS or Word]” (John 1:3). The NOAB observes: “The contrast between the mode of God’s speaking in the past and in these last days assumes that the one Son of the present is better than the many prophets of long ago.” The JANT points our that in referring to “our ancestors” (v.1), the author is indicating that “the author and implied audience understand themselves as rooted in the same lineage as any ancient or modern Jew would claim.” It also notes that “the Son” is the preferred title in Hebrews rather than “Son of God” or “Son of Man” as in the Synoptic Gospels.

Because the theology of the Trinity was only beginning to evolve in the late First Century, the author stopped short of identifying the Son as the same substance or the same “Being” as the Father as God. Instead, the Son is “a reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being” (v.3) and is superior to angels (v.4). The JANT notes that these terms express “the Son’s transmission of God’s nature without any flaw.” The NOAB points out that the “name” (v.4) may be “Son” or even “Lord” (as in Phil 2:9-11). The JANT states that “In Jewish tradition, God’s name contains the divine essence and is therefore treated with great reverence.”

The quotations in verses 5 to 12 are “anticipations” about the Son and were “cherry picked” from the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly the Psalms. (The author of Hebrews knew the Hebrew Bible very well.)

Verse 5 (“You are my Son”) is a quotation from Psalm 2:7 and from 2 Sam. 7:14, both of which refer to David as God’s son. The NAOB notes that the role of angels was to serve as messengers or praise God.

Verse 6 (“Let all God’s angels worship him”) is a paraphrase of the LXX version of a portion of Deuteronomy 32:43, which says that the “heavens” will worship YHWH when YHWH restores Judea.

Verse 7 is a paraphrase of Psalm 104:4 (“You make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.”)

Verses 8 and 9 loosely paraphrase Psalm 45:6-7, a psalm that commemorates a royal wedding, but does not refer to a son. Here, the author of Hebrews refers to the Son as “God.”

Verses 10 to 12 are based on Psalm 102:25-27, a psalm that is a prayer to YHWH for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple after the Exile. In the Psalm, the quoted verses contrasted the permanence of YHWH with the impermanence of heaven and earth.

John 1:1-14

Reading

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Commentary

Most scholars agree that the Fourth Gospel was written around 95 CE, at a time when the “parting of the ways” between the Jesus Follower Movement and Rabbinic Judaism was accelerating.

The Fourth Gospel is different in many ways from the Synoptic Gospels. The “signs” (miracles) and many stories in the Fourth Gospel are unique to it, such as the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Raising of Lazarus.

The chronology of events is also different in the Fourth Gospel. For example, the Temple Event (“Cleansing of the Temple”) occurred early in Jesus’ Ministry in the Fourth Gospel, rather than late as in the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, but in the Fourth Gospel, it occurred the day before the first day of Passover so that Jesus (who is described as “the Lamb of God” in the Fourth Gospel) died at the same time lambs were sacrificed at the Temple for the Passover Seder that was to be held the night he died. The Synoptic Gospels are set primarily in the Galilee with a trip to Jerusalem at the end. In the Fourth Gospel, the time of the public ministry is three years, with movement back and forth between the Galilee and Jerusalem.

Today’s reading is most of the “Prologue” to the Fourth Gospel which The New Jerome Biblical Commentary considers a later addition to the Gospel based in part on an early hymn.

Using “Word” to translate the Greek word “Logos” fails to capture the breadth and depth of Logos. The NOAB speaks of the Logos as “God’s preeminent agent in the world.” The JANT points out that Logos was well known in Greek philosophy as a link between the Transcendent/Divine and humanity/the terrestrial. For the First Century Alexandrian Jewish philosopher Philo, Logos was the first fruit of God’s creation.

Logos was particularly important in Stoic philosophy as both a creative principle analogous to Sophia (Holy Wisdom present at Creation in Proverbs 8:22 and 30) and as that which distinguished each created thing from each other thing.

In an Essay in The JANT, the author presented a case that John 1:1-5 is not a departure in Judaism in its use of Logos theology but is a homily (or midrash) on Genesis 1:1-5 – which also opens “in the beginning.” It notes that the reference to “all people” (v.4) can foreshadow that Jesus came to save “the world” and not only a particular ethnic group.

The NOAB observes: “The primary meaning of world [v.10] in the Fourth Gospel is the fallible social systems and social relations created by humanity.” Verses 10-12 give the major messages of the Gospel. The JANT says: Verses 10 to 12 “summarize the Gospel’s historical and cosmological plots: Jesus’ own people, the Jews, failed to accept him and plotted to kill him; those who did accept him became God’s children and receive eternal life.”

The theme of light and dark is very important in the Fourth Gospel, and the rejection by “his own people” (v.11) is one of the Gospel’s central concerns. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes that the rejection of the light (v.11) “recalls the rejection of Wisdom in 1 Enoch 42:2: ‘Wisdom went out to dwell with the children of the people, but she found no dwelling place; (so) Wisdom returned to her place and she established herself among the angels.’”

Verse 14 (“The Word became flesh”) emphasizes that Jesus was fully human.

The JANT makes a number of important points regarding the Prologue: (a) there is a contrast between the biologically-based covenant of the Jews and the faith-based covenant presented by the Fourth Gospel; (b) stating that the Word/Logos became flesh created a paradox because “flesh” is perishable and Logos is eternal; (c) Jews in the Second Temple period believed in the existence of supernatural beings (such as angels) taking human form at times, and thus the boundaries between the human and the divine were understood in a more porous and less absolute way; and (d) the words translated “lived among us” (v.14) in the original Greek mean “tabernacled” — an allusion to the Tabernacle in the Wilderness that “contained” the presence of YHWH.

2025, August 31~ Jeremiah 2:4-13; Sirach 10:12-18; Proverbs 25:6-7; Hebrews 13:1-8,15-16; Luke 14:1,7-14

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 31, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

Today’s track 2 has a choice of two readings, Sirach or Proverbs.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Jeremiah 2:4-13

Reading

4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.
5 Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
6 They did not say, “Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?”
7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things But when you entered you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, “Where is the LORD?” Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children’s children.
10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing.
11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD,
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

Commentary

After the righteous and reforming King Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo (from which we get the Greek word Armageddon) in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Babylonians deported many Judean leaders to Babylon in 597 and a larger number in 586 (the Babylonian Exile). Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e., speaking for YHWH) began around 627 and continued until 586 BCE when he fled to Egypt (Ch. 43) and died there.

Jeremiah was descended from the priestly line of Eli (v.1) – who had presided as the high priest at Shiloh in the early years of Israel’s history in the land (1 Sam. 1-4). Jeremiah was presented as a priest and a prophet and (according to The Jewish Study Bible) his prophesying for 40 years was seen in Rabbinic Tradition as a parallel to the 40 years Moses led the Israelites in the desert.

The call of Jeremiah is said to have been in 627 BCE – “the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah” (v.2) and his prophesying lasted until 587 BCE, the “eleventh year of King Zedekiah” (v.3). The Jewish Study Bible says: “Jeremiah emerges as one of the major figures who grappled with the theological problems posed by the destruction of the nation, and who laid the foundations for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple in the years following the end of the exile.” He was a constant opponent of King Jehoiakim (608-598) who was an Egyptian sympathizer and of King Zedekiah (597-586) a Babylonian appointee who nevertheless went to war (unsuccessfully) with Babylon in 597 BCE.

Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 586 BCE) and the First Century. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were different versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The Greek Septuagint Translation (the LXX – dating from 300 to 200 BCE) has some chapters that are not in the Hebrew versions.

Jeremiah is largely a prophet of doom and gloom, so much so that the English word “jeremiad” is defined as a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes. In the Bible, the Book of Lamentations was placed after the Book of Jeremiah because of the (incorrect) view that Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations.

Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” are thought to have been added later by writers whose theological outlook was closely aligned with the Deuteronomists. (In fact, Chapter 52 in Jeremiah is virtually word-for-word with 2 Kings 24:18 to 25:30 written by the Deuteronomists after the Exile.)

One of the consistent themes in Jeremiah was his ongoing battles with the “court” prophets who told the king what the king wanted to hear and who opposed Jeremiah at every turn.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary states: “The two predominant themes of his message are precisely to define true Yahwism and to proclaim the imminent wars as punishments of the Judah’s aberrations.”

Today’s reading is in “poetry style” and consists of a “covenant lawsuit” brought by YHWH (“LORD” in all capital letters) against Jacob and “all the families of Israel” (v.4). Jacob and Israel are interchangeable names – Jacob’s name was changed to “Israel” in Genesis 32 when he wrestled with a man/angel/God. The Jewish Study Bible describes today’s passage as “a form of courtroom statement in which a husband seeks a divorce from his wife.”

The NJBC states that Chapters 2 to 6 “preserve the central themes of Jeremiah’s preaching under Josiah [640-609 BCE] before the Deuteronomic reform, for they give no sign of this renewal of the covenant (627-622).” The reading today can “be easily dated during Josiah’s attempt to unite Israel and Judah sometime after 627.”

This first part of this reading was addressed to Northern Israel and is understood by The JSB as an attempt by Jeremiah to persuade Northern Israel (which had been conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE) to “accept the rule of King Josiah and the religious authority of the Jerusalem Temple, thereby reuniting all Israel as in the days of David and Solomon.” The JSB notes that verses 1 to 3 were a later addition to include Judea in the covenant lawsuit after the death of King Josiah in 609 BCE, but the reference to Jerusalem (v.2) is missing in the Septuagint version of Jeremiah – which may reflect an earlier version of the book.

In the “lawsuit,” YHWH declared innocence in the relationship with Israel and said the people had been unfaithful without cause and were ungrateful for all YHWH had done for them, including bringing them out of Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land (vv. 5-8). YHWH declared that the priests knew the law but did not know God (v.8) and false prophets preached in the name of Baal. (Archeological evidence shows that Baal worship and YHWH worship coexisted in Israel until after the Exile (587-539 BCE).

The NJBC points out that calling the pagan gods “worthless things” (v.5) uses the word hebel in Hebrew, the word that appears many times in Ecclesiastes. The NJBC continues: “Jeremiah first applied the term to the idols. This step was the first taken towards the doctrine of monotheism which is clearly found in Dt-Isa [citing verses].”

The last part of the reading is an accusation against Israel and its children for changing its gods (v.11) and forsaking the fountain of “living waters” (v. 13). The image God as the source of “living waters” was used in the conversation between Jesus of Nazareth with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:10.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible notes: “Not so subtly, the cistern image [v.13] emphasizes both that idols are manufactured by human hands and that they ultimately fail.” The NJBC adds: “The scarcity of water in Palestine prompted the device of digging underground cisterns to collect the winter rains. Jeremiah uses the beautiful image of ‘broken cisterns’ to define the futility of foreign alliances.”

Sirach 10:12-18

Reading

12 The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker.
13 For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out abominations. Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities and destroys them completely.
14 The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers and enthrones the lowly in their place.
15 The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations, and plants the humble in their place.
16 The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations and destroys them to the foundations of the earth.
17 He removes some of them and destroys them and erases the memory of them from the earth.
18 Pride was not created for human beings, or violent anger for those born of women.

Commentary

The Book of Sirach is not included in the Jewish version of the Hebrew Bible (even though it is sometimes cited in the Talmud) but is included in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox versions of the Bible. Protestants place Sirach in a separate section of the Bible called the “Apocrypha” (which means “hidden books”). The NJBC opines that Sirach is “not included in the Jewish canon probably because the Pharisees who defined that canon near the end of the 1st cent. AD frowned on some of Ben Sira’s theology (e.g., his denial of retribution in the hereafter).”

The book is known by the name of its author, and its full title is “The Wisdom of Jesus [which is Greek for Yeshua or Joshua], son of Sirach.” In the Roman Catholic tradition, the book is known as “Ecclesiasticus” (“the Church’s book”).

It was written between 200 and 180 BCE, during a time when the Seleucids (from Syria) were ruling Judea and trying to impose Greek gods upon the Judeans. Ben Sira described himself as a “scribe” (a person of learning). The NJBC notes that “in Ben Sira’s extensive travels, he came in contact with other cultures and wisdom traditions… and did not hesitate to utilize what he had learned as long as he could make it conformable to his Jewish heritage and tradition (39:1-11).”

The Prologue to Sirach (written by Sirach’s grandson after 132 BCE) contains the first reference in Jewish Literature to “the Law, the Prophesies, and the rest of the books” – the division of the Hebrew Bible into three parts. The book primarily consists of “traditional” advice to young men in the Jewish community, consistent with the advice given to young men in the Book of Proverbs.

Today’s reading is described by The NJBC as part of a “tract on government” although these verses also apply to “ordinary mortals.” In it, Sirach stated that human pride and sin lead to retribution by the Lord – a view consistent with Deuteronomy’s over-all theme that if you do good, good things will happen, but if you do bad things (such as worship false gods), bad things will happen. The NOAB notes: “The doctrine is surprisingly traditional, almost as if Job and Ecclesiastes had never been written.”

Proverbs 25:6-7

Reading

6 Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great;
7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

Commentary

In Christian Bibles, the Book of Proverbs is included in the “Wisdom Literature,” but in the Jewish Bible (the “TaNaK”), it is part of the “Writings.” The other two parts of the Jewish Bible are the Torah and the Prophets. The name “TaNaK” is an acronym for the first letters of the Hebrew words for each of these sections: the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim.

Although Proverbs claims (v.1:1) to be written by Solomon who reigned from 965-928 BCE, most scholars agree that these sayings were compiled over a lengthy period and put in their final form around 450 BCE. In fact, two Chapters of Proverbs (22:17 to 24:34) are copied almost word-for-word from Egyptian wisdom literature (the “Instruction of Amenemope”) dating to about 1100 BCE.

Most sayings in Proverbs are presented as teachings from the elders and are aimed at young men. They advise that moral living (diligence, sobriety, self-restraint, selecting a good wife, honesty) would lead to a good life.

The authors of Proverbs suggested that attention to the wisdom of the past and employing powers of reason would be sufficient to know what to do and what to avoid. In this sense, Proverbs has an approach that is different from those portions of the Hebrew Bible which emphasized divine revelation and the Law.

The usual translation of a recurring theme in Proverbs is that “fear” of YHWH (translated as LORD – all capital letters in the NRSV) is the beginning of wisdom. Many scholars suggest that “awe of YHWH” or “reverence for YHWH” better captures the sense of the authors of the sayings in Proverbs.

Proverbs acknowledged the limitations of human wisdom but also offered a clear view of divine reward and punishment: Wisdom (equated with righteousness) would bring success, but folly (or wickedness) would lead to destruction.

The JSB says today’s verses “instruct a young man who may become a royal scribe or official to remember his rank and not put himself forward.” This advice was repeated in Sirach 7:4 (“Do not seek from the Lord high office or the seat of honor from the king”) and 13:10a (“Do not be forward, or you may be rebuffed”). These sayings are the underpinning of the parable recounted in Luke 14:8-11, today’s Gospel reading.

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Reading

1 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4 Let marriage be held in honor by all and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament describes Hebrews as containing the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek, and the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contains a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism. The JANT explains: “Supersessionist theology inscribes Judaism as an obsolete, illegitimate religion, and in the New Testament this idea is articulated no more plainly than in Hebrews. Drawing on Jeremiah’s reference (31.31) to a ‘new covenant’… the author of Hebrews calls Mosaic Law ‘only a shadow of good things to come’ and insists that ‘in speaking of a new covenant,’ he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear’ (8.13). Such language helped foster the view that Judaism was an inferior religion, at best a precursor to Christ.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “The central role of interpretation of the Jewish scriptures (used by the author in their ancient Greek translation the Septuagint) in the argument of the sermon [the Letter to the Hebrews] shows the continued importance of the Bible and of Jewish tradition for those who believed in Christ. The author seeks both to ground the argument in scripture and to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions….The work attempts to interpret the significance of Jesus Christ and his death in categories familiar to the author and audience.”

Today’s reading is from the final chapter of the Letter and was primarily an exhortation for moral uprightness by the Jesus Followers. The Greek word for “mutual love” (v.1) is philadelphia — described in The JANT as most commonly used to describe the affection between siblings.

The mention of “entertaining angels” (v.2) was a reference to Abraham’s over-the-top hospitality to three strangers/angels/God at Mamre (Gen. 18). The “he” in verse 5 is YHWH and the promise made by YHWH to Joshua in Josh.1:5 (“As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you”). The purported quote in verse 6 is a loose paraphrase of Psalm 118.6 (“With the LORD on my side, I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?”)

Reflecting an evolving Christology, the author affirmed that The Christ is the same today and forever (v.8), and through The Christ – as the unifying force of all reality — the community was able to offer sacrifices pleasing to God (v. 16). The “sacrifice” does not appear to be the Eucharist, but is instead a “sacrifice of praise,” “the fruit of the lips” and “the sharing of what you have.”

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Reading

1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

It is difficult to gauge Jesus’ relationship with the Pharisees during his lifetime. In today’s reading, Jesus was dining (presumably by an invitation which he accepted) at the house of a leader of the Pharisees (v.1). By the time the Gospels According to Matthew, Luke and John were written, however, the relationship between the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees was competitive and strained, and these three Gospels contain criticisms of the Pharisees not found in Mark. The JANT notes: “Scholars correctly describe [Luke’s] Gospel’s presentation of Pharisees as puzzling, inconsistent and complex.”

In the verses before today’s reading, Jesus turned the tables on the “lawyers and Pharisees” by asking them if it was lawful to cure people on the sabbath. When they were silent, he cured a man who had dropsy.

The “parable” in today’s reading was an expansion of verses from Proverbs 25 (which may be read in some churches.) The notion of being “repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” was based on Dan. 12:2 (“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt.” – the first clear Biblical reference to a resurrection, final judgment, and afterlife.) “Many” suggested not all will rise.

The JANT comments on verse 13 as follows: “Christian commentators sometimes suggest that the crippled, the lame, and the blind are excluded from the priesthood and regard Jesus here as eliminating Jewish exclusionary practices. The setting has nothing to do with Temple service; the issue here is the impossibility of reciprocity, not purity or priesthood.”

2025, August 24 ~ Jeremiah 1:4-10; Isaiah 58:9b-14; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 24, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Reading

4 The word of the LORD came to me saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, LORD God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”
7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you,
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.”
9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Commentary

After the righteous and reforming King Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo (from which we get the Greek word Armageddon) in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Babylonians deported many Judean leaders to Babylon in 597 and a larger number in 586 (the Babylonian Exile). Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e., speaking for YHWH) began around 627 and continued until 586 BCE when he fled to Egypt (Ch. 43) and died there.

Jeremiah was descended from the priestly line of Eli (v.1) – who had presided as the high priest at Shiloh in the early years of Israel’s history in the land (1 Sam. 1-4). Jeremiah was presented as a priest and a prophet and (according to The Jewish Study Bible) his prophesying for 40 years was seen in Rabbinic Tradition as a parallel to the 40 years Moses led the Israelites in the desert.

The call of Jeremiah is said to have been in 627 BCE – “the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah” (v.2) and his prophesying lasted until 587 BCE, the “eleventh year of King Zedekiah” (v.3). The Jewish Study Bible says: “Jeremiah emerges as one of the major figures who grappled with the theological problems posed by the destruction of the nation, and who laid the foundations for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple in the years following the end of the exile.” He was a constant opponent of King Jehoiakim (608-598) who was an Egyptian sympathizer and of King Zedekiah (597-586) a Babylonian appointee who nevertheless went to war with Babylon in 597 BCE.

Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 586 BCE) and the First Century. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were different versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The Greek Septuagint Translation (the LXX – dating from 300 to 200 BCE) has some chapters that are not in the Hebrew versions.

Jeremiah is largely a prophet of doom and gloom, so much so that the English word “jeremiad” is defined as a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes. In the Bible, the Book of Lamentations was placed after the Book of Jeremiah because of the (incorrect) view that Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations.

Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” are thought to have been added later by writers whose theological outlook was closely aligned with the Deuteronomists. (In fact, Chapter 52 in Jeremiah is virtually word-for-word with 2 Kings 24:18 to 25:30 written by the Deuteronomists after the Exile.)

One of the consistent themes in Jeremiah was his ongoing battles with the “court” prophets who told the king what the king wanted to hear and who opposed Jeremiah at every turn.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary states: “The two predominant themes of his message are precisely to define true Yahwism and to proclaim the imminent wars as punishments of the Judah’s aberrations.”

Today’s reading is in “poetry style” and describes Jeremiah’s call as a dialogue with YHWH in terms that are reminiscent of the calls of Moses in Exodus 3, of Gideon in Judges 6, and of Isaiah in Isaiah 6. On a number of levels, Jeremiah was presented as a “prophet like Moses” who would be raised up as anticipated in Deut. 18:15.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that the word “knew” (v.5) was intended to convey “a profound and intimate” knowledge. It is used at other places in the Hebrew Bible as a euphemism for sexual intercourse (see, for example, Genesis 4:1).

Just as with Moses, Gideon and Isaiah, Jeremiah claimed (v.6) he was not fit to speak for YHWH (translated as “LORD” in all capital letters), but YHWH touched Jeremiah’s mouth (v.9) and put words in it so that he could speak for YHWH, just as a seraph touched Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal (Is.6:6-7).

The phrase in verses 4 and 7 (“the word of the LORD came to me”) appears multiple times in the Book of Jeremiah and gave a clear statement that Jeremiah was not speaking for himself but was speaking for YHWH. Serving as a “prophet to the nations” (v.5) meant that he was not only a prophet to Judea but also to non-Jews, although most of Jeremiah’s prophesy to “nations” (i.e., Gentiles) was oracles against them.

The phrase “to destroy and overthrow and to build up and plant” (v.10) expressed a key theme expressed in Jeremiah, particularly in the prose passages attributable to the Deuteronomists – Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Babylonians but would be rebuilt after the Exile ended.

Isaiah 58:9b-14

Reading

9b If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
13 If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that three themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is the moving force behind all historical events; (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship; and (3) the image of a new ruler who will usher in a new age of justice, righteousness and peace (which developed into the concept of “messiah” in early Jewish and early Christian writings).

Just before today’s reading from Third Isaiah, the prophet was told by YHWH to reveal to the people (“the house of Jacob”) who had returned to Jerusalem that the predictions of a glorious restoration (Is. 40-48) had not come true because their way of living was immoral, and that prayer and sacrifices without serious moral reformation did not please YHWH (vv. 1-5). The JSB observes: “Although some exiles returned to Zion after the Persians defeated the Babylonians in 538, the land of Israel remained for the most part in ruins. The prophet attempts to explain why the rebuilding of the cities destroyed by the Babylonians has been delayed.”

Instead of fasting and sacrifices, the LORD wanted justice, freedom for the oppressed, sharing of food, bringing the homeless into one’s home, and sharing one’s goods and clothing (vv. 6-8).

In today’s reading, the author spoke for YHWH who told the Judeans to “remove the yoke” from the downtrodden and, according to The NOAB, stop having contempt for one another (“pointing the finger”) (v.9b).

YHWH offered conditional encouragement to the Judeans that YHWH would guide the people, make them prosperous, the ruins of Jerusalem would be rebuilt, and their fortunes would be restored if they cared for the hungry (v.10) and properly observed the Sabbath (v.13).

Hebrews 12:18-29

Reading

18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion 23 and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament describes Hebrews as containing the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek, and the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contains a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism. The JANT continues: “Supersessionist theology inscribes Judaism as an obsolete, illegitimate religion, and in the New Testament this idea is articulated no more plainly than in Hebrews. Drawing on Jeremiah’s reference (31.31) to a ‘new covenant’… the author of Hebrews calls Mosaic Law ‘only a shadow of good things to come’ and insists that ‘in speaking of a new covenant,’ he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear’ (8.13). Such language helped foster the view that Judaism was an inferior religion, at best a precursor to Christ.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “The central role of interpretation of the Jewish scriptures (used by the author in their ancient Greek translation the Septuagint) in the argument of the sermon [the Letter to the Hebrews] shows the continued importance of the Bible and of Jewish tradition for those who believed in Christ. The author seeks both to ground the argument in scripture and to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions….The work attempts to interpret the significance of Jesus Christ and his death in categories familiar to the author and audience.”

Today’s reading reflects the growing separation – after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. – between the Jesus Follower Movement (which morphed into Christianity in the last part of the First Century) and Pharisaical Judaism (which morphed into Rabbinic Judaism).

Using images from Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 4, the author contrasted Mount Sinai as a place of terror (vv.18-21) with Mount Zion where the spirits of the righteous are made perfect by Jesus (vv. 22-24). He said the blood of Abel cried for vengeance (Gen. 4:10) but the blood of Jesus “speaks a better word” (v. 24).

The NJBC notes that the phrase “But you have come to Mount Zion” (v.23) can be understood as follows: “The author speaks to those who are still on the journey there, yet since they already possess the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice, he can speak of them as having already arrived.”

The JANT explains the terms “enrolled in heaven” (v.23): “In Greco-Roman cities, citizens were registered shortly after birth to record their status and thus ensure their legal and social privileges; following a Mesopotamian model, Jewish tradition sometimes describes the righteous as ‘inscribed’ in a heavenly book; see Ex 32.32.”

The author paraphrased the prophet Haggai 2:6 for the expression “Yet once more” as a basis for the removal of created things in favor of “that which cannot be shaken” (v. 27). The actual context in Haggai is that the LORD would cause the return of riches from foreigners so the Temple could be rebuilt in splendor after the Exile ended in 539 BCE.

Luke 13:10-17

Reading

10 Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

Today’s reading about Jesus’ healing a woman on the sabbath tells a story found in the other gospels and in other places in Luke (for example 14:1-6). In the 30+ years after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the early Jesus Follower Movement regarded “putting the sabbath in its place” an important distinguishing factor from its rival movement, Pharisaic Judaism.

The NJBC points out that the cure of the woman leads her to praise God (v.13) and this is contrasted with the leader of the synagogue “whose view of when God can act blinds him to the presence of that kingdom.”

As the belief in Satan as a force of evil continued to expand in the First Century, the gospel writer had Jesus state that the woman’s crippling was the result of Satan’s having bound her for 18 years (vv.11 and 16). This idea was also reflected (for example) in Luke 11:14 when Jesus cast the demon out of person who was mute. The gospel writer presented Jesus as setting persons free from their bondages (vv.12 and 16).

The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that the words “the entire crowd was rejoicing” (v.17) showed that “they correctly find no violation of halakhah [Jewish Law].”

2025, August 17 ~ Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 23:23-29; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 17, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Isaiah 5:1-7

Reading

1 Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

The Jewish Study Bible points out that one of major religious issues faced by First Isaiah was the extent to which Judea should attempt to confront its enemies by using military and diplomatic means and the extent it should rely on YHWH to protect them. Isaiah (unlike most of his contemporaries) preferred the latter option.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that three themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is the moving force behind all historical events; (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship; and (3) the image of a new ruler who will usher in a new age of justice, righteousness and peace (which developed into the concept of “messiah” in early Jewish and early Christian writings).

Today’s reading is part of First Isaiah. The NOAB describes the first part as a “love song” (v.1) for the prophet’s “beloved” – identified in verse 7 as YHWH — and notes that in Ugarit and biblical poetry, a vineyard was often a symbol of someone who is beloved. Here, YHWH’s beloved was identified as “the house of Israel and the people of Judah” (v.7).

In the third verse, the voice shifted from that of the prophet to the voice of YHWH asking for persons to judge between YHWH and the vineyard (Judea).

Because the vineyard yielded wild grapes (v.4), YHWH stated that the vineyard would be trampled down and made a waste (vv.5-6). This occurred when the Assyrians conquered Northern Israel in 722 BCE and Babylonians conquered Judea in 597 BCE.

Like many other prophets, Isaiah criticized injustice in Israel and Judah. Using two clever word plays in Hebrew, the author noted that where YHWH expected justice (“mispat”), there was bloodshed (“mishpah”). YHWH expected righteousness (“tsedaqah”) but heard a cry (“tse’aqah”) (v.7).

Jeremiah 23:23-29

Reading

23 Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back — those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Commentary

After the righteous and reforming King Josiah was killed in battle at Megiddo (from which we get the Greek word Armageddon) in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Babylonians deported many Judean leaders to Babylon in 597 and a larger number in 586 (the Babylonian Exile). Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e., speaking for YHWH) began around 609 and continued until 586 BCE when he died in Egypt.

Most Bible scholars agree that the Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah (627 to 586 BCE) and the First Century. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were different versions of the Book of Jeremiah. The Greek Septuagint Translation (the LXX – dating from 300 to 200 BCE) has some chapters that are not in the Hebrew versions.

Jeremiah is largely a prophet of doom and gloom, so much so that the English word “jeremiad” is defined as a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes. In the Bible, the Book of Lamentations was placed after the Book of Jeremiah because of the (incorrect) view that Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations.

Sections in the book that are in “poetry style” are generally attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” were mostly added later by writers whose theological outlook was closely aligned with the Deuteronomists. (In fact, Chapter 52 in Jeremiah is virtually word-for-word with 2 Kings 24:18 to 25:30 written by the Deuteronomists after the Exile.)

One of the consistent themes in Jeremiah was his ongoing battles with the “court” prophets who told the king what the king wanted to hear and who opposed Jeremiah at every turn.

Todays reading is in prose and asserts that because YHWH is omnipresent (v.23), YHWH was aware of the lies that some (false/court) prophets were speaking in YHWH’s name (v.25). In the Scriptures, dreams were sometimes seen as messages from God, for example for Joseph in Genesis and Daniel in the Court of Babylon (Dan. 2), but here Jeremiah accused the false prophets of claiming that dreams were a basis to “forget YHWH’s name” (v.27). This disparagement of dreams is consistent with the critical view the Deuteronomists had on dreams (Deut. 13:1-6), and likely reflects the Deuteronomists’ revision of parts of Jeremiah.

In describing YHWH’s word as a “hammer that breaks rock into pieces” (v.29), the prophet emphasized the great power of true prophesy and anticipated the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 589 BCE. This Deuteronomic worldview can be summarized as “Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad,” a view that should be contrasted to the views in the Book of Job (bad things happen to good people) and the Book of Ecclesiastes (bad things happen at random).

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Reading

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. 36 Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented – 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament describes Hebrews as containing the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek, and the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contains a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism. The JANT continues: “Supersessionist theology inscribes Judaism as an obsolete, illegitimate religion, and in the New Testament this idea is articulated no more plainly than in Hebrews. Drawing on Jeremiah’s reference (31.31) to a ‘new covenant’… the author of Hebrews calls Mosaic Law ‘only a shadow of good things to come’ and insists that ‘in speaking of a new covenant,’ he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear’ (8.13). Such language helped foster the view that Judaism was an inferior religion, at best a precursor to Christ.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “The central role of interpretation of the Jewish scriptures (used by the author in their ancient Greek translation the Septuagint) in the argument of the sermon [the Letter to the Hebrews] shows the continued importance of the Bible and of Jewish tradition for those who believed in Christ. The author seeks both to ground the argument in scripture and to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions….The work attempts to interpret the significance of Jesus Christ and his death in categories familiar to the author and audience.”

In today’s reading, the author asserted that it was “faith” that enabled (or caused) a large number of notable events that were recounted in the Hebrew Bible (vv. 29-38).

Many of the references are clear, but some are not, and it is not at all clear that these were persons of “faith” in YHWH. Rahab (v.31) was a prostitute who hid Joshua’s spies from the King of Jericho before Joshua crossed the River Jordan. According to Josh. 2:8-12, Rahab gave a highly-Deuteronomic speech to the spies about YHWH’s power. She also shrewdly demanded that Joshua give her and her family safe passage – knowing that Joshua was going to destroy Jericho and kill all its inhabitants. She is mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matt:1:5).

Judges 4-5 told of Barak, a fearful Jewish general who was unwilling to face the Canaanite army unless Deborah, the prophet, accompanied him. Because of the LORD’s help, he won the battle, but the Canaanite general, Sisera, escaped and hid in the tent of a Kenite woman, Jael. Jael induced Sisera to sleep, and while asleep, drove a tent peg into his temple.

Gideon (Jud. 6-7) was directed by YHWH to save the Israelites from the Midianites. Instead of demonstrating faith in YHWH, he asked for numerous signs from YHWH to overcome his unbelief. Finally, he accepted the call. When the number of his troops were reduced (for a variety of reasons), he ordered greatly outnumbered soldiers blow trumpets simultaneously. In this way, Gideon made the Midianites fearful and defeated them.

It is difficult to understand why Jephthah is included. As described in Judges 11-12, he was the leader of Israel’s forces against the Ammonites. He made a vow to YHWH that if he were successful, he would make a burnt offering of the first person to come out of his house upon his return. When he returned home victorious, the first person he saw was his beloved daughter, and he sacrificed her to YHWH.

Continuing the author’s argument, The Jewish Annotated New Testament suggests that escaping the edge of the sword, winning strength out of weakness, becoming mighty in war, and putting foreign armies to flight (v.34) “could refer to several different figures, including Elijah.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that “resurrection” (v.35) refers to the raising of dead children by Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4, and that the reference to “better resurrection” refers to the belief that persons killed by Antiochus IV would be resurrected but that Antiochus IV would not. (2 Macc.7:14-15).

The JANT explains that “stoned to death” (v.37) refers either to Zechariah (2 Chr. 24:21) or to legends about Jeremiah’s death. “Sawn in two” (v.37) was the fate of Isaiah according to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic legends, and the sheep of skin and goats evokes the garb of Elijah and Elisha in the LXX version of 1 Kings.

All the Christian Scriptures were written in Greek, and the Greek word for “faith” in the Letter is “pistis” – a word that has an active connotation and can fairly be understood as “faithfulness.” Faith is not presented in this letter (or in Paul’s genuine letters) as an intellectual assent to a series of propositions (as “Faith” is often understood today). Instead, as stated in the beginning of Chapter 11, Faith is action based on “the conviction of things not seen” (11:1).

The reading concluded with the supersessionist view that although the faithful persons in the Hebrew Bible were “commended” (v.39), they could not be made “perfect” (or complete) without Jesus as the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” (12:2).

Luke 12:49-56

Reading

49 Jesus said, “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain’; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

Today’s reading is parallel to Matt. 10:34-36 in which Jesus said, “I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.”

In this passage from Luke, the word “fire” is understood by The NOAB as a symbol of judgment, but The JANT also understands “fire” as a symbol of purification as when Jesus’ baptism was described as “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). In Acts of the Apostles, the presence of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was shown by “divided tongues, as of fire” (Acts 2:3).

The NOAB understands Jesus’ “baptism” (v.50) to be a reference to his own death. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary understands “baptized” as being “here used without primary reference to the rite of baptism but in the metaphorical sense of being overwhelmed by catastrophe.”

The JANT points out that language about dividing a household (v.53) echoed the prophet Micah 7:6 who described the society of Judea in the late 700’s BCE as “the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; your enemies are members of your own household.” But it also notes that in Malachi 4:6, the prophet spoke of the Messiah as one who “will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents.”

The second part of the reading about the weather signs (vv. 54-55) is also in Matthew, in which Jesus told the Pharisees and Sadducees that they are not able to “interpret the signs of the times” (Matt.16:3).

2025, August 19 ~ Isaiah 1:1,10-20; Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16; Luke 12:32-40

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
AUGUST 10, 2025

During Pentecost Season 2025, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two “tracks” of readings from the Hebrew Bible. Congregations may choose either track.

The first track of readings follows major stories and themes, read mostly continuously from week to week. The second track of readings thematically pairs the reading from the Hebrew Bible with the Gospel reading.

The readings from the Epistles are the same in both tracks.

Isaiah 1.1,10-20

Reading

1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more;
13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation — I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE. The name “Isaiah” means “YHWH has saved” or “May YHWH save.”

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

The Jewish Study Bible points out that one of major religious issues faced by First Isaiah was the extent to which Judea should attempt to confront its enemies by using military and diplomatic means and the extent it should rely on YHWH to protect them. Isaiah (unlike most of his contemporaries) preferred the latter option.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes that three themes dominate the book of Isaiah as it now exists: (1) that YHWH is the moving force behind all historical events; (2) the centrality of Jerusalem for Israel, both for kingship and for worship; and (3) the image of a new ruler who will usher in a new age of justice, righteousness and peace (which developed into the concept of “messiah” in early Jewish and early Christian writings).

Today’s reading is from First Isaiah and is an indictment of Israel (and particularly Judea) for religious infidelity. The first verse (inserted by a later editor) sets the time period as 735 BCE (the ending years of the reign of Uzziah – also known as Azariah) to the 14th year of the reign of Hezekiah (701 BCE – when the Assyrians conquered most of Judea and besieged Jerusalem). This was a time of the ascendancy of the Assyrian Empire which had conquered Northern Israel in 722 BCE and threatened Judea during all this time.

The omitted verses (2 to 9) are a legal complaint by YHWH concerning covenant violations by the Judeans and a metaphorical description of Judea’s punishment (vv. 5-6). This is followed by a more specific description that Judah will be invaded and Jerusalem will be put under siege, but that Jerusalem will never fall — at least according to First Isaiah (vv. 8-9).

The balance of today’s reading is a strong prophetic statement condemning worship divorced from social justice (vv. 10-17), a theme also found in Amos, Micah, and Jeremiah. Sodom and Gomorrah (v.10) were commonly used symbols for divine judgement on immorality. In Genesis, the evil done by those cities was not showing hospitality (a high value) by threatening to commit sexual violence upon visitors to Lot’s home (Gen.19:5).

YHWH’s call for purification (v.16) was not a substitute for moral purification, but a sign of the purification of learning to do good and seek justice (v.17).

The verses then shifted from condemnation to a legal argument (v.18) in which YHWH offered forgiveness if Judea repented, but said Judea would be “devoured by the sword” (v.20) if it did not repent. Except for a short period of Deuteronomic reform under King Josiah (640 to 609 BCE), Jerusalem did not repent, and it was conquered by the Babylonians – the successors to the Assyrians – in 597 BCE. The Exile began in 587 BCE.

Genesis 15:1-6

Reading

1 The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O LORD God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the LORD came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (“five books”) in Greek. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

The first 11 Chapters of Genesis are called the “primeval history” which ends with the Tower of Babel story — an “etiology” (story of origins) relating to the scattering of humankind and the multiplicity of languages. The last chapter of the primeval history also traces Abram’s lineage back to Noah’s son, Shem (which means “name” in Hebrew and from which we get the word “Semites”).

Today’s reading is one of the versions of the covenant between YHWH and Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (v.5). The other versions of the covenant are in Gen.12:1-3 and Gen.17:1-27. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary understands the expression “The word of the Lord came” (v.1) as a sign of later editing of the text.

The reference to Eliezer of Damascus is understood by some commentators as indicating that Abram had adopted him because Abram did not expect to have a natural heir. It appears that Eliezer was the “servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had” (Gen. 24:2) whom Abraham later sent to Haran to find a wife for Isaac.

In speaking of Abram’s “belief in the LORD” (v.6), The Jewish Study Bible translates the word as “trusts” and affirms that belief (when used in the Tanakh) does not mean believing in spite of the evidence. Instead, it means trusting profoundly in someone, here YHWH. The New Oxford Annotated Bible sees “righteousness” (tzedakah in Hebrew) as “being true to one’s social obligations and commitments” and that Abram believed that YHWH would be true to the promises made to him.

Abram’s faith and righteousness were an important example for Paul in his discussion of faith and justification in Chapter 4 of the Letter to the Romans.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Reading

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old — and Sarah herself was barren — because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed a number of important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest who fulfills and completes the Jewish system of sacrifice.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament describes Hebrews as containing the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek, and the only document in the Christian Scriptures that contains a sustained argument on the nature of Christ. It is often perceived as the New Testament’s most anti-Jewish text because of its supersessionism. The JANT continues: “Supersecessionist theology inscribes Judaism as an obsolete, illegitimate religion, and in the New Testament this idea is articulated no more plainly than in Hebrews. Drawing on Jeremiah’s reference (31.31) to a ‘new covenant’… the author of Hebrews calls Mosaic Law ‘only a shadow of good things to come’ and insists that ‘in speaking of a new covenant,’ he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear’ (8.13). Such language helped foster the view that Judaism was an inferior religion, at best a precursor to Christ.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “The central role of interpretation of the Jewish scriptures (used by the author in their ancient Greek translation the Septuagint [LXX]) in the argument of the sermon [the Letter to the Hebrews] shows the continued importance of the Bible and of Jewish tradition for those who believed in Christ. The author seeks both to ground the argument in scripture and to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions….The work attempts to interpret the significance of Jesus Christ and his death in categories familiar to the author and audience.”

Today’s reading spoke of faith as spiritual knowledge and as a concrete reality by using words such as “assurance” and “conviction.” An example of faith was Abraham’s obedience (v.8) to leave his homeland and travel to Canaan (Genesis 12). His faith was rewarded by his being the father of numerous descendants. The NOAB points out that in some manuscripts of Hebrews, “Sarah’s faith is parallel to Abraham’s, and she is also presented as one of the heroic people of faith.”

The JANT offers this analysis: “Faith [in Hebrews] includes connotations of endurance, trust, hope, and knowledge of divine realities….The concept of faith in Hebrews overlaps with Paul’s, especially in regard to trusting in God’s promises even when things look hopeless [citing verses]. The idea of faith as spiritual knowledge, which is particularly vivid in the opening verses of Chapter 11, finds little resonance with Paul’s usage. Both Hebrews and Paul make use of Hab 2.4 [“Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.”] but with different emphasis: Paul offers elaborate theological reflection on the connection between faith and righteousness (Rom.4, Gal 3.6-22), while Hebrews develops the connection between faith and endurance – to live by faith is to endure hardships with confidence and boldness, never doubting the divine promise.”

The ”city” (v.10) is understood by The NOAB as the heavenly Jerusalem.

Luke 12:32-40

Reading

32 Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 40% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

Today’s reading follows the Parable of the Rich Fool (vv. 16-21) and lengthy advice (vv.22-32) to not worry about material possessions. Consistent with sayings in the other Synoptic Gospels and Acts, persons were urged to lay up “treasure in heaven” and were reminded that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (v.34)

The focus of the reading then shifted to watchfulness, readiness, and faithfulness. Using imagery of a wedding banquet as a messianic event, the exhortation advised that the “master” (v.36) (Kyrios in Greek – usually translated “LORD”) will serve those slaves whom he finds alert (v.37).

The motif of the master serving others is found in John’s account of the Last Supper in which Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (John 13:3-16). It is also in Mark 10:45 in stating that the Son of Man came “not to be served but to serve” and in Luke 22:27 (“But I am among you as one who serves.”) in response to the controversy among some of the apostles about who is the greatest.

2025, February 2 ~ Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
FEBRUARY 2, 2025

Malachi 3:1- 4

Reading

1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight — indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

Commentary

The Book of Malachi is the last book of the 12 “Minor” Prophets – so called because these books are much shorter than the three “Major” Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). Malachi’s name literally means “my messenger” and the book appears to have been written in the Persian Period – the 5th Century BCE, after the Second Temple was built around 505 BCE and close in time to Ezra and Nehemiah (c. 475-450 BCE).

Malachi asserted that the “Day of the Lord” was coming soon, and the “messenger” of the Day of the Lord was identified as Elijah (4:5). In most prophetic books, the Day of the Lord was presented as a time of wrath, darkness, fear, and trembling.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible observes: “The extravagant hopes of the restoration prophets had not materialized (Hag 2.6-9; Zech 8.15, 20-23). The Temple had been rebuilt but the ideal age had not begun. Malachi probably spoke to a disheartened audience which questioned both the love (1.2) and justice (2.17) of God. Malachi reversed the discussion: God, he avers, has been faithful to the covenant (1.2; 2.5-7; and esp. 3.6 ‘For I the LORD do not change’); it is Judah that has been faithless (1.6; 2.8, 14; 3.8). Furthermore, any lingering doubts about divine justice will be addressed and overcome, the prophet states, soon enough when the LORD comes in judgment (2.17-3.5; 3.16-4.6).”

The Jewish Study Bible notes: “As a whole, the book is aimed at persuading its readership to follow the Torah of Moses or at strengthening their resolve to continue to do so. This message must be understood within the book’s historical setting, soon after the canonization of the Torah. Thus, the book presents a prophetic voice that ultimately asserts the superiority of Torah over prophecy.”

In today’s reading, Malachi described YHWH’s messenger (v.2) as one who is like “refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap.” (Fuller’s soap is a harsh clay/soap/lye used to whiten clothes or remove impurities from wool.) After the refining and cleansing, the offerings of Judah/Jerusalem would again be pleasing to YHWH (v.4).

In the Synoptic Gospels, the “messenger” was identified as John the Baptist (Matt.11:10-14; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 1:17, 76). John the Baptist was described in many ways as a “new Elijah.”

Hebrews 2:14-18

Reading

Since God’s children share flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution. The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that it is the only document in the Scriptures that contains a sustained discussion on the nature of the Christ, and that the letter was supersessionist in stating that the temple cult (which had to be repeated, and was therefore inferior – 10:1-5) was superseded by the “superior” one-time sacrifice of Jesus.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. According to The JANT, the language, style and purpose of the letter to the Hebrews is markedly different from the authentic Pauline epistles. The letter used the most sophisticated Greek in the New Testament and introduced a number of important theological themes such as the idea of the Christ as the “high priest of our confession” (3:1) and simultaneously, the perfect sacrifice (5:8). The first four chapters explored the word of God as spoken through the Son (v.2).

The JANT observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek. Understanding the Bible states: “Employing a popular form of Platonic thought, the writer assumes the existence of two parallel worlds: the eternal and perfect realm of spirit above, and the inferior, constantly changing world below. Alone among New Testament authors, he attempts to show how Christ’s sacrificial death links the two opposing realms of perishable matter and eternal spirit.”

The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought both to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”

At the same time, the author argued in today’s reading that Jesus was fully human (‘shared flesh and blood” v.14) so that by destroying the power of the devil, he would free others from the fear of death. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that Hellenistic Judaism understood that death was not part of God’s plan for human beings, and that death was brought into the world in the Disobedience Event in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:17-19). The JANT notes that the author in using the phrase “make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people” (v.17) accepted the traditional view that atonement required sacrifices.

The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”

The NJBC observes that the author of Hebrews overstates the case: “God’s preferring obedience to sacrifice is interpreted as God’s repudiation of the OT sacrifices and their replacement by the self offering of Jesus.”

Luke 2:22-40

Reading

22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed– and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 50% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

According to The NOAB and The JANT, there were no prescribed rites of purification for the father or a newborn. There was a rite of purification for the mother of a son 40 days after birth as prescribed in Leviticus 12. Apart from today’s passage, neither Simon nor Anna is otherwise known from the scriptures. The JANT points out that persons did not reside in the Temple (v.37).

The statement that every firstborn male shall be designated as “holy to the Lord” (v.23) was based on Exodus 13:2, and The NJBC suggests that the story of the presentation of Jesus by Luke may be intended as an echo of Samuel’s presentation by Hannah at the “house of the LORD” at Shiloh (1 Sam. 1:24).

2024, December 22 ~ Micah 5:2-5a; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-55

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
DECEMBER 22, 2024

Micah 5:2-5a

Reading

2 You, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;
5 and he shall be the one of peace.

Commentary

Micah was among the earliest of the “Minor Prophets” – the 12 prophets whose works are much shorter than those of the “Major Prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) and are found in a single scroll.

Micah was a prophet (one who spoke for YHWH) to Judea after Northern Israel (Samaria) had been conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE (an event to which Micah refers in 1:6). Most scholars therefore date Micah’s prophesies to the period from 720 to 700 BCE, a time when the Assyrians were threatening to conquer Judea. The New Oxford Annotated Bible points out that there are some portions in Chapters 4 and 7 that relate to the Babylonian Exile (586-539) and the Postexilic period, and that Chapters 1-3 of Micah form the oldest core of the book.

Micah is seen as a younger contemporary of Isaiah of Jerusalem (also known as “First Isaiah”) who also spoke of an ideal king coming from the House of David (Is. 7:14).

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that Micah’s preaching was concerned with sin and punishment, not with political or cultic matters, and that he was “preoccupied with social justice and did not fear princes, prophets or priests.” The NJBC states, “Micah is concerned with the people’s rejection of God. Sin is the reason for the coming punishment. The Assyrian king is but the unconscious instrument of God’s wrath.”

This short book is divided into three sections: oracles of judgment and condemnation against Jerusalem and its leaders for their corruption and pretensions (Ch. 1-3); oracles of hope in which Jerusalem would be restored to righteousness (right relationship with YHWH) (Ch. 4-5); and a lawsuit by God, a judgment by God, and a lament that moved to hope (Ch. 6-7).

In today’s reading from Chapter 5, Micah offered a Messianic poem and said that a new David would come from Bethlehem of Ephrathah. (Ephrathah was the name of a clan in Judea, and a region that included Bethlehem.) The Jewish Study Bible notes that the phrase “until she who is to bear has borne” (v.2) (“until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth” in the NRSV) has traditionally been interpreted to focus on comparisons between the birth pangs of a woman and the hardship of Israel prior to the coming of the Messiah.

The new David would feed his flock (v.4) and they would be secure in the peace that the new David would bring (v.5).

Hebrews 10:5-10

Reading

5 When Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’ (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek.

The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought both to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”

The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”

In First Century Greek, there were no punctuation or quotation marks, their addition in the NRSV are interpretive acts by the translators.

In the verses before today’s reading, the author of the Letter used language reminiscent of Plato’s Republic in saying the law “has only the shadow of the good things to come and not the form of these realities.” (v.1) He noted that in Judaism there is an annual reminder of one’s sins (on Yom Kippur). For this reason, the sacrifices offered at the Temple were not “perfect” [complete] and he concluded that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (v.4).

With this as his predicate, the author then asserted that the Christ stated that God did not desire sacrifice and offerings (5a) and that God had “prepared a body” [Jesus of Nazareth] for me [the Christ] (5b).

According to the author, the Christ then said that “you” (YHWH) took no delight in burnt offerings and sin offerings (v.6), an idea also found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos and in Psalm 40.

The author continued “quoting” the Christ to say that he (the Christ) had come – as provided in a book maintained by God – to do God’s will (v.7).

The author of the Letter interpreted these “statements” by the Christ to mean that the Crucifixion of Jesus “abolishes the first [covenant]” (v.9) – the Mosaic Law Covenant involving animal and grain sacrifices – “in order to establish the second [covenant]” (v.9b).

The author concluded by saying that it was God’s will that we were sanctified once and for all (v.10) through the offering [the Crucifixion] of the body of Jesus the Christ.

The JANT comments that the argument in Hebrews is “curious” in that the sacrifices prescribed by the Torah never created an expectation in Judaism that sacrifices could cure people of sin. The JANT cites references in Isaiah 1, Jeremiah 7, and Psalms 50 and 51 for the proposition that sacrifices do not substitute for repentance.

The NJBC observes that the author of Hebrews overstates the case: “God’s preferring obedience to sacrifice is interpreted as God’s repudiation of the OT sacrifices and their replacement by the self offering of Jesus.”

Luke 1:39-55

Reading

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.

The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 50% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan

Today’s reading is the story of the Visitation and follows the story of the Annunciation. If Mary were of customary marrying age in First Century Israel, she would have been about 14 or 15 years old. Traditionally, the home of Elizabeth and Zachariah in the “hill country of Judea” (v.39) was in Ein Kerem, a town west of Jerusalem.

Mary (whose name means “excellence”) is described as a “relative” of Elizabeth (v.36) but the relation is not specified. The JANT says that this “relation” showed that Mary was of priestly ancestry, because Elizabeth was described by Luke as “a descendant of Aaron” (v.5). This would have meant that John the Baptist was a “descendant of Aaron.” The traditional relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptist is that they were cousins, and the presentation of Mary as being of “priestly ancestry” would also mean that Jesus was of traditional Jewish priestly ancestry as well.

The distance to Ein Kerem from Nazareth (where the Annunciation to Mary took place – according to Luke) was about 70 miles (longer if the route avoided Samaria). This trip would have taken three or four days of walking in rugged terrain that had bands of robbers.

As shown by the statement by Elizabeth that the child in her womb “leaped” when she heard Mary’s greeting (v.41), Luke gave Mary a very high status. According to Luke, Elizabeth described Mary as “blessed among women” and “the mother of my Lord” (42-43). The word Luke used for “Lord” is Kyrios – the same word that is used in the LXX to translate YHWH.

Mary’s response (46-55) is called “The Magnificat” from the first word in Jerome’s Vulgate (Latin) translation of the Greek text. Mary’s response used language that was similar in content and tone to Hannah’s song when she learned she was pregnant with Samuel (1 Sam. 2:1-10). The translators’ note advises that some other ancient authorities have Elizabeth saying the Magnificat rather than Mary.

Hannah’s song began: “My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in my God.” For Hannah, YHWH would raise up the poor from the dust (v.8). Mary affirmed that the Lord has lifted up the lowly (v.52).

The promise to Abraham and his descendants (v.55) is found in Genesis, Micah and elsewhere that the land of Israel was given to Abraham and his descendants forever.

The NJBC notes: “Luke’s intent is missed if one accentuates Mary’s charity and social concern in visiting her aged, pregnant relative Elizabeth. If Luke were intent on presenting Mary as a model of charity, he would not have written v.56 which portrays Mary’s departing from Elizabeth at the time of her greatest need [when Elizabeth was about to give birth]. It also strains credulity to imagine a fourteen-year-old Jewish virgin making a four-day journey by herself. Rather, Luke’s intent in the “Visitation” is literary and theological. He brings together the two mothers-to-be, so that both might praise the God active in their lives and that Elizabeth’s child might be presented as the “precursor” of Mary’s child.”

2024, November 17 ~ 1 Samuel 1:4-20; Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
NOVEMBER 17, 2024

During this Pentecost Season, there are two “Tracks” of Scriptures that are offered, and congregations may choose which Track they will follow. The first two readings presented are the readings from Tracks 1 and 2, respectively. The third and fourth readings are the same in both Tracks.

1 Samuel 1:4-20

Reading

4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb. 6 Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

9 After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the LORD. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. 11 She made this vow: “O LORD of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 20 In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the LORD.”

Commentary

The Book of Samuel is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covered the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the beginning of Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 550 BCE and continued to be revised even after that.

The authors of the Deuteronomic Books artfully wove their stories from numerous sources. They then used the stories in these books to demonstrate that that God controls history and to assert that it was the failures of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The Book of Samuel (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the time of the Judges (c.1030 BCE) to the last years of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE). Most scholars agree that it was compiled from multiple sources by multiple authors. For this reason, there are at least nine stories in the Book that are repeated but in a different (and sometimes contradictory) form. The Jewish Study Bible says: “These sometimes contradictory stories were probably included in the book of Samuel because they were not seen as different versions of the same story but as accounts of different events, or because of the light they shed on the protagonists.” It continues: “Consistency was not considered essential.”

At the end of the Book of Judges, Israel was in political and moral disarray. Today’s reading introduced Samuel, one of the most important persons in the Hebrew Bible. Samuel was a transitional figure – the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. The circumstances of his birth were extraordinary – his mother, Hannah, was barren until the priest Eli told her that God heard her petition. As The JSB notes: “Fertility is understood throughout the Bible as a divine gift. Barrenness was considered a disgrace causing great distress to the woman concerned.”

The New Oxford Annotated Bible notes: “The story of a barren woman who bears a child as a favor from God appears several other times in the Bible: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, the mother of Samson, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.”

Hannah promised YHWH that if she could have a son, he would be a nazirite – a person consecrated to God who did not drink alcohol, did not cut his hair, and refrained from actions that would make him ritually unclean such as touching a dead body. The other named nazirite in the Hebrew Bible was Samson (who did not fulfill his vows). In the Christian Scriptures, John the Baptist is presented in Luke 1:15 as a nazirite.

Daniel 12:1-3

Reading

1 The Lord spoke to Daniel in a vision and said, “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

Commentary

The Book of Daniel is part of the Prophets in the Christian Bible and is placed after the three Major Prophets and before the 12 Minor Prophets. In the Hebrew Bible, Daniel is not included with the Prophets and instead is part of the Writings. It is placed after Esther and before Ezra and Nehemiah (all of which are included among the Historical Books in the Christian Bible).

The Jewish Study Bible suggests that this different treatment of Daniel arose because the First (and early Second) Century, Rabbis were aware that early Christianity saw a prefiguration of the Christ and resurrection in the Book of Daniel. Accordingly, it was not placed with the Prophets.

The Book of Daniel has two distinct parts. Chapters 1 to 6 are six “court legends” — stories of Daniel in the Court of the Babylonian Kings and the Persian Kings before, during and just after the Exile (587-539 BCE). Because these kings are presented as ignorant (but not malevolent), scholars date these six chapters to the time when Judea was under the generally benevolent rule of the Persians (539 to 333 BCE) and the Greeks (333 to 281 BCE).

Chapters 2 to 7 of the Book were written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. (Aramaic was the common language of the Middle East from the time of the Babylonian Exile until the Hellenistic period.) The folktales in these chapters emphasized personal piety and divine intervention and provided encouragement to Jews living under foreign rule.

Chapters 7 to 12 were written later – during the oppression of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BCE) whose desecration of the Temple led to the Maccabean Revolt in 167 BCE. These chapters contain four apocalyptic visions told in the first person. They depict hostility to foreign governments and presented visions of situations so dire that an external intervention (such as by God) was needed to put things right. Like other apocalyptic writings, the Book of Daniel used strong images to describe the conflict between good and evil. In the first six chapters, Daniel was an interpreter of dreams, but in the second part he was seen as a visionary himself.

These later chapters presented an apocalyptic vision – a situation so dire that an external intervention (such as by God) was needed to put things right. Like other apocalyptic writings, the Book of Daniel used images to describe the conflict between good and evil.

In today’s reading, at the time of the final victory over evil forces, Michael was presented as the great prince who will battle on behalf of Judea and God. This reading referred to a “book” in which human deeds were recorded and was the first explicit reference in Scripture to the ideas of resurrection, final judgment, and afterlife.

The Jewish Study Bible notes: “The doctrine of resurrection and judgment probably came about during the persecutions of Antiochus IV as a means to effect justice at a time when pious people, the knowledgeable, were being martyred. Unlike Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones (Ezek. ch 37), the resurrection here is not a metaphor for the rebirth of Israel but individual resurrection for judgment. Whether bodily resurrection or some form of spiritual resurrection is intended is not stated.”

Hebrews 10:11-25

Reading

11 Every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” 13 and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,” 17 he also adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek.

The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to the Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”

The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”

The author interpreted the life, death, and heavenly role of Jesus through the category of the “high priest’ who perfected the ancient sacrificial system of Judaism (which ended when the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE).

The Letter emphasized that Jesus (as high priest) was able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he (as a human) had been tested as we are. The presentation of Jesus as high priest in the Letter to the Hebrews is unique in the Christian Scriptures and reflected the continuing process in early Christianity of developing images to describe who and what Jesus of Nazareth was (and is). The JANT points out that in the First Century, the high priest was chosen by Roman authorities and served at their pleasure.

Today’s reading concluded the theme of Jesus of Nazareth as the great high priest and the once-and-for-all sacrifice. The Holy Spirit is said to paraphrase (vv.15-18) Jer. 31:33-34 in which a new covenant is written in the hearts of the people (v.16) and assures the full forgiveness of sins.

The humanity of Jesus is the means for approaching God, and the author encouraged hearers of the letter to maintain their hope (undergirded by their faith) as they await the Second Coming (the “Day”)(v.25).

Mark 13:1-8

Reading

1 As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2 Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is usually dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading contains a prediction of the destruction of the Temple (v.2) and a prophetic warning about the need to be discerning about those who predict an imminent end (vv.5-6). Although this passage is often called the “Markan Apocalypse,” it was a caution couched in apocalyptic language against apocalyptic interpretation of the historical crises of resistance, repression, and reconquest under Roman imperial rule.

The author of the Gospel was aware of the major Jewish revolt against Rome that began in 66 CE. This revolt was initially quashed but then appeared to be successful when the Roman army was recalled to Rome in 68 CE because of unrest in Rome after the death of Nero. After the unrest in Rome was subdued, the Roman army returned to Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 CE. In the next three years, the Roman army defeated other Jewish insurgent groups, culminating with the conquest of the fortress at Masada in 73 CE.

2024, November 10 ~ Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17; 1 Kings 17:8-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
NOVEMBER 10, 2024

During this Pentecost Season, there are two “Tracks” of Scriptures that are offered, and congregations may choose which Track they will follow. The first two readings presented are the readings from Tracks 1 and 2, respectively. The last two readings are the same in both Tracks.

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Reading

1 Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. 2 Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Now wash and anoint yourself put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” 5 She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

4:13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the LORD made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse. 17 The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Commentary

The Book of Ruth is one of the shortest books of the Bible (four chapters) and is a beautiful story of a Moabite woman (Ruth) and her devotion to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. In the last chapter of the story, Ruth (with Naomi’s assistance) married a Judean relative of Naomi’s and became the great-grandmother of King David. The New Oxford Annotated Bible says: “The verbal sophistication suggests that the author was a literate member of the upper classes, a court scribe, perhaps.”

It is important to note that the Moabites were always regarded as dire enemies of Judah, and likely despoiled Jerusalem after the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.

The story is set (v.1) in the time of the Judges (1200 to 1025 BCE), a period of great turmoil and moral backsliding in Israel.

In the Christian Scriptures, the book is placed after Judges as if it were an historical book, but in the Hebrew Bible, it is placed among the Writings.

There is no consensus on when the book was written. Some suggest that its emphasis on the genealogy of David dates it to the period between the death of Solomon (930 BCE) and the conquest of Northern Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.

The weight of scholarly analysis, however, dates the book to the Persian Period — after the end of the Exile (539 BCE) and before the conquest by Alexander the Great in 333 BCE. A story of a Moabite woman’s being an ancestor of King David has been seen as a reaction against the exclusivist decrees of Ezra and Nehemiah (c.450 BCE) which required Judean men to send away their non-Jewish wives (and their children by these women). The NOAB observes that the values the book proclaims are loyalty, love of family and generosity towards strangers.

In last week’s reading, Naomi (whose name means “Pleasantness”), her husband, and their two sons (whose names mean “Sickly” and “Frail”), left Bethlehem and went to Moab because of a famine in Judea. (Ironically, “Beth-lehem” means “House of Bread/Food.”)

In Moab, Naomi’s husband died, and the two sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Ten years later, the two sons (not surprisingly) died, and the three women were left destitute.

Naomi decided to return to Judea (where the famine had ended) and urged Ruth and Orpah to stay with their own people in Moab and remarry. Orpah decided to remain in Moab, but Ruth “clung” to Naomi and swore “your people shall be my people and your God my God” (v.16).

After going to Judea with Naomi, Ruth gleaned the already harvested fields belonging to Boaz (whose name means “strength”), a kinsman of Naomi’s late husband, to obtain grain for herself and Naomi. The NAOB notes that Ruth was taking advantage of an Israelite law which required farmers to leave part of their harvest for gleaning by the poor, the alien, and the widow. Ruth was triply entitled to glean as a poor, foreign, widow.

In today’s reading, Naomi instructed Ruth to go to the threshing floor where Boaz would be sleeping and to “uncover his feet” (v.4). This could be understood literally, but most commentators point out that “feet” is a euphemism in Hebrew for private parts. In the same scene, Ruth asked Boaz to “spread his robe” (v.9) over her – a formal act of a proposal of marriage.

Boaz redeemed land that had been owned by Naomi’s husband Elimelech and married Ruth. She bore a son, Obed (v.17). Commentators agree that it is not likely that Naomi became Obed’s wet nurse (v.16), but that the child symbolized the complete reversal of Naomi’s fortunes. The Jewish Study Bible speculates that “the association of the child with Naomi rather than Ruth is meant to remove the taint of foreign birth from the child.”

Ruth is one of four women included in the genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth in Matthew’s Gospel. The others are Tamar (who seduced her father-in-law, Judah, and bore him two sons), Rahab (a prostitute in Jericho who was the mother of Boaz), and Bathsheba (the mother of Solomon who was married to Uriah when David impregnated her). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that the sons born to Tamar and Ruth were in fulfillment of their levirate obligations, respectively, to Er (Gen.38:29) and Mahlon (4:17) to bear a son by their deceased husband’s kin.

1 Kings 17:8-16

Reading

8 The word of the LORD came to Elijah, saying, 9 “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.” 15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Commentary

The Book of Kings is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covered the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the beginning of Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 500 BCE and continued to be revised even after that – long after the events they described.

The authors of the Deuteronomic Books artfully wove their stories from numerous sources. They then used the stories in these books to demonstrate that that God controls history and to assert that it was the failures of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)

The Book of Kings (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE).

Elijah and his successor, Elisha, were two of the great prophets (speakers for YHWH) in Jewish History. They opposed the (mostly) Baal-worshiping kings in Northern Israel for 90 years (from approximately 873 to 784 BCE), and their stories comprise about 40% of the Book of Kings.

Elijah and Elisha are both credited with numerous healings, restoring people to life, and other extraordinary events involving food, such as the one recounted in today’s reading.

Just prior to today’s reading, Elijah confronted the Baal-worshiping King Ahab (873 to 852 BCE) and told Ahab that there would be no rain in Israel until YHWH decided to make it rain (v.1). This pronouncement was fully consistent with one of the major themes of the Book of Kings – that YHWH is in control of everything, rather than the kings or their false gods.

In today’s reading, YHWH directed Elijah to walk about 80 miles from east of the River Jordan to Zarephath (v.9), which is on the Mediterranean coast near Sidon (in modern Lebanon). This area was a center of Baal worship, and the story of the continued supply of meal and oil for the widow shows that YHWH’s powers extend even beyond the lands of Judea and Israel.

Hebrews 9:24-28

Reading

24 Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek.

The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to the Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”

The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”

The author interpreted the life, death, and heavenly role of Jesus through the category of the “high priest’ who perfected the ancient sacrificial system of Judaism (which ended when the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE).

The Letter emphasized that Jesus (as high priest) was able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he (as a human) had been tested as we are. The presentation of Jesus as high priest in the Letter to the Hebrews is unique in the Christian Scriptures and reflected the continuing process in early Christianity of developing images to describe who and what Jesus of Nazareth was (and is). The JANT points out that in the First Century, the high priest was chosen by Roman authorities and served at their pleasure.

Today’s reading continued discussing the theme of Jesus of Nazareth as the high priest and uses this image as another way to convey to the Jesus Follower Community “who and what” Jesus was (and is). The author focused on the “once and for all” (v.26) aspects of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and emphasized that Jesus was both priest and sacrifice in the Crucifixion.

The reading concluded (v.28) with an allusion to what Christians call “the Second Coming” – a theological recognition that not all of Ancient Israel’s (and the Jesus Follower Community’s) expected outcomes of the Messianic Age were accomplished in Jesus’ lifetime or even after the Destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. The JANT says: “Jewish tradition combines the coming of the Messiah with the messianic age; it requires no ‘second coming.’”

Mark 12:38-44

Reading

38 As Jesus taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

41 He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is usually dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading comes after a short passage in Mark in which Jesus confounded the scribes by asking them how it can be that the Messiah is David’s son if David (in Psalm 110) referred to the Messiah as LORD. Mark said that this was to the “delight” of the large crowd (Mk. 12:35-37).

Following that exchange, Jesus criticized the scribes for their pretensions (vv.38-39) and the economic hardships they imposed on the poor (v.39). In both Matthew and Luke, the Pharisees were included for condemnation for their pretensions and for imposing economic hardship (Mt. 23; Lk 11:43 and 20:46). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary observes that the scribes were “the ancient Jewish version of lawyers” and that “in antiquity, lawyers could serve as trustees of a widow’s estate. A common way of receiving their fee was to get a share of the estate. Lawyers with a reputation for piety had a good chance of improving their prospects of participating in this process.”

The Pharisees were included in this criticism in Matthew and Luke because the Pharisees, after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, were the only other group in Judaism (besides the Jesus Followers) to survive. For the next 30 years, the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees contended for the leadership of Judaism — including who would be able to use the synagogues, who would decide which scriptures were authoritative, and how to interpret them.

The contribution by the widow to the Temple is interpreted by the commentator in The New Oxford Annotated Bible as further condemnation of the scribes for “inducing the poor to give their meagre resources to the Temple.” The Jewish Annotated New Testament disagrees and notes that “the text does not suggest that. The Temple is a place where both rich and poor can contribute.”

2024, November 3 ~ Ruth 1:1-8; Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34

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TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
NOVEMBER 3, 2024

During this Pentecost Season, there are two “Tracks” of Scriptures that are offered, and congregations may choose which Track they will follow. The first two readings presented are the readings from Tracks 1 and 2, respectively. The last two readings are the same in both Tracks.

Ruth 1:1-18

Reading

1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had considered his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. 10 They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, 13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has turned against me.” 14 Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

15 So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

17 Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”

18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

Commentary

The Book of Ruth is one of the shortest books of the Bible (four chapters) and is a beautiful story of a Moabite woman (Ruth) and her devotion to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. In the last chapter of the story, Ruth (with Naomi’s assistance) married a Judean relative of Naomi’s and became the great-grandmother of King David. The New Oxford Annotated Bible says: “The verbal sophistication suggests that the author was a literate member of the upper classes, a court scribe, perhaps.”

It is important to note that the Moabites were always regarded as dire enemies of Judah, and likely despoiled Jerusalem after the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.

The story is set (v.1) in the time of the Judges (1200 to 1025 BCE), a period of great turmoil and moral backsliding in Israel.

In the Christian Scriptures, the book is placed after Judges as if it were an historical book, but in the Hebrew Bible it is placed among the Writings.

There is no consensus on when the book was written. Some suggest that its emphasis on the genealogy of David dates it to the period between the death of Solomon (930 BCE) and the conquest of Northern Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.

The weight of scholarly analysis, however, dates the book to the Persian Period — after the end of the Exile (539 BCE) and before the conquest by Alexander the Great in 333 BCE. A story of a Moabite woman’s being an ancestor of King David has been seen as a reaction against the exclusivist decrees of Ezra and Nehemiah (c.450 BCE) which required Judean men to send away their non-Jewish wives (and their children by these women). The NOAB observes that the values the book proclaims are loyalty, love of family and generosity towards strangers.

In today’s reading, Naomi (whose name means “Pleasantness”), her husband, and their two sons (whose names mean “Sickly” and “Frail”), left Bethlehem and went to Moab because of a famine in Judea. (Ironically, “Beth-lehem” means “House of Bread/Food.”)

In Moab, Naomi’s husband died, and the two sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Ten years later, the two sons (not surprisingly) died, and the three women were left destitute.

Naomi decided to return to Judea (where the famine had ended) and urged Ruth and Orpah to stay with their own people in Moab and remarry. Orpah decided to remain in Moab, but Ruth, swearing by YHWH (v.17) “clung” to Naomi and swore “your people shall be my people and your God my God” (v.16).

The Jewish Study Bible notes: “The fidelity and love between Naomi and Roth is the most positive portrayal of women’s relationships in biblical literature.” It goes on to say that “Ruth, Naomi and Boaz are models of hesed, that is, of loyalty and commitment that go beyond the bounds of law or duty.”

In Judaism, Ruth is seen as the ideal convert to Judaism and her words (vv. 16-17) are read today when a person converts to Judaism.

Ruth is one of the four women mentioned in the genealogy in the Gospel According to Matthew 1:1-6. The others are Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary points out that the sons born to Tamar and Ruth were in fulfillment of their levirate obligations, respectively, to Er (Gen.38:29) and Mahlon (4:17) to bear a son by their deceased husband’s kin.

Next week’s reading supplies the conclusion to the story.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Reading

1 Moses said: Now this is the commandment — the statutes and the ordinances — that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, 2 so that you and your children and your children’s children, may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Commentary

Deuteronomy is the fifth (and last) book of the Torah and (as a literary device) was presented as Moses’ final speech to the Israelites just before they entered the Promised Land.

“Deuteronomy” comes from Greek words that mean “Second Law” and the book was structured as if it were a “restatement” of the laws found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Parts of Deuteronomy were revised as late as 450 BCE, but the bulk of the book is generally dated to the reign of King Josiah of Judea (640-609 BCE). Many of the reforms under Josiah, particularly the centralization of sacrificial worship in Jerusalem, are stipulated in Deuteronomy.

It is also the first book of the didactic “Deuteronomic History” which consists of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. This “History” taught that when the people and kings of Israel and Judea worshiped YHWH properly, they prospered, but when they worshiped false gods, other nations (Assyria in 722 BCE and Babylon in 587 BCE) conquered them. For the Deuteronomists, these conquests occurred because of false worship, not because the Assyrians and Babylonians were wealthier countries with larger armies. In this way, the Deuteronomists “preserved” the beliefs that YHWH was the all-powerful protector of Israel and Judea, YHWH was faithful to the promises made by YHWH, and that YHWH controlled everything that occurred.

Today’s reading is central to the restatement of the Law and directed the teaching of the Law to one’s children, observing of the Law, and reciting the Law when one is at home or away (v.7). It follows the Deuteronomic Decalogue (5:6-21) which is slightly different from the Decalogue in Exodus 20:2-17. The NOAB describes this passage as a “sermon on the first commandment (5:6-10).” The JSB sees it as part of a “sermonic preamble to the laws of chs 12-26.”

There are practices the people should use to keep the Law in mind: the use of phylacteries holding an abstract of the Law tied on one’s arm and forehead (v.8) and the placing a small box (a “mezuzah”) holding a portion of the Law on the upper right doorpost as one enters a home (v.9).

The command (“Hear O Israel”) is called the “Shema” in Hebrew and is the central call to prayer in Judaism. The JSB observes: “Modern readers regard the Shema as an assertion of a monotheism, a view that is anachronistic. In the context of ancient Israelite religion, it served as a public proclamation of exclusive loyalty to YHVH as the sole LORD of Israel. Subsequently, as the Shema became incorporated into the synagogue liturgy, its recitation was also given legal significance. The prayer was regarded as a legally binding oath to carry out the requirements of the Torah.”

This formulation of the First Commandment in verse 5 was cited by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark (12:29-30) as the “First Great Commandment” which recognized (as did the Decalogues) that there may be other gods, but that one’s allegiance must be only to YHWH. Consistent with the over-all theme in Deuteronomy, only by keeping the LORD’s commands would the Israelites prosper in the land promised to them (v. 3).

Hebrews 9:11-14

Reading

11 When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), 12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution.

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek.

The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to the Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”

The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”

The author interpreted the life, death, and heavenly role of Jesus through the category of the “high priest’ who perfected the ancient sacrificial system of Judaism (which ended when the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE).

The Letter emphasized that Jesus (as high priest) was able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he (as a human) had been tested as we are. The presentation of Jesus as high priest in the Letter to the Hebrews is unique in the Christian Scriptures and reflected the continuing process in early Christianity of developing images to describe who and what Jesus of Nazareth was (and is). The JANT points out that in the First Century, the high priest was chosen by Roman authorities and served at their pleasure.

In verses 1 to 10 in Chapter 9, the author described the wilderness tabernacle of Ex. 25-26 and the sacrifices made there.

In today’s reading, the author focused on the “once and for all” aspects of Jesus’ death and Resurrection and emphasized that Jesus was both priest and sacrifice in the Crucifixion. The JANT emphasizes that “Hebrews is interpreting Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection in terms of their salvific efficiency” rather than events assumed to have happened during Jesus’ lifetime. It also notes that Hebrews does not distinguish between ritual and moral purity and that the “eternal Spirit” (v.14) is literally “the spirit of the age” and is not to be understood as the Holy Spirit but rather as divine power.

The references to the Holy Place (v.12), the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of the heifer (v. 13) are a mixture of various sacrificial rituals in the Torah, some for cleansing ritual impurity (for example having touched a corpse), and others relating to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies.

Mark 12:28-34

Reading

28 One of the scribes came near and heard the Sadducees disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33 and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ — this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Commentary

The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is usually dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”

Today’s reading follows a dispute between Jesus and the Sadducees about future resurrection. The Sadducees were the priestly group (whose name is derived from Zadok, the High Priest under David and Solomon) who were scriptural literalists. The Sadducees rejected the idea of future resurrection because it was not in the Torah itself. The Pharisees, on the other hand, accepted the idea of future resurrection based on the authority of the “Oral Torah” or interpretations of the Law. These interpretations were eventually written down after the First Century and are incorporated in the Talmud. The Sadducees were trying to get Jesus to commit to one position or the other, but he sidestepped their questions.

Scribes were learned teachers and authoritative leaders who were drawn from the priests and Levites as well as the common people. Mark portrayed them as high officials, advisors to the chief priests, and teachers of the Law.

In Matthew and Luke (written 15-20 years after Mark), the Pharisees were presented as the primary opponents to Jesus. This was because the Pharisees, after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, were the only other group in Judaism (besides the Jesus Followers) to survive. For the next 30 years, the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees contested for the leadership of Judaism — including who would be able to use the synagogues, who would decide which scriptures were authoritative, and how to interpret them.

In Mark, the Sadducees and the scribes were the primary opponents of Jesus, and verse 34a is the only positive description of scribes in this Gospel. Jesus’ response to the scribe quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (one of the readings today) and Lev.19:18. The NAOB points out that the scribe admits (vv.32-33) that love of God and love of neighbor are more important than the elaborate sacrifices at the Temple from which he draws his living. The NJBC observes that the scribe’s comparison “merely echoes Hosea 6:6 and 1 Sam.15:22 and need not be construed as a condemnation of the sacrificial system.”

The JANT notes that a similar question was posed to Hillel, the 1st Century Jewish scholar, who summed up the law with the dictum “Do not do to anyone else what is hateful to you.”

In Matthew’s account of this story, a Pharisee who was also a lawyer asked the question and verses 32 to 34 were not included. In Luke’s account, a lawyer asked the question, and tried to “justify himself” by asking “Who is my neighbor?” This led to the Parable of the Good Samaritan – which is unique to Luke.