Author: Gregory C. Jenks

Contents 1 Lectionary 2 Introduction 3 First Reading: David becomes king of All-Israel 4 Second Reading: Paul’s religious experience 5 Gospel: Jesus at Nazareth 6 Jesus Database 7 Liturgies and Prayers 7.1 Music Suggestions

Lectionary

• 2Samuel 5:1-5,9-10 and Psalm 48 (or Ezekiel 2:1-5 and Psalm 123)
• 2Corinthians 12:2-10
• Mark 6:1-13

Introduction

This week’s readings offer challenges to several episodes long accepted as historical certainties by readers of the Bible:

• the capture of Jerusalem by David as he becomes ruler of a united kingdom
• Paul’s conversion in the “Damascus road” event
• Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue of his home town, Nazareth

As we have often had occasion to observe, the stories that people of faith tell one another are not neccesarily historically correct. Their value lies not in their historicity but in their capacity to shape and sustain faith. These are mythic stories, and our desire for history is our problem not the concern of the ancient story tellers.

First Reading: David becomes king of All-Israel

The first reading takes up the transition of David from local ruler of the Judah clans around Hebron to king of all Israel, with Jerusalem as his capital.

The set passage omits the description of the capture of the city, with its offensive references to disabled persons as excluded from the presence of God:

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. David had said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” (2Sam 5:6-8 NRSV)

To many commentators this appears to be a reference to the capture of the city after access was gained via the water shaft used to draw water from the Gihon Spring. However, the happy consensus about the identity of this water shaft has collapsed following critical appraisals by Israeli archaeologists; first, Yigal Shiloh (in the1980s) and more recently, Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich:

• The famous tunnels and shafts are now seen as 8C BCE works, perhaps better associated with Hezekiah.
• However these 8C works are seen as improvements to natural fissures that have existed for thousands of years, if not longer.
• It is not clear whether Warren’s Shaft was ever used as a town water point.
• The story of Joab climbing the shaft to gain access to the city may owe as much to later exploits by Jerusalem youths as to any memory of clandestine access by David’s general.

Interestingly, the reference to “the blind and the lame” may have been illuminated by archaeological finds in the ancient Hittite capital:

… the late Prof. Yigael Yadin was the first to suggest a solution that has become generally accepted, by examining the history of other nations in the region. Noting that the Jebusites of Jerusalem were probably of Anatolian-Hittite origin, Yadin made the connection to Hattusha, the ancient Hittite capital, where documents were found that described soldiers taking an oath of loyalty to the ruler.

The soldiers were paraded in front of a blind woman and a deaf man, and told that anyone failing to live up to his oath “will be as these” – that is, will be stricken blind or deaf. The passage about the taking of Jerusalem may refer to a similar idea, where the defenders placed the blind and lame in the front lines as a way of casting a spell on the attackers, threatening them with blindness and lameness. SOURCE:[1]

The nature and extent of David’s empire is very much in question these days, and it is generally acknowledged that the northern kingdom of “Israel” was afar more significant local kingdom than Judah down to the time of its destruction by Assyria around 722 BCE. It was only after the demise of its northern neighbour that Judah was able to project its influence, and talk of an original “united kingdom” is simply myth-making by the much later community of “returnees” from exile in Babylon.

Whatever historical value we may see in these ancient stories of David’s rise to power, there can be no doubt that the myth of David’s Jerusalem continues to exercise a powerful hold on the imagination of Jews, Christians and Muslims.

• Hebron
• The water tunnel (Warren’s Shaft)
• City of David

Second Reading: Paul’s religious experience

In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg prefaces his treatment of Paul’s letters in the New Testament with a discussion Paul’s so-called “Damascus Road” experience.

While that phrase has become part of our language, many scholars conclude that Luke had no reliable information about the religious experience that lay at the heart of Paul’s faith in Jesus. Rather, Luke may have created the dramatic conversion scene on the way to Damascus to provide an appearance by the risen Lord to commission Saul as an apostle. The raw material for Luke’s literary creations — including Paul’s controversial claims to apostolic status based on a belated appearance by the risen Jesus, his activity as a persecutor of Jesus’ followers, and his escape from Damascus after becoming a Christian himself—is all to be found in Paul’s own letters: 1 Cor 15:8-10; Gal 1:13-17; 2 Cor 11:21-33.

It is possible that we may get a better sense of some life-changing religious event in Paul’s life from his own words in this passage from 2 Corinthians 12. Is it possible that this mystical experience is the occasion of the “appearance” of Jesus to Paul? How does such a religious experience relate to the description found in Rev 1:10-20?

1:10 I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 1:11 saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” 1:12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 1:14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 1:15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 1:18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 1:19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 1:20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Gospel: Jesus at Nazareth

The Gospel takes up the tradition that Jesus came from Nazareth. Mark seems to have been the source for this story about Jesus making a visit to his hometown near the beginning of his public activity and being somewhat underwhelmed by the reception from his own townsfolk.

It is interesting to note the way this tradition is handled in each of the Synoptic Gospels:

• Jesus First Day – the text in parallel columns

We can observe the steady development of this episode as it is elaborated in different ways by Matthew and Luke:

Matthew is content simply to tidy up a few theological embarrassments that he found in Mark’s account:

• Jesus is no longer a carpenter, but rather the carpenter’s son.
• Jesus is not described as “the son of Mary,” removing any social stigma that formulation might suggest.
• Jesus’ inability to perform deeds of power in his hometown is qualified, and the cause is laid on the unbelief of the Nazareth population.

Luke develops the story as a formal inauguration of Jesus’ mission, creating a story that has a role in his Gospel that parallels the role of the Pentecost legend in Acts:

• Luke’s Jesus is a rather more conventional character, whose “custom” was to attend Sabbath services in the local synagogue.
• This Jesus is literate, and functions as a respected synagogue member in taking his turn at reading the Scriptures.
• Here Jesus explicitly claims that the prophetic texts are being fulfilled in himself, right there that very day.
• Rather than being offended at his interpretation of the Scriptures, “all spoke well of him.”
• Jesus is identified as “Joseph’s son” and the low status occupation of carpenter (Gk: “teknon”) is expunged from the account.
• There is no mention of his mother, brothers or sisters.
• Jesus actually provokes his own rejection by an otherwise positive audience when he preempts any request for miracles and identifies his listeners with the recalcitrant Israelites from the times of Elijah and Elisha.
• Predictably, Luke then described a mob rampage that almost resulted in Jesus being thrown of a (non-existent) cliff in Nazareth except that by force of his own charisma he calmly walked through their midst and escaped the danger.

Central to all these accounts is the well-attested saying:

No prophet is welcome on his home turf;
doctors don’t cure those who know them.” [Complete Gospels]

This saying is known from Thomas, Mark, Luke and John and seems independent of this specific episode. It doubtless preserves a memory of Jesus’ personal experience of rejection by his own nation, whether not these words were actually spoken by him.

Crossan [Historical Jesus, 347] considers this “a statement of unbrokered egalitarianism coming from the historical Jesus and not just from Mark’s dislike of Peter.” He asks just what was the precise tension between Jesus and his hometown, his family and especially his brothers? The obvious response that these people did not believe in Jesus or accept his vision of God’s imperial rule is countered by their significant leadership roles within the early Christian movement after Jesus’ death. Instead, Crossan offers an alternative suggestion:

If Jesus was a well-known magician, healer, or miracle-worker, first, his immediate family, and, next, his village, would expect to benefit from and partake in the handling of that fame and those gifts. Any Mediterranean peasant would expect an expanding ripple of patronage-clientage to go out from Jesus, through his family and his village, to the outside world. But what Jesus did, in turning his back on Nazareth and on his family, was repudiate such brokerage, and that, rather than belief or disbelief, was the heart of the problem. The complex 22 Prophet’s Own Country [1/4] is simply Jesus’ own experience of what we already heard aphoristically in 74 Peace or Sword [1/2]. This antibrokerage activity is confirmed, finally, by the very well attested complex 10 Receiving the Sender [1/5].

For additional information about ancient Nazareth, see the following links:

• Nazareth Village (modern reconstruction of an ancient Galilean village)
• 1C Nazareth winepress excavations

The question of Jesus’ biological family has occupied scholars since early times. It is now usual to assume that the brothers and (unnamed) sisters mentioned in this episode were the natural children of Joseph and Mary, rather than step-children of Mary resulting from her marriage to Joseph (traditionally assumed to have been a widower with children of his own).

The exact significance of tekton (carpenter) is also unclear. It seems better to translate it in a more general sense like “construction worker” (Mahlon Smith) or “woodworker” (John P. Meier), than as carpenter. In any case, as Meier [A Marginal Jew, I;280] observes:

… in the whole of the NT, “woodworker” (tekton) is used only in Mark 6:3 and Matt 13:55, in the former text of Jesus and in the latter of Joseph. Hence the universally known “fact” that Jesus was a carpenter hangs by the thread of a half verse. Yet there is no cause for us to think that Mark 6:3 is inaccurate, especially since there was no reason why Mark or Christian preachers before him, should have gone out of their way to attribute to Jesus a calling that enjoyed no special prominence in his society, is never referred to in Jesus’ own teaching; and has absolutely no echo elsewhere in the doctrine of the NT.

Itinerant Missionaries

The description of Jesus sending out the Twelve in pairs as itinerant preachers and healers gives un insight into an important and characteristic aspect of earliest Christianity. Early Christianity was a missionary organization that fostered the movement of itinerant prophets between communities. These missionaries proclaimed the coming of the God’s empire, forgave sins, healed the sick, and presided at communal meals that fostered koinonia (common life).

The origins of this practice go back to Jesus’ own life as he moved around the villages of Galilee and Judea, rather than setting up a prophetic/healing ministry located at a specific place. Other charismatic holy men of the time tended to stay in their home location with others coming to them to seek a blessing. Instead, Jesus seems to have been an itinerant prophet of the Empire of God (always understood by his listeners as a sacred reality over against the other empire, Rome), and to have established a loose community of itinerant prophets that continued after his death.

• See 001 Mission and Message

The early Q community centered in the Galilee continued Jesus’ mission in his homeland. Converts such as Saul of Tarsus continued that same practice on a wider canvas, with Paul even planning a missionary journey to Spain. The Didache provides another window into this early Christianity in which pairs of missionaries, sometimes a male “apostle” and his female companion (the mysterious “sister-wife”), were still acknowledged as the original expression of the faith but were increasingly being displaced by resident pastors who remained with the local congregation rather than moving around.

The Didache is a text that gives instruction on how a Christian community should treat itinerant Christian prophets. It was written sometime in the late first or early second century and gives good evidence for a structured church’s shift in orientation away from spirit-possession. The Didache is written from the view point of a community leadership that distrusts, and yet respects, Christian prophets, one that wishes the prophets to leave town as quickly as possible, yet would have them welcomed in town when they arrive. The Pastoral and Petrine epistles stem from a slightly later time, when authority in the Christian movement was based on the prerogatives of office rather than on prophetic powers. [Stevan Davies, Jesus the Healer p. 175]

For an extensive and influential discussion of Jesus’ social program, under the rubric of the “brokerless kingdom,” see John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus, pages 225-353.

There are also echoes of the Cynics whose lifestyle and social mission paralleled that of Jesus in many respects.

• More on the ancient Cynics

Jesus Database

• 022 Prophets Own Country – for vss 1-6a
• 230 Among the Villages – for vs 6b
• 001 Mission and Message – for vss 7-13

Liturgies and Prayers

For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site
Other recommended sites include:

• Iona Community
• Laughing Bird
• Lectionary & Liturgy Forum
• The Text This Week

Music Suggestions

See the following sites for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre:

• Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan’s WorldMaking Music site
• David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site
• Brenton Prigge’s New Hymn site

Contents 1 Lectionary 2 First Reading: 2 Samuel 1 – David laments the death of Saul and Jonathan 3 Second Reading: 2Corinthians 8:7-15 – A Question of Fair Balance 4 Gospel: Mark 5:21-43 – Jesus heals two women 5 Jesus Database 6 Liturgies and Prayers 6.1 Music Suggestions

Lectionary

• 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 and Psalm 130
• 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
• Mark 5:21-43

First Reading: 2 Samuel 1 – David laments the death of Saul and Jonathan

The RCL continues with its series of selection from the narratives of David’s rise to power and then the struggle over the succession.

In this case we have the formal transition of power from Saul to David, following the death of Saul in battle with the Philistines at Mt Gilboa:

Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard upon Saul; the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by them. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through, and make sport of me.”€ But his armor-bearer was unwilling; for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together on the same day. When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their towns and fled; and the Philistines came and occupied them.
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the houses of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Astarte; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men set out, traveled all night long, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They came to Jabesh and burned them there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
(1Sam 31:1-13 NRSV)

In the passage set for this Sunday we read selections from the continuing narrative as David hears about the death of Saul and, of more significance to David, his special friend, Jonathan. As often happens, the lectionary omits a section of the narrative – in this case those verses which tell of the killing of the messenger who brings the news of Saul’s death:

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance. David said to him, “€œWhere have you come from?” He said to him, “€œI have escaped from the camp of Israel.”€ David said to him, “€œHow did things go? Tell me!” He answered, “€œThe army fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died.”€ Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, “€œHow do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?”€ The young man reporting to him said, “€œI happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him. When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, “€˜Here sir.” And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘€˜I am an Amalekite.’€™ He said to me, ‘€˜Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’€™ So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”€
Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did the same. They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. David said to the young man who had reported to him, “€œWhere do you come from?”€ He answered, “€œI am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.’” David said to him, “€œWere you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’€™S anointed?” Then David called one of the young men and said, “€œCome here and strike him down.”€ So he struck him down and he died. David said to him, “Your blood be on your head; for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘€˜I have killed the LORD’€™S anointed.’”€™
(2Sam 1:2-16 NRSV)

A story such as this is offensive to contemporary sensitivities, and yet it is hardly an isolated incident in the biblical narratives. Other examples of such “texts of terror” (to use the phrase coined by Phyllis Tribble) are:

• Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac as a human sacrifice
• massacre of the men of Shechem by the sons of Jacob (Gen 34)
• innocent civilian victims of the various plagues unleashed on Egypt (Exod 7-12), culminating in the death of the firstborn male of every family (including animals)
• slaughter of the Egyptian army – with all the horses (Exod 14-15)
• holy war against Amalekites for all time (Exodus 17:8-16)
• massacre of several thousand people by extremist clergy (Exod 32)
• destruction of the entire generation who escaped Egypt because they complained
• various plagues occasioning death when God was displeased by the people
• massacre of the people of Jericho (Joshua 6)
• sacrifice of the daughter of Jephthah (Judges 11)
• innocent deaths at the violent hands of Samson (Judges 13-16)
• murder and dismemberment of the Levite’s concubine (Judges 19)
• ritual murder of the Amalekite king by Samuel (1Sam 15)
• Elijah’s gratuitous killing of several groups of people (2Kings 1)

While we can appreciate the decision to omit 2Sam 1:2-16 from this week’s readings in communities gathered for worship, failure to confront such “texts of terror” within our sacred writings constitutes a significant blind spot within the Christian community. We need to acknowledge, address and reject the unworthy attitudes and actions attributed to God, or to various human agents on God’s behalf. Christians have often been critical of other religions for violence and yet our own tradition has sacred violence deeply embedded within it.
Deep questions of historicity surround all the biblical narratives involving David and other similar figures. For our purposes, it may suffice to note that the debate between so-called “maximalists” and “minimalists” continues, although neither side is now suggesting that there was a davidic empire of the proportions suggested by the biblical narrative:

• Historical David

Finally, there are questions concerning the nature of the intimate friendship between David and Jonathan. This relationship is elaborated in the second half of 1Samuel, but receives a poignant expression in the praise for Jonathan now found on the lips of David:

I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women. (2Sam 1:26)

For some recent discussion of the relationship between David and Jonathan for insights into same-sex relationships see:

• Peter F. Carnley, “€œFriendship” (Review) [1]
• Tom Horner, “Jonathan Loved David. Homosexuality in Biblical Times” [2]
• Peter Abelard (1079-1142): poem on David’s love for Jonathan [3]

See also:

• Jesus Now – Sex and Sexuality
• Sex Life of Jesus

(Alternative First Reading: The excerpt from the Wisdom of Solomon affirms the positive intention of God in creation. Death and disease are not the driving forces in our existence. As Marcus Borg notes in a passage cited below, holiness is not a fragile state that needs to be protected and preserved, but a positive reality that transforms and heals.)

Second Reading: 2Corinthians 8:7-15 – A Question of Fair Balance

For the second reading we have an example of Paul’s approach to Christian communities supporting one another in difficult times: a First-Century fund-raising brochure!

This is one of the few places where Paul appeals to the personal practice and example of Jesus. Mostly Paul appeals to the risen Lord, rather than to the words and actions of Jesus before Easter. Here we have Paul not only citing a tradition about Jesus, and one that represents Jesus rather differently than we might expect:

For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2Cor 8:9)

In what sense was Jesus “rich”? What historical content can we suggest for the generosity that Paul attributes to Jesus?

Historical research suggests that Jesus is best located in the artisan class, and was hardly someone who could be described as rich or powerful. The appeal to some generosity on the part of Jesus may reflect an alternative tradition in which Jesus enjoyed a more privileged social location but freely surrendered that for the sake of others. Kathleen Corley (Women and the Historical Jesus) has argued that Jesus may have come from a well-connected family, and perhaps even one that owned (and could therefore support) slaves. There are also some traditions in the GJohn that could suggest Jesus had some influential family connections. For example, the presence of large stone jars at the wedding of Cana (John 2) suggests a wealthy context.

However, it is more likely that Paul is not citing the generous example of the historical Jesus (about whom he presumably knew almost nothing), but the mythic generosity of the pre-existent Christ whose voluntrary self-emptying (Gk: kenosis) is celebrated in the early Christian hymn quoted by Paul in Philippians:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
(Phil 2:5-11 NRSV)

The assumptions about shared resources within the Kingdom communities that underlie Paul’s appeal for the Corinthians to support the Christians in Jerusalem may well be derived from Jesus’ own practice.

• 001 Mission and Message

The statement of principle found towards the end of the passsage is especially important for a Christian ethic of distributive justice:

I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written,
“The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.” (2Cor 8:13-15 NRSV)

The following article may be of interest:

• Jenks, “What did Paul know about Jesus?” The Fourth R 19/1 (1999) (PDF)

Gospel: Mark 5:21-43 – Jesus heals two women

As noted during the Epiphany season, when there were several healing episodes, Jesus was most likely considered a healer during his lifetime. From today’s perspective, Jesus’ cures are related to psychosomatic maladies. Jesus usually healed by the use of words alone; his cures were sometimes effected instantaneously. The Jewish scriptures provided generative models for constructing healing stories about Jesus as physician. Greco-Roman tales also served as models for the way that early Christians told their stories about Jesus as a healer.

In addition to the 6 reports of exorcisms attributed to Jesus – all outside John’s Gospel – 19 cures or resuscitations are attributed to Jesus in the earliest gospel traditions.

Crossan (Birth of Christianity, 293–304) discusses the distinction between diseases that require curing, and illnesses that require healing. Not all illness manifests itself in disease(s), but without attention to the illness patients will not consider themselves to have been healed, even if the physical and/or psychological malfunction of the disease is ameliorated.

In Conflict, Holiness and Politics in the Teachings of Jesus, Borg cites the story of the healing of the woman with the vaginal bleeding in his discussion of holiness as transforming power:

… in the teachings of Jesus, holiness, not uncleanness, was understood to be contagious. Holiness—the power of the holy, of the sacred—was understood as a transforming power, not as a power that needed protection through rigorous separation. (p. 147)

[as with Jesus touching the leper] … the same transformation of the understanding of holiness underlies the account of the healing of the woman with a discharge in Mark 5:25-34. Her condition rendered her and all that she touched unclean (Lev. 15:25-30). Yet when she touched Jesus’ garment, it was not uncleanness that was transferred but rather “power went forth” from Jesus (5:30) and she was healed. (p. 148)

Such a positive view of holiness as a transforming power, something that cleanses and make whole any impurity or disease in us, challenges our present attitudes towards those living with HIV/AIDS.

Rather than seeing holiness as a fragile state easily threatened by contact with the unholy, this suggests a view of holiness as something so powerful and rubust that it transforms any unholiness with which it comes into contact. The parables of 035 The Mustard Seed and 104 The Leaven seem to be consistent with such a positive view of holiness (or, wholeness).

In Gospel of Mark (Scholars Bible), Daryl D. Schmidt reminds us that the terms “heal” and “save” are simply different tenses of the same Greek verb (a feature also observable in the English words “salve” and “salvage”).

The following articles may be of interest:

• Marcus Borg on Jesus as healer [4]
• Jesus as Healer

Jesus Database

• 229 Two Women Cured

Liturgies and Prayers

For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

Other recommended sites include:

• Iona Community
• Laughing Bird
• The Text This Week

Music Suggestions

See the following sites for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre:

• Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan’s WorldMaking Music site
• David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site
• Brenton Prigge’s New Hymn site

Contents 1 Lectionary 2 First Reading: Samuel anoints David 3 Second Reading: Paul’s compulsion to share the Good News 4 Gospel: Jesus and Parables 5 Jesus Database 6 Liturgies and Prayers 6.1 Music Suggestions

Lectionary

• 1Samuel 15:34-16:13 and Psalm 20 (or Ezekiel 17:22-24 and Psalm 92:1-4,12-15)
• 2Cor 5:6-10,(11-13),14-17
• Mark 4:26-34

First Reading: Samuel anoints David

This week’s OT reading involves the selection and anointing of David as the future king of Israel.

Unlike Saul, who was similarly chosen and anointed by Samuel acting on instructions from God, David is going to be the hero for the prophetic writers telling this story.

The deuteronomistic school which is thought to be responsible for the final shaping of the Former Prophets has a very particular view on the role of the king within the covenant between God and Israel. They affirmed the supremacy of the divine word, communicated through the prophet, over the power of the kind or the ritual of the priest. Prophets assumed the right to rebuke the ruler, to anoint new kings and to curse those in power.

The idea of a davidic ruler was to become a major theological theme in later Jewish and Christian thought:

• 007 Of Davids Lineage

The historicity of David and his legendary empire is now hotly contested by archaeologists:

• Historical David

Second Reading: Paul’s compulsion to share the Good News

SOURCE: Wikipedia Commons

As we begin this series of readings from 2 Corinthians, it may be helpful to visit some of the online sites that provide information on ancient Corinth:

• BiblePlaces.com: Corinth
• Corinth Computer Project
• Wikipedia article: Corinth

For introductory material on 2 Corinthians, including links to other online resources, see:

• Early Christian Writings: 2 Corinthians

The lectionary passage for this week is divided into three sections, the second of which may be omitted:

• verses 6-10: this section provides a glimpse into the way that some early Christians had already begun to think of Jesus as the one through whom God would judge the world, including appropriate rewards and affirmation for those who had been faithful in their own discipleship. These ideas are so well known to us these days that we may overlook their revolutionary significance for the first generation of Christians.
• verses 11-13: this section may be omitted from the lectionary and represents an aside by Paul in which we see something of the strained relationship between Paul and some of his readers.
• verses 14-17: the final section of this passage is one of the classic texts in which we see Paul expressing his own very personal sense of mission, and his excitement at the transformation of human experience by God’s power released in the faithfulness of Jesus: “everything is new!”

Gospel: Jesus and Parables

The series of readings from Mark resumes near the end chapter 4, giving us two short parables and a general comment on Jesus’ use of parables.

The following articles may be of interest:

• Jesus Parables
• 035 The Mustard Seed

Jesus Database

• 007 Of Davids Lineage – 1Sam 15
• 035 The Mustard Seed – Mark 4:30-32
• 075 The Harvest Time – Mark 4:26-29
• 227 Speaking in Parables – Mark 4:33-34

Liturgies and Prayers

For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

Other recommended sites include:

• Iona Community
• Laughing Bird
• The Text This Week

Music Suggestions

See the following sites for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre:

• Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan’s WorldMaking Music site
• David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site
• Brenton Prigge’s New Hymn site