gregoryjenks

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  • Fifth Sunday after Pentecost C (23 June 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • I Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a & Psalms 42 and 43
    • Galatians 3:23-29
    • Luke 8:26-3

    First Reading: The still small voice

    This week’s reading from 1 Kings takes us back to a point in the story prior to last week’s reading.

    Having overcome the prophets of Baal in a religious contest on Mt Carmel, Elijah flees to the traditional site of divine revelation, “Horeb, the mountain of God.” What follows is one of the classic spiritual stories of the Western religious tradition:

    At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” [1Kings 19:9-13]

    The mountain is a traditional site for a theophany in the Bible:

    • Moses (Sinai) – Exodus 3, 19, 24 and 32
    • Elijah (Horeb/Sinai) – 1 Kings 19
    • Jesus (Transfiguration) – Mark 9 and parallels

    In this case, in place of the traditional theophany signs (cloud, thunder, lightning, earthquake and fire), the awesome presence of God is communicated through “a thin whispering voice.”

    Like Moses at the burning bush, Elijah is overcome by the power of the divine powerlessness.

    Michael Macrone offers this comment on the meaning of this passage:

    What follows is a rather drawn-out introduction, in which God first teases the prophet with wind, an earthquake, and a fire before finally manifesting himself in a “still small voice” — Renaissance English for “a soft, whispering murmur”; that is, a breeze. Since this voice argues Elijah out of his mood and sets him back on a holier track, some commentators have identified it with “the voice of conscience.” Indeed, the message of these verses seems to be that God need not appear to men embodied in great natural forces — though he certainly can do this — but may also reveal himself directly, softly, and personally, like a voice in the mind. [Grace Cathedral Online]

    Second Reading: The new humanity—beyond difference

    At the heart of this week’s NT reading is the startling declaration of Paul that every traditiona distinction based on gender, race or social status ceases to have effect within the new social reality generated by the Christian community:

    As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:27-29 NRSV)

    The churches have rarely lived up to the radical insights given expression in that statement, but a modern paraphrase might go something like the following:

    • There is no longer Christian West or fundamentalist Islam,
    • there is no longer First World or Third World,
    • there is no longer straights and gays;
    • for all of us are one in the Anointed Jesus

    Gospel: Jesus and the Gerasa demoniac

    In The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark. (Yale UP, 2000), Dennis R. MacDonald devotes a chapter to this story. He begins by noting the typical elements of a Hellenistic exorcism tale:

    Typically told, an exorcism brings the exorcist and the demoniac (or an agent for the demoniac) into contact and then lets the exorcist and the reader learn of the victim’s condition, such as deafness, convulsions, antisocial behavior, or preternatural cognitive powers, as in Mark 1:24: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” The exorcist then rebukes the demon or demons and demands departure (the apopompe). Often the exorcist sends the spirit or spirits into the wilderness, the earth, the sea, or a living host (the epipompe). The demon may dramatize its exit by producing violent effects, and the crowd, amazed, acknowledges the exorcist’s powers. (p. 63)

    MacDonald then notes the unusual features of this account which have made many scholars question the character of this episode:

    • Of the exorcisms in the NT only this one begins with a voyage.
    • The detailed graphic description of the victim’s antisocial behavior is unparalleled.
    • The demons refuse to obey Jesus’ command to leave the man, and negotiate for more favorable terms.
    • The request for the demon’s name is unparalleled and results in a puzzling answer, “Legion, for we are many.”
    • The permission for the demons to possess a nearby herd of pigs is unparalleled.
    • The extended epilogue with the hostile reaction by the townsfolk has no parallel in any other miracle story. The witnesses usually celebrate the achievement.
    • The demoniac’s request to follow Jesus is not typical, nor is Jesus’ refusal to accept him as a disciple, and neither is the instruction for him to return home and tell everyone what Jesus has done for him. All these elements seem out of place.
    • This is the only NT exorcism that ends with a voyage.

    In looking for possible influences to explain this strange story, MacDonald suggests two well-known Homeric tales: Circe the witch (who turned Odysseus’ men into swine and would later see them drown in the sea) and the famous story of Cyclops. After several pages of detailed analysis, MacDonald offers a summary of “the remarkable density and order of parallels between the stories of the Cyclops and the Gerasene.”

    Jesus Database

    Liturgies and Prayers

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

    Other recommended sites include:

    Music Suggestions

    • Dear Lord and Father of mankind – AHB 519
    • God, you are clothed with light – AHB 423
    • In Christ there is no East or West – AHB 391
    • Morning has broken – AHB 91
    • O Jesus I have promised to serve you – AHB 514
    • O Master, let me walk with thee – AHB 522

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • Fourth Sunday after Pentecost C (16 June 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • 1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a & Psalm 5:1-8
    • Galatians 2:15-21
    • Luke 7:36-8:3

    First Reading: Ahab and the vineyard of Naboth

    While Ahab seems to have been one of the most successful kings in the northern kingdom of Israel, he is depicted as a deeply flawed and evil character by the Bible’s narrative:

    Omri slept with his ancestors, and was buried in Samaria; his son Ahab succeeded him.
    In the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over Israel; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him.
    And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took as his wife Jezebel daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. Ahab also made a sacred pole. Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than had all the kings of Israel who were before him. (1Kings 16:28-33 NRSV)

    This week’s story of the expropriation of a vineyard from its traditional owner, Naboth, represents Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, as self-serving tyrants with no regard for the covenant obligations of Israel.

    Further information about Ahab and the Omride dynasty is available at:

    Second Reading: The faith of Jesus saves

    The doctrine of justification by faith has been central to Christian theology, at least in the West, since the European Reformation.

    In popular thought this is usually expressed as being “saved through faith in Jesus Christ” and we find three such phrases in this week’s passage from Galatians:

    We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. (Gal 2:15-21 NRSV)

    The underlying Greek phrases can be translated as we see here in the NRSV, but it has also been observed that the more natural meaning in the original Greek is better expressed by phrases such as:

    • through the faith (faithfulness) of Jesus
    • justified by the faith (faithfulness) of Christ
    • by the faith (faithfulness) of the Son of God

    There is continuing debate about the best way to translate these terms, but it is clear that two very different emphases are involved. In the traditional translation since the Reformation, the emphasis falls on the faith (trust) which the Christian directs towards Jesus. In the alternative translation (which seems to reflect the meaning of the original Greek in its ancient context), the emphasis falls on the faith that Jesus practiced, or the faithfulness of Jesus, as the ground of salvation.

    (It is important to note in passing that the phrase “And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus” (v 16) is an entirely different concept. The Greek text is kai hemeis eis Christo Iesoun episteusamen – and the phrase is intended to describe the belief in Jesus that Paul and his readers share.)

    The case for the less familiar translation is strengthened when we notice that in Romans 4, where we find similar ideas and terms used by Paul, the salvation flowing to the Jews on the basis of Abraham’s faithfulness is contrasted with the faithfulness flowing to all people on the basis of Jesus’ faithfulness.

    Gospel: A slippery scene at Simon’s home

    There are four versions of this story in the NT:

    • They are available in a horizontal line synopsis at Lent 5C.

    Lüdemann comments on the Mark passage: “The historical yield of the tradition is nil. But it does reflect the closeness of Jesus to a probably notorious woman of Galilee (cf. on Luke 7:36-50).” [Jesus, 94]

    In his comments on the Lucan version, Lüdemann suggests that Luke knew the Mark story yet deviated from his usual practice of following Mark closely in the passion account in order to bring this story (in an amended form) to an earlier location in his Gospel. He notes the addition of explicit mention of the sinner status of the woman in vss 37 and 39 (and the forgiveness of her many sins in vss 47, 48, 49). He then concludes:

    If the story of the woman who was a sinner must be regarded as a mere development of Mark 14:3-9 it is unhistorical. But as the encounter of Jesus with a prostitute comes from the Lucan special tradition, this may be historical. For the contact of Jesus with shady people is a fact. The historicity of the encounter of Jesus with a prostitute is supported by the criterion of offensiveness. (p. 308)

    The judgement of the Jesus Seminar is summarised in The Five Gospels:

    This story has been recounted by all four narrative gospels. There are significant variations in the four versions, yet there is also remarkable agreement on the basic ingredients of the tale. The setting of all versions is a meal, or symposium, at which the owner of the house is present. A woman anoints Jesus during the meal (not before or after it) with a jar of perfume. Members of the party object to the woman’s action and Jesus defends her. The similarities in the setting and plot suggest that one incident or story lies behind all four versions. Yet because of the variations in other details, the Fellows of the Seminar decided that the original version of the incident is irretrievable.

    Gene Stecher’s poetic reflection on this episode explores the keyword, kalon (beautiful/good thing).

    Jesus Database

    Liturgies and Prayers

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

    Other recommended sites include:

    Music Suggestions

    • Alleluia No 1
    • Amazing Grace – AHB 556
    • He is Lord
    • My song is love unknown – AHB 257
    • O worship the king, all-glorious above – AHB 67
    • Shout for joy
    • The Summons

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • Third Sunday after Pentecost (9 June 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • 1 Kings 17:8-16, (17-24) & Psalm 146
    • Galatians 1:11-24
    • Luke 7:11-17

    Introduction

    This week we return to the principal cycle of readings centered around Luke as we move into the Sundays after Pentecost. From now until the end of the cycle, Luke will be the principal reading with separate minor series of readings drawn from the Old Testament and the letters of Paul.

    First Reading: The prophet heals a dead child

    The OT reading for this week offers a parallel to the miracle in which Jesus raises to life a dead child.

    In addition to the set reading from 1Kings 17:8-24, there is another very similar story in 2 Kings 4. This account seems to share the same location as the miracle in Luke, and may have served as a stimulus for Jesus (understood as a prophet like Elijah and Elisha — and operating in the same traditional Israelite territory) being credited with a similar miracle at the site:

    One day Elisha was passing through Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to have a meal. So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal. She said to her husband, “Look, I am sure that this man who regularly passes our way is a holy man of God. Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
    One day when he came there, he went up to the chamber and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. He said to him, “Say to her, Since you have taken all this trouble for us, what may be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?” She answered, “I live among my own people.” He said, “What then may be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood at the door. He said, “At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son.” She replied, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not deceive your servant.”
    The woman conceived and bore a son at that season, in due time, as Elisha had declared to her.
    When the child was older, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. He complained to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” He carried him and brought him to his mother; the child sat on her lap until noon, and he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, closed the door on him, and left. Then she called to her husband, and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” He said, “Why go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” She said, “It will be all right.” Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not hold back for me unless I tell you.” So she set out, and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
    When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman; run at once to meet her, and say to her, Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?” She answered, “It is all right.” When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.” Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, Do not mislead me?” He said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, give no greeting, and if anyone greets you, do not answer; and lay my staff on the face of the child.” Then the mother of the child said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave without you.” So he rose up and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. He came back to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.”
    When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and closed the door on the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. Then he got up on the bed and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and while he lay bent over him, the flesh of the child became warm. He got down, walked once to and fro in the room, then got up again and bent over him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her. When she came to him, he said, “Take your son.” She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground; then she took her son and left.”
    (2Kings 4:8-37 NRSV)

    Second Reading: Paul’s gospel

    This week continues the series of readings from Galatians, one the most universally accepted of the letters attributed to Paul.

    For links to online and print resources, see the Early Christian Writings page.

    In the first two chapters of Galatians, Paul refers to his own encounter with the risen Christ and also to some of his earliest encounters with the apostolic leaders within the emerging Christian community. When we compare Paul’s own description with the version of events founds in the Acts of the Apostles, there are a number of discrepancies. Note especially Paul’s insistence that there were no human intermediaries, and that his commissioning—like his message—came direcly from God.

    Paul’s insistence that his gospel was received by direct revelation from God is a most remarkable claim, and puts him in a small group of prophetic figures that have shaped humanity’s religious traditions. Such a claim is not susceptible to historical inquiry, any more than Isaiah’s claim to have seen YHWH or Muhammad’s claim to have received the Quran by direct revelation.

    It is a great loss that we do not have other first-person reports of the “Easter revelation.” How might Mary Magdalene or Peter the fisherman have described the moment when they came to “know”—directly and for themselves—that Jesus was not dead and gone, but rather alive and with God?

    Paul was to spend the rest of his life unpacking this moment of revelation, an epiphany that made Paul both a prophet of God and a devotee of Jesus. He did not convert from Judaism to Christianity, but he was certainly transformed by the experience.

    It is very interesting that Paul’s witness to the resurrection of Jesus does not rely on traditions about an empty tomb. For Paul, what mattered is that Jesus had appeared to various people, and especially to himself. Yet it was not their witness that persuaded him, and he insists that he owes them nothing as his gospel derives directly from God and without any human mediation. He would be a difficult person to have on the local parish council, although not the first to think that God was giving them direct instructions. As Paul describes it, God chose to reveal “his Son” to Paul in a vision of some sort. For Paul that was enough, and the rest is history.

    For Paul to comprehend that Jesus was “son of God” was not to embrace a philosophical position of the divinity of Jesus, or to begin a lifelong puzzle about the two natures of Christ. “Son of God” was a familiar political title in the Roman world, and indicated the person who enjoys the favour of the gods and exercised their authority to rule the nations. The great revelation for Paul was not so much that Jesus was alive as a result of God raising him from the dead, but rather than Jesus had been designated by God as the Messiah, the Lord, the “son of God.” This was the great revelation. This is the heart of Paul’s gospel. This came direct from God and not through any human intermediary. This was revolutionary. This changed everything. It still does for anyone who takes it seriously.

    Gospel: Jesus raises a dead boy at Nain

    This week’s Gospel is a story that occurs only in Luke, and it involves an otherwise unknown village somewhere in Galilee.

    So little is know about the village of Nain that the BiblePlaces web site offers no photographs – although it does have links to some other sites that seem more confident of their ability to describe the site.

    Those commentators who remark on the location also highlight the traditional association of Nain with the story of the Shunnamite woman whose dead son was said to have been raised to life by the prophet Elisah in 2 Kings 4.

    Within Luke’s narrative, this episode is one of a series of events that follow the “sermon on the plain” in Luke 6:

    • Jesus heals the centurion’s slave (7:1-10)
    • Jesus heals the widow’s dead son (7;11-17)
    • Questions about Jesus and John (7:18-35)
    • Jesus and the woman with the oil (7:36-50)

    It may well be that the most significant aspect of this week’s passage is not the healing miracles but the pairing of a story about a woman with another story about a man. Kraemer and D’Angelo, Women and Christian Origins (p.181f) have noted the way that Luke uses gender as he constructs his account of Christian origins:

    Unlike the other three canonical Gospels, Luke-Acts uses gender as a central category. This has sometimes caused Luke to be read as the gospel for women. But a number of feminist scholars have observed that Luke’s writings also restrict or denigrate the participation of women. Luke-Acts is less a compilation of good news for women than in the words of Turid Karlsen Seim, a “double message”.

    The centrality of gender in Luke-Acts emerges most notably in the pairing of stories about women with stories about men. There are two types of paired stories in Luke. The first is the unit of two brief stories with an identical point or similar function, one story about a male figure and one about a female figure. This technique does not originate with Luke; some pairs of this type of taken over from Q, while others are from Mark. But in many cases, the story about the man comes from Mark or Q, while the one about the woman is special to Luke; one example is the man who had a hundred sheep (Luke 15:1-7) supplemented in Luke by the woman who had 10 coins (Luke 14:8-10).

    The second type might be termed “architectural” pairs: two similar stories are told in different contexts to bind the narrative together and to manifest the coherence of “God’s plan and work”. As a list of the 12 male disciples precedes the sermon on the plain (Luke 6:12-19), so a list of named women disciples precedes the parables sermon (8:1-3).

    Lukan pairs of one or the other type can be detected in almost every chapter of the gospel:

    • two annunciations: to Zachariah and to Mary (1:5-23; 1:26-38)
    • two songs: of Mary and of Zachariah (1:46-56; 1:67-79)
    • two prophets: Simeon and Anna (2:25-35; 2:36-38)
    • two miracles: for Gentile widow and male leper (4:25-27)
    • two first miracles: for possessed man and Peter’s mother in law (4:31-39)
    • two lists of named disciples: men Apostles (6:12-19; 8:1-3)
    • two rescues from the death: the Centurion’s servant and the widow’s son (7:1-10; 7:11-17)
    • two penitents: the paralytic and a penitent woman (5:19-26; 7:35-50)
    • three miracles: the Gerasene demoniac, the daughter of Jarius, the haemorrhaging woman (8:26-56)
    • three questions about discipleship: the scribe, Martha and the disciples (10:25-37; 10:38-42; 11:1-13)
    • two Gentile accusers of Israel: the Nivevites and the Queen of the South (11:29-36)
    • two “releases”; the bent over woman and the dropsical man (13:10-17; 14:1-6)
    • two hider parables: man (?) planting mustard and a woman hiding leven (13:18-19; 13:20-21)
    • two finder parables: man with sheep and woman with a coin (15:1-7; 15:8-10)
    • two taken: men (?) sleeping, women grinding (17:32-35)
    • two examples of prayer: widow, Pharisee and publican(8:9-17)
    • two attitudes to worship: scribes and widow (20:45-21:4; 23:26-32)
    • two sets of followers: Simon and women (23:26-32)
    • two groups of watchers: women and all his acquaintances (23:49)
    • two groups of resurrection witnesses (24)

    It should be noted that, while the stories about women usually have been added by the author, not every story about a man is doubled with a story about a woman; men still outnumber women in the gospel. And in some cases men are introduced to the narrative: men are added to the group of women watching at the cross (23:49).

    Although the appearances of women are significantly fewer in Acts than in Luke, Acts also includes a number of references to women paired with men. But the pairs in the two works differ significantly. In Luke, the pairs consist of a variety of paired stories that form a single unit or a sequence and architectural pairs of stories, while in Acts (though not all) of the references to women consist not of paired stories, but of either the names of couples or the merismus “both men and women”.

    • two groups were waiting (1:13-14)
    • menservants and maidservants, sons and daughters (2:17-18)
    • Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11)
    • a crowd of both men and women added (5:14)
    • Paul as persecutor of both men and women (8:3)
    • both men and women added (8:12)
    • Paul as persecutor of both men and women (9:2)
    • Peter cures lame man and Tabitha (9:32-43)
    • worshipping women and first men of the city (13:50)
    • Paul driven from Lystra by cure of Lame man (14:5-18)
    • Paul driven from Philippi by cure of mantic girl (16:16-40)
    • Lydia baptised with all her household (16:15)
    • Jailer baptised with all his household (16:32-34)
    • a great crowd of worshiping Greeks and not a few of the first women were persuaded (17:4)
    • not a few respectable Greek women and men (17:12)
    • Dionysus and Damaris converted at Athens (17:34)
    • Paul received by Priscilla and Aquila (18:1-4)
    • Four prophesying daughters of Philip and Agabus, the prophet from the Judea (21:8-14)
    • Paul as persecutor of both men and women (22:4)
    • Felix arrives with Drusilla (24:24)
    • Agrippa and Bernice (25:13, 23, 20 6:30)

    Jesus Database

    Liturgies and Prayers

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

    Other recommended sites include:

    Music Suggestions

    • A mighty stronghold is our God – AHB 8
    • For your holy book – AHB 338
    • Stand up and bless the Lord – AHB 383
    • Be thou my vision – AHB 455

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • Pentecost 2C (2 June 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • 1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39 & Psalm 96
    • Galatians 1:1-12
    • Luke 7:1-10

    Introduction

    This Sunday we return to the cycle of ordinary time, now described as “Sundays after Pentecost.” The Gospel readings from now until the end of the liturgical year will be from Luke, as that as the primary Gospel for this year, while the other readings will initially be selections from 1 & 2 Kings (for the First Reading) and Galatians (for the NT Reading). The readings for this week are well-known although not so often read in church these days. It has been some years since this set of readings has been used in the Sunday lectionary.

    First Reading: Elijah and the prophets of Baal

    The dramatic story of the confrontation between Eljiah and the prophets of Baal is a classic of the biblical tradition. It is also a ghastly tale of religious violence and exclusive religious prejudice. Its legacy can be observed in the tragic legacy of violence driven by religious extremism, and is graphically expressed in the statues of Elijah slaying the pagan prophets sometimes found at the entrance to Christian villages in northern Israel as well as at the Muhraqa, the holy site on Mt Carmel that marks the traditional location of the massacre.

    Elijah Muhraqa.jpg
    Elijah slaying a prophet of Baal, Muhraqa

    Given the contribution of religion to the historical and current violence it is hard to see how a Christian faith community could embrace such a text of terror.

    Graphic violence is a common element in biblical texts, as well as in the sacred texts of other religious communities and many non-religious texts. This story stands out for its gratuitous violence when—according to the text—the prophets of Baal had already been exposed as frauds, and humiliated by the success of Elijah. For Elijah then to take them captive, transport them to another location, and kill them in cold blood is a crime against humanity and a dark blot upon the biblical tradition.

    Interestingly, the RCL steps around the worst of the sacred violence, with its omission of the most offensive verses from the material recommended for reading in church. However, the church (like the synagogue) finds it all but impossible to name such religious violence for what it is, and to repudiate it. Small wonder then, that religious violence continues to be a hallmark of our human experience. While the churches no longer have the power to enforce conformity on the pain of death, our history offers many examples of exclusion, degradation, torture and killing. And that is not even to mention the Crusades.

    There is a propensity for violence within monotheistic religion that is rarely named, and should never be celebrated. Perhaps those with ears to hear might discern what the Spirit is saying to the churches about religious violence this coming Sunday?

    Second Reading: Galatians 1:1-12

    Galatians is a polemical document, seemingly composed in the heat of the moment.

    This is arguably the earliest of Paul’s letters to have survived, and it is a mix of raw anger and deep insight into the human possibilities derived from the Easter experience.

    In the opening section of the letter, Paul abandons any pretence of conventional civility. He asserts his authority as an apostle in the opening lines, and reiterates his claims to privileged knowledge and to apostolic authority in the lines that follow. Anyone who teaches a different form of Christianity than the one he promotes is to be accursed. In case that was too subtle, Paul repeats himself and pronounces the anathema a second time:

    I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed! (Galatians 1:6–9 NRSV)

    These are harsh words, and they are spoken from a position of privilege and power. Paul will have better moments in his career as a religious essayist, but he has many admirers in today’s church. The theological thought police are quick to confront deviations from approved forms of liturgy or theology. What the world needs now is more religious communities with some capacity to live with ambiguity. We need fewer fatwas and no more church edicts that divide, exclude and control the faithful. What might the world be like if the followers of Jesus were famous for our gentleness towards others, and especially those with whom we disagreed?

    Gospel: The healing of the centurion’s slave

    Once again among the readings for this week, we have a story that centres around the theme of authority. In this case, there is the explicit authority of the centurion and the ascribed authority of Jesus, who heals the centurion’s slave on request and at a distance.

    Perhaps one of the themes that might be addressed in preaching this week is the question of authority: how do we recognise it, and (more urgently) how is it exercised? Is it exercised to save life, or to destroy opponents? Is our authority used to close the circle and exclude those with different views, or to push the boundaries and affirm the presence of faith in unexpected places and in diverse forms? To announce a crusade, or to proclaim a year of jubilee?

    The story has a close parallel in Matthew as well as a probable parallel version in John. The form in Luke seems more stylised, with the absent centurion communicating with Jesus via intermediaries who, among other things, suggest that his contribution to the construction of their synagogue had demonstrated his love of the Jewish people. This righteous Gentile centurion sounds suspiciously like the prayerful centurion of Acts 10, and both stories celebrate the discovering of faith outside the Jewish community. In keeping with Luke’s agenda, here we find a Roman official represented as a person of authority, compassion, dignity and piety. Theophilus will have appreciated the implied compliment, I a sure.

    In Matthew the centurion makes no use of intermediaries and there is no mention of him erecting the Capernaum synagogue. Instead, we have the familiar words now used in Catholic liturgies prior to receiving the Sacrament: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matt 8:8).

    In the parallel version that survives in John, the centurion is simply a “royal official” and the location changes from Capernaum to Cana. In addition, the slave has become a son. Despite these differences, many scholars consider this to be a variant of the story in Matthew and Luke, and even attribute it to the Q Gospel (making it a rare narrative in what is otherwise a sayings gospel, rather than a story about the deeds of Jesus).

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  • Trinity Sunday (26 May 2013)

    The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity has been observed in the Western (Latin) Church only since the edict of Pope John XXII early in the 14C. The Eastern Churches have no equivalent festival, although the propers adopted for Trinity Sunday are derived from prayers celebrating the Trinity and originating in the Arian controversies of the 4C.

    The absence of ancient and universal observance has not prevented this festival from acquiring special significance for many Christians, and especially those living in places where a majority Muslim presence makes this doctrine one of the key markers of Christian identity.

    Since the edict of John XXII, Western Christians have observed the Sunday after Pentecost as a time to pause and reflect on the Christian understanding of God. It can be helpful to imagine Advent through Pentecost as a mathematical problem, with Trinity Sunday as the solution. If we affirm all these things about Jesus, how is our idea of God changed?

    It is well-known that the doctrine of the Trinity does not appear in the Scriptures, and that it has been contested from time to time by various Christian thinkers. The definitive formulations of the Trinity are found in the creeds agreed upon at the First Council of Nicea (in 325 CE) and the Council of Constantinople (in 381 CE). Those statements were composed to combat specific opposing opinions and naturally drew upon the linguistic and philosophical resources available to Greek-speaking Christian communities at the time.

    The intention of the creeds was to affirm the following core beliefs:

    • the essential unity of God
    • the complete humanity and essential divinity of Jesus
    • the essential divinity of the Spirit

    The immediate political need for the church to resolve conflict between opposing views, and to contribute to the social cohesion of the late Roman Empire, was also a powerful influence on the process and its outcomes.

    While the doctrine of the Trinity is not presented in the Bible, the Scriptures played an important role in the debates over how best to express Christian belief in God. Those fashioning the creeds were especially seeking a way to affirm the significance of Jesus without jettisoning traditional monotheism, and they drew on the biblical texts for insights into the puzzle.

    For selections of the principal biblical texts see:

    For each year’s feast of the Holy Trinity, the lectionaries draw on a variety of texts that use trinitarian language. As such, these passages provide summaries of the raw material behind the formal doctrine. If—as these texts do—we speak of God as Father, of Jesus/Christ as the Son, and of the Spirit as the “go-between God” (to use John Taylor’s term) what kind of God concept are we affirming?

    Crossan on Trinitarian Structures in Religion

    In the epilogue to Who Killed Jesus? (1995:215), John Dominic Crossan reflects on the trinitarian “structures” he perceives in all religions:

    All religions that I have ever known or can ever imagine are trinitarian in structure. And I use this term very deliberately for this is how I understand the Christian Trinity. There is, first of all, that ultimate referent known in supreme metaphors as power, person, state, or order, as nature, goddess or god, nirvana, or way. There is, next, some material manifestation, some person, place, or thing, some individual or collectivity, some cave or shrine, or temple, some clearing in the forest or tree in the desert where that ultimate referent is met and experienced. There is, finally, at least one faithful believer to begin with and eventually more to end with. But since there are always non-believers as well, some prior affinity must exist, as it were, between believer, referent, and manifestation. The spirit of referent and manifestation must already be present to the believer else why does one accept belief and another refuse it. There is always, in other words, a trintarian loop involved. For me, therefore, all faith and all religion, not just my own Christianity, is trinitarian in nature.

    Praying and Living the Trinity

    While definitions of the Trinity have often been used to exclude suspected heretics and other kinds of church dissidents, there is also a rich tradition of exploiting the inherent symbolism of the Trinity for prayer and meditation. This has been a particular feature of Celtic Christianity, which seems to have celebrated the creation themes of God the Father in combination with a high Christology and a strong sense of the pervasive presence of the Spirit in the affairs of everyday life.

    The following caim (or ‘encircling’) prayer is a fine example of this development:

    The compassing of God be upon you,
    the compassing of God, of the God of life.
    The compassing of Christ be upon you,
    the compassing of the Christ of love.
    The compassing of the Spirit be upon you,
    the compassing of the Spirit of grace.
    The compassing of the Sacred Three be upon you,
    the compassing of the Sacred Three protect you,
    the compassing of the Sacred Three preserve you. Amen.
    [SOURCE Celtic Daily Prayer from the Northumbria Community, ©2002 Northumbria Community.]

    For further examples of the living tradition of Celtic Christianity, you might wish to check the following web sites:

    One of the best examples of Trinitarian faith in the Celtic tradition is the hymn, St Patrick’s Breastplate:

    I bind unto myself today
    the strong Name of the Trinity,
    by invocation of the same,
    the Three in One, and One in Three.

    I bind this day to me for ever,
    by power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation;
    his baptism in Jordan river;
    his death on cross for my salvation;
    his bursting from the spiced tomb;
    his riding up the heavenly way;
    his coming at the day of doom
    I bind unto myself today.

    I bind unto myself the power
    of the great love of cherubim;
    the sweet “Well done” in judgment hour;
    the service of the seraphim;
    confessors’ faith, apostles’ word,
    the patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls;
    all good deeds done unto the Lord,
    and purity of virgin souls.

    I bind unto myself today
    the virtues of the starlit heaven
    the glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
    the whiteness of the moon at even,
    the flashing of the lightning free,
    the whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
    the stable earth, the deep salt sea,
    around the old eternal rocks.

    I bind unto myself today
    the power of God to hold and lead,
    his eye to watch, his might to stay,
    his ear to hearken, to my need;
    the wisdom of my God to teach,
    his hand to guide, his shield to ward;
    the word of God to give me speech,
    his heavenly host to be my guard.

    Christ be with me,
    Christ within me,
    Christ behind me,
    Christ before me,
    Christ beside me,
    Christ to win me,
    Christ to comfort
    and restore me.
    Christ beneath me,
    Christ above me,
    Christ in quiet,
    Christ in danger,
    Christ in hearts of
    all that love me,
    Christ in mouth of
    friend and stranger.

    I bind unto myself today
    the strong Name of the Trinity,
    by invocation of the same,
    the Three in One, and One in Three.
    Of whom all nature hath creation,
    eternal Father, Spirit, Word
    praise to the Lord of my salvation,
    salvation is of Christ the Lord.

    Jesus Database

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  • Pentecost (19 May 2013)

    The origins of this festival go back into ancient biblical times, and beyond.

    On one level the festival is simply the Jewish version of the universal celebrations to mark the completion of the grain harvest at the end of Spring. The fact that this happened seven weeks after Passover, which coincided with the beginning of the harvest, assisted in the development of the idea that this festival brought to a solemn conclusion a “week of weeks”.

    The observance of the “festival of harvest” is stipulated in the ancient Covenant Code now found in Exodus 20:22-23:19, but there are very few references to this “feast of Weeks” (shavuot) in the Hebrew Bible:

    • Exodus 19:1 (Sinai revelation coincides with date of Shavuot)
    • Exodus 23:16 (Shavuot is one of the three pilgrim festivals)
    • Exodus 34:22 (Shavuot is one of the three pilgrim festivals)
    • Num 28:26-31 (details of the sacrifices to be offered at Shavuot)
    • Deut 16:10 (freewill offering proportionate to the harvest is expected)
    • Deut 16:16 (Shavuot is one of the three pilgrim festivals)
    • 2Chron 8:13 (Shavuot is one of the annual feasts)

    We find casual references to the festival in Tobit 21 and 2 Macc 12:32, as well as the first use of the Greek term pentekoste (fiftieth), and there are a few references in Philo (Decal. 160; Spec. Leg. 2,176) and several in Josephus (Ant. 3,252; 13,252; 14,337; 17,254. Bell. 1,253; 2,42; 6,299).

    Only Luke-Acts gives the 50th day after Easter a special significance in the Christian calendar, and it now seems that Luke was following an older Jewish tradition that considered the Spring harvest festival of Shavuot (“Weeks” or 7 x 7 days) to mark the end of a sacred period that began with Pesach (Passover/Easter). Gunther Plaut (ed), The Torah. A Modern Commentary (New York, 1981), notes that the Rabbis spoke of Shavuot as “the Atzeret (solemn gathering) of Pesach” —€” suggesting that the two festivals were linked by their connection to the beginning and the end of the grain harvest.

    Plaut (1981:924) continues:

    The Bible describes Shavuot only as an agricultural festival. Later tradition regards it as the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Sinai. According to Exodus, chapter 19, the revelation occurred early in the third month; but an explicit identification of the festival as anniversary of the revelation is not found until well after the beginning of the Christian era. Thereafter the stress on the historical meaning of the holiday overshadowed the agricultural aspect. The latter survived only in the custom of decorating the synagogue with greens and flowers. The prayers and hymns of Shavuot all glorify the Torah. And the occasion was fittingly chosen by Reform Jews for the ceremony of confirmation, at which the pledge of Sinai is renewed.

    Pentecost in the New Testament

    In the account of Christian origins crafted by Luke, we find this festival elevated to conspicuous significance although even his own later acount in Acts does not ever make anything of this event; and we find no hint of such a special Pentecost soon after Jesus’ death in any other NT writing.

    Acts 20:16 does impute to Paul an eagerness to be in Jerusalem, if at all possibe, in time for the celebration of Pentecost but that appears to be no more than a creative flourish by Luke as author:

    For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia;
    he was eager to be Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

    There is no convincing reason to think that Luke had direct knowledge of Paul’s personal wishes. Even if Luke had access to a travel narrative written by a companion of Paul, Luke does not suggest any specifically Christian reason for Pentecost being a special observance. The wording we have in Acts 20:16 is quite in keeping with his description of Paul as a faithful Jew who honored traditional observances (cf. 21:26).

    Likewise, Paul’s own reference to Pentecost in 1Cor 16:8f suggests nothing more than a simple chronological marker:

    But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost,
    for a wide door for effective work has been opened to me …

    Actually, that authentic Paul reference to Pentecost sits most oddly with the way Luke develops the Ephesus sojourn (or lack thereof) in relation to Pentecost. Where 1Cor has Paul planning to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, Acts 20 has Paul bypassing Ephesus in his haste to get back to Jerusalem for Pentecost. These two NT references to Pentecost seem at odds with each other and both are blithely unaware of the special charcater of Pentecost in the narrative of Acts.

    It may also be significant that both volumes of Luke-Acts begin with an impressive public event that sets the stage for what is to follow. In the Gospel of Luke, we find Jesus beginning his public activity with an otherwise unattested appearance in the synagogue at Nazareth.

    When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

    18″The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
    He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to let the oppressed go free,
    19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

    20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” 24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers4 in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. (Luke 4:16-30)

    It is is most unlikely that a small Galilean village like Nazareth would have had a synagogue around 28 CE. In addition the village was not built on the brow of a hill. Like the crisis at the edge of the cliff, the liturgical functions peformed by Jesus in the synagogue seem to be a figment of Luke’s imagination. Whatever their historical value, however, they set the scene for the ensuing narrative.

    It is no surprise, then, to discover that some NT scholars point to the similar function that the Pentecost scene plays in the Acts of the Apostles, part two of Luke-Acts:

    When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
    5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs–in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” (Acts 2:1-13)

    In both Luke 4 and Acts 2 these impressive scenes also provide the occasion for the key character (Jesus/Peter) to deliver a programatic speech that outlines what the reader can expect to encounter in the narrative that follows. The Pentecost episode (Acts 2) has a similar function within the narrative of Acts to the part played by the Nazareth synagogue scene (Luke 4:16-30) in the narrative of Luke.

    • Both set the scene for the longer narrative that will follow.
    • Both revolve around the Spirit’s presence (upon Jesus in Luke 4, and on the gathered community in Acts 2).
    • There is an appeal to prophetic texts in both cases.
    • The Jewish religious community misunderstands and rejects the prophetic word.

    In both cases we have reason to suspect the narratives are the result of Luke’s own literary creativity, since Luke seems to be developing strategic scenes without support in parallel traditions (cf. Mark 1:14-15 + 6:1-6a and Matt 4:12-17 + 13:5-58 for the more traditional description of Jesus beginning his ministry and his homecoming in Nazareth).

    This is the same author who provides Jesus with an impressive infancy narrative, complete with angelic annunciations and a Jerusalem location for the key scenes. Luke will also relocate all the Easter appearances so that everything happens in Jerusalem and its environs, as befits the Holy City (and his own careful literary design).

    In Acts 2 it is likely that Luke is developing a scene to exploit the significance of Shavuot as the solemn conclusion of the Paschal season. The occasion connects the proclamation of the resurrection to the tradition that angels announced the divine Torah to all the nations of the earth, proclaiming God’s requirements in seventy different languages.

    Peter himself suddenly emerges in this scene as an eloquent speaker and a gifted scholar of the prophetic writings. There have been no hints of such a depth to his character in the earlier traditions, but he will deliver several significant speeches in Acts.

    Given its single attestation in Acts, and its inherent contradiction by the Pauline and Johannine traditions, we have to conclude that Luke’s powerful scene, which has shaped Christian consciousness for almost 2,000 years, has no basis in history. It remains, nonetheless, a powerful parable of the new faith’s self-understanding around 125 CE.

    The Christians for whom Luke is writing understood themselves to have a heritage reaching back into the biblical times, but they also know that Jerusalem and its temple had been destroyed by the Romans. For them Jerusalem now exists only in the imagination of the Christian community. It is not a physical site to be visited, but a memory to be invoked. Jesus could be imagined as presented in the Temple for circumcision. The 12 year old Jesus, his bar Mitzvah being presumed by the narrative, could be imagined visiting the Temple and engaging the learned scholars in discourse on religious themes. All the Easter events take place at this sacred site. And the church itself is inaugurated on the day when the tradition had the divine Torah revealed to the nations and entrusted to Israel.

    Luke was not afraid to use story to communicate meaning. Unless we consciously put it to one side, our obsession with historicity may prevent us from enjoying the story and embracing the message.

    Jesus and the Spirit

    It may be interesting to note the very different approach taken by James D.G. Dunn in his classic 1975 study, Jesus and the Spirit (and especially chapter VI).

    Dunn begins by noting that the experiences of the Spirit which are attributed to the primitive Christian community differ in significant degree from the claims of various resurrection appearances by Jesus. These less personalised experiences of the divine Spirit might be understood as more like the experiences of the Spirit which Jesus himself had enjoyed. That is a tantalizing prospect and it transforms this discussion from academic historical inquiry into a quest for authentic encounters with Spirit in the life of the Church.

    Of course, Dunn is well aware of the range of views on the historical character of the account in Acts 2:

    The range of scholarly options stretches from the more traditional view at one end, that Acts 2 is a more or less accurate account of what happened on the first Christian Pentecost, to the more radical thesis maintained most forcefully by E. Haenchen at the other, that Acts 2 is wholly the construct of Luke’s theological expertise. (p. 136)

    One Pentecost or many?

    The first question that Dunn addresses is whether there were actually many separate occasions when the early Christian communities experienced dramatic manifestations of the divine Spirit in their midst, or whether there was just a single event something like the general picture given by Acts 2?

    Is it possible that such ecstatic experiences were part of the primitive Jesus movement, possibly even before Easter? Might such experiences have continued to be characteristic of groups outside the Jerusalem area (e.g., the Q communities in Galilee where itinerant prophets continued to act in ways that seem very much like Jesus’ own actions)? The description of charismatic phenomena in Samaria (Acts 8), in Damascus (note the role of Ananias in Acts 9) and at Antioch (recall the activity of the Spirit in the sending of Barnabas and Saul in Acts 13) seem to suggest a more dispersed charismatic expression of Christianity. The ready acceptance that disciples of John (such as Apollos in Acts 18) could be “aglow with the spirit” despite knowing only the baptism of John seems also to suggest this.

    Dunn concludes as follows:

    It looks … as though there were several individual and groups whose experience of Spirit and faith in Jesus was initially at last independent of Jerusalem. At the same time it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Jerusalem was the main growing point in the first instance — that the main impulse to the growth of a community rejoicing in rich experiences of Spirit and centring faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of Man stemmed from Jerusalem. (p. 139)

    Dunn seeks to incorporate biblical evidence for a more complex distribution of “pentecostal” phenomena without discarding the claim of Acts 2 that the definitive and epochal events took place in Jerusalem.

    The timing of Pentecost?

    The next question that Dunn addresses concerns the timing of the event recounted in Acts 2.

    Would such experiences have been delayed for seven weeks (50 days) after Easter, or would they have even been part of the “evidence” that convinced Jesus’ followers that he was still alive and perhaps even now exalted (one greater than Elijah) to heaven and able to pour out the divine spirit on his followers (just as Elisha had inherited a double share of Eliajh’s spirit)?

    Dunn will argue in favor of just that kind of delay, as he foreshadows:

    The main problem indeed is not the earliness of the Pentcost dating for the first great communal experience of the Spirit, but the lateness (cf. again John 20.19-23; also Acts 2.33). Was there really such a lengthy gap between the first appearances and ‘Pentecost’? In fact, the answer is quite probably, Yes. Indeed, it is quite possible, even likely, that the events of Acts 2.1-13 did fall on the day of Pentecost. (p. 140)

    Dunn acknowledges that the closest parallels to the symbolic interpretation of Pentecost as a festival that celebrated the gift of the divine Torah at Sinai come from Jewish sources in the mid-2C CE, but he presumes these to be significantly later than Acts. (Recent studies that date Luke-Acts in the early 2C would give greater significance to these symbolic parallels.) Dunn also dismisses the Johannine description of the Spirit as part of the Easter blessing from the beginning (“John’s presentation of the gift of the Spirit is almost wholly inspired by theological considerations”), asserting simply that “Luke’s dating must be judged to have the superior claim to historicity.” (p. 141)

    His proposed reconstruction of “what really happened” is nonetheless an interesting example of informed speculation, even if it cannot be persuasive as historical account:

    … if we may assume that the earliest appearances, to Peter and the twelve, took place in Galilee, as seems most likely, then the timing and occasion of the return to Jerusalem becomes a relevant issue. The reason for the return to Jerusalem was presumably the eschatological significance of Jerusalem, the city of God, the expected focus of God’s final acts. The most obvious occasion to return would be in time for the next great pilgrim festival (Pentecost); and since Pentecost seems already to have become regarded as the feast of covenant renewal, the disciples may have expected the decisive eschatological intervention of God on that date. This is all the more likely in view of the fact that Pentecost marked the end of the festival which began with the Passover; it was regarded as the closing feast of the Passover. It would be very natural if the disciples cherished some hope that the sequence of events which had begun on the Passover would end on the day of Pentecost — that the last day of the feast which had been marked by the death and resurrection of Jesus would itself be the last great day of the Lord. The gathering together of the disciples in the sort of numbers mentioned in Acts 1-2 and the increasing anticipation and psychological preparedness which presumably led up to the experience of Spirit and glossolalia certainly makes it more than plausible that the climax was reached on the day of the festival itself, the hopes of the last age beginning to be fulfilled in the outpouring of the Spirit. (p. 141f)

    Pentecost and the Appearance Tradition

    Another question addressed by James Dunn concerns how the Pentecost event (sic) relates to the appearances tradition. He asks whether Pentecost was really a resurrection experience, and then seeks to eliminate that interpretation of the story in Acts 2. Having taken Luke’s general depiction of the disciples in Jerusalem some seven weeks after Easter as authentic, he now dismisses Luke’s underlying scheme of appearances — ascension — Pentecost as “theologically determined.”

    The resurrection appearance to Paul certainly took place long after the forty days were past. If there had been an “ascension” which brought the resurrection appearances to a decisive end, or if there had been some other full stop to the resurrection appearances which was recognized by the primitve community as closing the circle of apostles, then Paul would never have been accepted as an apostle. It is Paul himself who seems to be the first to write finis under the list of resurrection appearances (‘last of all’). The real dispute over his own claim was not whether he really had experienced such a commissing appearance of the Lord, but whether he had understood his commission aright. The obvious implication is that the sequence of resurrection appearances listed in I Cor. 15 ran far beyond Luke’s forty days, and that Paul’s own ophthenai was recognized, initially at least, as just another link in the chain. (p. 143 emphasis original)

    After a careful analysis of suggestions that Acts 2 represents nothing more than a variant tradition of an appearance by Jesus “to more than 500 of the brethren at one time” (1Cor 15:6), Dunn concludes that the events described (doubtless with some theological elaboration by Luke) in Acts 2 probably took place between the appearance to the twelve and the appearance to the crowd of 500+ persons. He draws out the significance of this suggestion as follows:

    The not unimportant corollary follows that the gift of the Spirit was not something quite so distinct and separate from the resurrection appearances as Luke implies. Although Pentecost does not itself seem to have involved a resurrection appearance or even a vision of Jesus, it would seem that after the initial resurrection appearances, charismatic and ecstatic phenomena became a not uncommon feature of the communal gatherings of the young church together with occasional visionary appearances of Jesus, on one occasion at least to the whole company. In other words, we can only go so far in distinguishing experiences of Spirit from resurrection appearances in the earliest Christian community. The problem of how the exalted Jesus and the Spirit of God were related in the religious experience of the early churches is by no means solved. (p. 146 emphasis original)

    Jesus Database

    The Pentecost miracle in Acts 2 does not form part of the Jesus Database inventory, but it may be related to the following items:

    Liturgies and Prayers

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

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