gregoryjenks

Tag: RCL

  • Lent 1C (17 February 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Deuteronomy 26:1-11 & Ps 91:1-2,9-16
    • Romans 10:8b-13
    • Luke 4:1-13

    Introduction: Times and Seasons

    This week sees the beginning of the most tightly structured of the liturgical seasons as we move towards Easter:

    • SHROVE TUESDAY (in French, Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday”) has its origins in the need to consume any remaining eggs and fat prior to the commencement of the austerities of the Lenten fast. These days pancake parties provide an opportunity for a final celebration before we settle down to some serious spiritual efforts during Lent.
    • ASH WEDNESDAY marks the formal commencement of Lent, and is timed to allow 40 days of fasting without counting the Sundays (since they are always little festivals of the resurrection, and cannot be counted as a fast day). In the ancient church, people who had sinned so badly that they had been excluded from church life could prepare for readmission by public penance, including being marked with ashes as a sign of sorrow for their sins. From as early as 1,000 CE we find the rest of the community of faith was encouraged also to receive the ashes of repentance as a reminder that we have all sinned, and that all of us need constant forgiveness and restoration.
    • LENT is an extended period of personal and communal preparation for the great celebration of Easter. The idea of “giving something up for Lent” is familiar to a great many people, but these days we are often encouraged to take something up instead. The extra commitment that is the heart of our Lenten discipline may take the form of more regular attendance at worship, joining a study and discussion program, reviewing our personal priorities and values, or giving some additional time or financial support to peace and justice projects.
    • HOLY WEEK turns our attention to the commemoration of Jesus’ final days, beginning with the processions and songs of Palm Sunday through to his death on the cross and then the joy of Easter morning.

    The Scripture selections during this season will be as follows:

    Lent 1
    Deut 26:1-11 & Ps 91
    Romans 10:8b-13
    Luke 4:1-13

    Lent 2
    Gen 15:1-12,17-18 & Ps 27
    Phil 3:17-4:1
    Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28b-36

    Lent 3
    Isa 55:1-9 & Ps 63:1-8, or Exod 3:1-8a, 13-15
    1Cor 10:1-13
    Luke 13:1-9

    Lent 4
    Josh 5:9-12 & Ps 32
    2Cor 5:16-21
    Luke 15:1-3,11b-32

    Lent 5
    Isa 43:16-21 & Ps 126
    Phil 3:4b-14
    John 12:1-8

    Jesus Tempted Three Times

    The idea of the hero facing various tests, including temptations to sell out to the dark side or to embrace a lesser good rather than pursue his high destiny, is a common theme in folk lore. Various parallels in Jewish texts, as well as similar traditions about the Buddha (and Muslim traditions about the temptations of Jesus), are listed at:

    Mark has a just a very brief tradition of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness:

    And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
    13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts;
    and the angels waited on him. [Mark 1:12-13]

    The Sayings Gospel Q — dated well before Mark by most NT scholars and thus a compilation more or less contemporary with the letters of Paul — already develops the tradition into a narrative with the familiar three episodes. The triple episodes most likely reflect the story-teller’s craft: both as an aid to his own memory and also for its impact on the audience. Despite the change in order of the Temple temptation, the close verbal similarity between the versions in Matthew and Luke is clear:


    The Jesus Seminar judgment on this tradition is seen in the following extract from The Acts of Jesus:

    In spite of the fact that these stories are legends, the Fellows were about evenly divided on whether Jesus went on a vision quest in the desert, or whether he fasted for an extended period and got hungry as a result. It seems plausible that he did so as he worked out his relation to John the Baptist and contemplated the future of his own work. Simple plausibility, however, can be a cruel friend to historical reconstruction, tempting the historian to assert facts when there is only speculation …
    In each temptation Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy … where Moses is described receiving the Law from Yahweh on Mount Sinai. The temptation story is thus a retelling of that ancient story but substituting Jesus for Moses. Just as Moses and Israel were tempted during their forty years in the wilderness, so Jesus was tempted during his forty days in the wilderness. Israel was tempted by hunger; that hunger was sated by the “manna that fell from heaven” each day. Jesus is tempted by hunger but refuses to turn stones into bread. Israel was tempted by idolatry; Jesus is tempted to worship Satan. In Jewish lore, this kind of retelling, or reimagining, is called haggadah.
    In Matthew, the temptations of Jesus are arranged in a spatial progress from low to high: first he is taken to the desert, then placed on the pinnacle of the temple, then carried to a high mountain. This corresponds to the progression in Matthew’s gospel: Jesus’ ministry begins in the desert and ends on a mountain in Galilee from which he ascends. Luke has altered the order of the temptations in order to have Jesus wind up in Jerusalem: for Luke Jerusalem is the navel of the earth, where the story begins and ends.

    John Dominic Crossan [The Historical Jesus] offers the following comments on the social location of those responsible for shaping this tradition:

    The basis of that triple temptation is an opposition between magic and exegesis, between miraculous activity and exegetical citation. Miracles are dismissed, obliquely, as self-serving acts such as turning stones into bread when one is hungry, as temptations such as descending from the pinnacle of the Temple, or as demonic collusion such as gaining the world by obeying Satan. Jesus overcomes Satan, and even his quotation of Psalm 91:11-12, by three separate quotations from Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, and 6:13. But that opposition between magic and exegesis also represents a distinction in class. Even though, in Lenksi’s typology, the peasant class is not the only one that could appreciate magic, it would take the retainer class to appreciate the scribal exactitude of such exegetical quotations. Peasants would, know, in their Little Tradition, the general themes and dominant emphases of the Great Tradition. But their illiteracy would preclude the fuel of citation practiced here by Satan and Jesus. All such precise search and verbatim application presume not only developed literacy but also exegetical dexterity. A retainer-class believer is now interpreting the peasant-class Jesus.

    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

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

  • Transfiguration Sunday (10 February 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Exod 34:29-35 & Ps 99
    • 2Cor 3:12-4:2
    • Luke 9:28-36, (37-43)

    Introduction: Transfiguration Sunday

    In the Revised Common Lectionary the Sunday before Ash Wednesday is designated as Transfiguration Sunday, to provide a fitting conclusion to the Epiphany season. In communities that follow this sequence, the traditional Transfiguration theme on the Second Sunday of Lent is replaced by a more generic lenten set of lections. In Roman Catholic parishes and some other faith communities, the readings for Proper 5C will be used on this day.

    Transfiguration: the Underlying Tradition

    Crossan identifies the resurrection scene from GPeter as part of a very early document that he calls the Cross Gospel, and which he argues was the original passion narrative:

    GPet 35-40 (= ch2 9-10)

    /34/ Early, at first light on the sabbath, a crowd came from Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside to see the sealed tomb. /35/ But during the night before the Lord’s day dawned, while the soldiers were on guard, two by two during each watch, a loud noise came from the sky, /36/ and they saw the skies open up and two men come down from there in a burst of light and approach the tomb. /37/ The stone that had been pushed against the entrance began to roll by itself and moved away to one side; then the tomb opened up and both young men went inside.

    /38/ Now when these soldiers saw this, they roused the centurion from his sleep, along with the elders. (Remember, they were also there keeping watch.) /39/ While they were explaining what they had seen, again they see three men leaving the tomb, two supporting the third, and a cross was following them. /40/ The heads of the two reached up to the sky, while the head of the third, whom they led by the hand, reached beyond the skies. /41/ And they heard a voice from the skies that said, “Have you preached to those who sleep?” /42/ And an answer was heard from the cross: “Yes!” [Complete Gospels]

    In the Synoptic Gospels, the Transfiguration story appears as an event during Jesus’ lifetime with slight variations as set out this horizontal line synopsis.

    Finally, there is the reference to the Transfiguration from 2 Peter 1:17–18:

    17For he received honor and glory from God the Father
    when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying,
    “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well-pleased.”
    18/We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven,
    while we were with him on the holy mountain. [Complete Gospels]

    Comments

    In Mark’s original narrative — from which Luke develops his version of this story — the event which stands before the “six days later” is a comment by Jesus concerning the coming of the Son of Man in the glory of his Father with the holy angels, after which Jesus is represented as saying, “Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God has come with power.” Since there is no reason to assume that the location of the transfiguration is due to anything other than Mark’s editorial decisions, the proximity between the promise and its possible fulfillment in the transfiguration is worth noting. While we tend to think of winged creatures in white gowns when we read “holy angels” the original meaning is closer to “holy messengers” and could easily encompass Moses and Elijah.

    The transfiguration itself is difficult to categorise. It seems to have some echoes of the baptism traditions with the heavenly voice affirming the beloved Son. Yet many scholars have wondered if this is not a displaced (and possibly garbled) Easter appearance story. The other alternative, that it may be an authentic religious experience that Jesus underwent and which was witnessed by a handful of his most intimate followers, also needs to be kept in mind.

    Bruce Chilton (in Rabbi Jesus) has argued that Jesus was initiated into the Jewish mystical traditions while a disciple of John the Baptist. While that cannot be established beyond question, we should not exclude the possibility that Jesus’ own sense of identity and mission was formed and nourished by profound religious experiences. Certainly others in the early Christian movement had such experiences, in which Jesus himself played a critical role.

    The words of the Jewish Jesus scholar, David Flusser, concerning Jesus’ baptism are worth noting here:

    We can well imagine the holy excitement of that crowd who had listened to the words of the Baptist. Having confessed their sins and awaiting the gift of the Holy Spirit to cleanse their souls from all the filth of sin, they plunged their bodies into the cleansing water of the river. Can it be that none of them would have had a special pneumatic-ecstatic experience in that hour when the Spirit of God touched them? (Jesus, p. 40)

    … many scholars are right in thinking that in the original account, the heavenly voice announced to Jesus, “Behold, My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1). This form is probably the original, for the reason that the prophetic word fits the situation. (Jesus, p. 41)

    The gift of the Holy Spirit assumed a significance for Jesus that was different than for others who were baptized by John. Heavenly voices were not an uncommon phenomenon among the Jews of those days, and frequently those voices were heard to utter verses from scripture. Endowment with the Holy Spirit, accompanied by an ecstatic experience, was apparently something that happened to others who were baptized in John’s presence in the Jordan. (Jesus, p. 42)

    If, however, the heavenly voice intoned the words of Isaiah, Jesus must have understood that he was being set apart as the servant of God, the Chosen One. For him, the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was part of John’s baptism, held another special significance that was to become decisive for his future. None of the designations Son, Servant or Chosen One were exclusively messianic titles–the last two could also denote the special status of the prophetic office. By these titles, Jesus learned that he was now called, chosen, set apart. Nothing we have learned casts any doubt upon the historicity of Jesus’ experience at his baptism in the Jordan. (Jesus, p. 42)

    The presence of just the inner circle may be an authentic memory, or a bit of promotion to bolster their standing within the community. Given Mark’s generally critical attitude to the apostolic circle, it is unlikely that he added their names to the tradition. That detail was most likely already in the story as he received it and Luke has simply preserved the information intact.

    The location of the transfiguration up a high mountain is what the tradition would lead us to expect. High mountains were sacred places and thus ideal sites for theophanies. According to Jewish tradition, Moses spent 6 weeks (40 days) up the “mountain of God” in Sinai when getting a replacement copy of the Ten Commandments. Elijah retired to a mountain cave for his theophany. While no specific location is named in the gospels, later tradition chose to identify the “mount of the transfiguration” as Mt Hermon, the highest peak in the Galilee.

    More recently, Mt tabor has been celebrated as the site for the Transfiguration story. The wild taxi ride up the narrow winding road to the summit is almost enough to induce a vision of God in the contemporary pilgrim, but the clam setting at the top of this mountain invites us into reflection and an experience of holy silence.

    The appearance of Moses and Elijah alongside Jesus is a powerful claim to spiritual continuity with the most sacred traditions of ancient Israel. Interestingly, Luke does not follow Mark when he lists Elijah first. This reverses their chronological sequence in the biblical narrative, and flies in the face of later views of the relative significance of Moses and Elijah. However, that may reflect the significance of Elijah as the expected prophet of the End times. In general terms, their presence alongside Jesus speaks to the claim that Jesus was fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.

    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

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

  • Epiphany 4C (3 February 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 71:1-6
    • 1Corinthians 13:1-13
    • Luke 4:21-30

     

    Introduction

    This week’s Gospel continues with Luke’s story of Jesus visiting – and being rejected by – his home town. These notes focus on Nazareth and on the strange failure of Jesus to secure the loyalty of those who knew him best.

    Ancient Nazareth

    Nazareth in 1C Galilee was an insignificant village whose many centuries of existence had left no trace in the public record. Mahlon Smith sums up the situation as follows:

    Tombs & agricultural evidence (silos, cisterns, olive & wine presses) provide concrete evidence that the site was inhabited from the early days of Israelite occupation of the land [12th c. BCE]. But since it had only one spring, the ancient settlement was never large. The 1st c. village, whose population was less than 500, was overshadowed by the fortified town of Japha just one mile south—described by Josephus as the “largest village in Galilee” (Vita 230)—and the city of Sepphoris, just 3.5 miles to the northwest.

    Nazareth itself was not a site of historic or major strategic importance &, thus, did not merit notice in any ancient text apart from the gospel references to it as the place of Jesus’ origin. The earliest non-Christian reference is an inscription discovered in the synagogue of Caesarea Maritima that names Nazareth as one of the places in Galilee where the priestly families of Judea migrated after the Hadrianic war [135 CE]. But Nazareth remained a small Jewish village until the 4th c. CE when Constantine constructed a church that became a center for Christian pilgrimages. It was elevated to the status of city in the 7th c. CE. Since the 17th c. the Franciscans have developed it into the largest Christian center in the land of Israel. Into His Own: Nazareth

    While John P. Meier [A Marginal Jew, 1:280] claims a population of 1,600-2,000 people in the time of Jesus, this seems impossible and most scholars suggest a far lower population. In his article on Nazareth for the Anchor Bible Dictionary, James F. Strange offers the following calculation:

    As inferred from the Herodian tombs in Nazareth, the maximum extent of the Herodian and pre-Herodian village measured about 900 x 200 m, for a total area just under 60 acres. Since most of this was empty space in antiquity, the population would have been a maximum of about 480 at the beginning of the 1st century A.D. (ABD 4,1050-1051)

     

    Other online resources for ancient Nazareth:

     

    In December 2009, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of house in Nazareth dating to the first century. The new finds are in close proximity to other structures located adjacent to and below the Basilica of the Annunciation, as can be seen the the second of the two photographs here.

    Nazareth house aerial.jpg

     

    Nazareth in the New Testament

    There are 29 references to Nazareth in the Bible. They all occur in the NT Gospels. The place of Jesus’ childhood is not mentioned in any other parts of the NT, and it plays no part in the traditions found in the Hebrew Bible.

    • Mark has 5 references to Nazareth: Mark 1:9; 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6
    • Matthew mentions the place 4 times: Matt 2:23; 4:13; 21:11; 26:71
    • John has 5 references to Nazareth: John 1:45,46; 18:5,7; 19:19
    • In Luke-Acts the town is mentioned 15 times: Luke 1:26; 2:4; 2:39; 2:51; 4:16; 4:34; 18:37; 24:19; and Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 10:38; 22:8; 26:9

    These fall into a number of categories:

    Infancy and Childhood

    • When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There [Joseph] made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.” (Matt 2:19-23 NRSV)
    • In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26-27 NRSV)
    • Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. (Luke 2:4 NRSV)
    • When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. (Luke 2:39-40 NRSV)
    • Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51 NRSV)

     

    Jesus in Judea with John the Baptist

    • In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11 NRSV)
    • Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45-46 NRSV)

     

    Galilee Ministry

    • 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, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. (Luke 4:16-17 NRSV)
    • Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt 4:12-17 NRSV)
    • Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “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.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Mark 1:23-25 NRSV) = In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! 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.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Luke 4:33-35 NRSV)
    • As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:46-47 NRSV) = As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:35-38 NRSV)

     

    Last days in Jerusalem

    • When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matt 21:10-11 NRSV)
    • While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” (Mark 14:66 NRSV) = Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” (Matt 26:69-72 NRSV)
    • Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” (John 18:4-8 NRSV)
    • Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19 NRSV)

     

    In the post-Easter traditions of the early Christians

    • As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. (Mark 16:5-6 NRSV)
    • Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. (Luke 24:18-20 NRSV)
    • “You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. (Acts 2:22-23 NRSV)
    • Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” (Acts 3:6 NRSV)
    • Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ (Acts 4:8-11 NRSV)
    • They set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.” (Acts 6:13-14 NRSV)
    • That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10:37-38 NRSV)
    • “While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.’ (Acts 22:6-8 NRSV)
    • “Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. (Acts 26:9-10 NRSV)

    The majority of these references to Nazareth occur as part of the identity formula, “Jesus of Nazareth.” They tell us that Jesus was thought to come from Nazareth, but reveal nothing about the place from which he came. (In contrast, in the references to his birth at Bethlehem the place has a special significance that adds value to the significance of Jesus.)

    Nazareth is given some prominence in Luke’s writings. In part this reflects Luke’s interest in traditions about the childhood of Jesus. As Luke also continues the story beyond Easter, we see this use of Nazareth as an element in the name of Jesus continuing into Acts.

    Interestingly, Paul himself never refers to Jesus in these terms in any of his letters although Luke portrays him doing so in Acts 26:9. This is another of the incidental indications that Luke-Acts was not written by a contemporary of Paul and that the representation of Paul in Acts has little relation to the historical Paul.

     

     

    Jesus rejection by the people of Nazareth

    Luke’s development of this story as the major opening scene in his account of Jesus’ adult activity poses questions about historicity and meaning.

    On one level, there is no reason to doubt that Jesus visited Nazareth from time to time during his public ministry. It is also clear that he seems to have made Capernaum, a fishing village on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, his operational base. Yet this scene seems more like a deliberate creation by Luke designed to match the similar scene in Acts 2, where Peter inaugurates the Christian community with his sermon on the Feast of Pentecost.

    There is one further twist to the story.

    While many ancient cities had a significant escarpment as a feature of their natural defences, Nazareth does not. It was a tiny village clinging to the edge of its one small spring. There was no cliff over which the villagers might throw Jesus. Of course, having never visited the place, Luke was not to know that; just as most of his readers ever since have been unaware of the actual geography of Nazareth.

    We may conclude, then, that the scene is the product of Luke’s imagination rather than a memory of some actual event passed on to him by others.

    At the same time, there are elements of historical reality preserved in this fictional episode.

    Whether or not his village neighbors ever conspired to cast him off their imaginary cliff, it remains true that Jesus seems not to have been welcomed by his own people. This may have been as true of his immediate neighbors (as this tradition suggests) as it was of the nation as a whole (as John 1:10-12 and Acts 28:23-30 each express in very different ways)

    At the core of this story lies the saying about a prophet being honored everywhere except at home. This one-liner has been preserved in several different traditions within 1C Christianity. The Gospel of Thomas, the Synoptics, and John all know this tradition:

    • Thom 31 = POxy1 31
    • Mark 6:4 = Matt 13:57-58
    • Luke 4:24
    • John 4:44

    What Luke may have done is to create a story that puts flesh on the bones of this aphorism. The kernel of story can be seen in Mark’s story of Jesus’ visit to Nazareth, although Luke has given it a distinctive twist in keeping with his desire to present Jesus as a dignified hero to his hellenistic readers:

    Horizontal line synopsis

    Click here for a link to a horizontal line synopsis of this episode

    The toughest of all epiphanies

    Whatever historical realities may be preserved in the fictional episode created by Luke, the story invites us to consider that most demanding of all epiphany sites: the place where we are known too well for any pretence or subterfuge to hide our failings.

    The traditions around Jesus suggest that his immediate family, as well as his townsfolk, did not embrace his vision of the Kingdom that is both coming and already here in our midst. Similarly, the experience of Jesus’ earliest followers was that family conflict could erupt when they became disciples. Converts over the centuries have known that reality all too well.

    In the enthusiasm of a new discovery, such conflict can sometimes be deflected. But this story also speaks of the corrosive effect of that contempt which flows from familiarity. What could those close to us teach us that we do not already know? What pearls of great price do we have to share with those within our own intimate circles? How do we “keep the faith” in the enduring ordinariness of everyday life?

    One of the distinctive features of Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom seems to have been to discern the Holy in the everyday, and especially in the Unclean and the Broken. Despite that — or perhaps because of it — Jesus seems not to have been very good at bringing his closest kin with him on the journey. If the tradition is to be trusted, one of the fruits of his personal faithfulness to the call of God on his life was that his family (eventually) became active participants in the community of faith after his death on the cross.

    Ironically, centuries after his life ended on that cross in Jerusalem, even Nazareth would become “Jesus country.” As Mahlon Smith observed in the extract cited earlier, today it is the largest Christian center in Israel. Despite the majority of this people in this modern city being Muslim, they always elect a Christian mayor. Nazareth is, after all, the hometown of Jesus.

     

     

    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

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

  • Epiphany 3C (27 January 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 and Psalm 19
    • 1Corinthians 12:12-31a
    • Luke 4:14-21

     

    Introduction

    This week sees the lectionary cycle move into the main body of narrative material in Luke for the first time since the Year of St Luke began on Advent Sunday. Until this point, the selection of Gospels has been determined by the seasonal requirements of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. After skipping the story of the Temptation (Luke 4:1-13) so that we can return to it for the First Sunday in Lent, the following portions of Luke will be used in the next few weeks:

    • Epiphany 3 — Luke 4:14-21
    • Epiphany 4 — Luke 4:21-30
    • Epiphany 5 — Luke 5:1-11
    • Epiphany 6 — Luke 6:17-26
    • Epiphany 7 — Luke 6:27-38, or
    • Transfiguration — Luke 9:28-36(37-43)

    Noting the passages selected for use also alerts us to those portions of Luke that are excluded from the lectionary cycle:

    In some cases these are omitted because they duplicate passages used last year (Mark) or the previous year (Matthew). However, some passages are deemed worthy of public reading in more than one of the three annual cycles, while a few passages in each Gospel are never selected for reading.

    Thanks to Jenee Woodard of TextWeek.com and Andee Zetterbaum, we now have the benefit of an Excel spreadsheet with the RCL, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist lectionaries keyed to Bible passages so that we can easily check when a particular Bible passage occurs in the lectionary.

     

    Jesus first day at work

    The four NT Gospels each describe Jesus’ “first day on the job” rather differently.

     

    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, even 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: tekton) 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.

    The following simple questions may be helpful in reading these texts closely:

    • WHO? (note the characters in the story)
    • WHAT? (check the events and the flow of the story)
    • WHERE? (at what locations are the events said to occur?)
    • WHEN? (what times and sequences are involved?)
    • WHY? (what explanations are offered or suggested?)

    It seems reasonable to suggest that Matthew, John and Luke have each chosen to give Jesus a suitably auspicious commencement to his public activity:

    • Matthew elaborates Mark’s simple description with prophetic texts to vaidate a GALILEAN ministry by Jesus, and a ministry (by his followers) to the GENTILES (cf. also the adoration of the foreign Magi in 2:1-12 and the risen Lord sending his disciples to make disciples of all nations in 28:19-20).
    • John develops a series of days during which a wider circle of people gradually become aware of his significance, but locates all this in Judea. John the Baptist testifies to Jesus’ significance. First Andrew and Peter, and then Philip and Nathanael, become disciples of Jesus. Jesus — “the son of Joseph from Nazareth” — is to be recognised on the basis of the divine powers he will display as the Gospel unfolds.
    • Luke provides a formal launch of the Jesus mission in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth. The scene reflects liturgical practices that were doubtless known to the author and his readers, but probably bears little resemblance to any prayer gathering ever held in Nazareth during the life of Jesus. In keeping with Luke’s concern for social propriety in other parts of Luke-Acts, here we see Jesus announcing his mission and invoking the ancient Jewish Scriptures as his warrant. The sceptical audience — as Luke will often show in his extended narrative — turns into an unruly rabble; while the hero (Jesus in this case, but disciples in other places within Luke-Acts) displays classical fortitude and conducts himself with admirable restraint. This is the kind of man Luke’s respectable audience can respect!

     

    Jesus according to Luke

    As the year unfolds Luke’s particular interpretation of Jesus will become increasingly clear, but already we can see some of the outline from the introductory material Luke has used:

    • the infancy narratives
    • 12 year old in the Temple
    • baptism by John
    • temptation/testing by Satan

    Applying the earlier questions to these early chapters of Luke results in the following:

    WHO

    • king Herod of Judea
    • Zechariah (Temple priest) and his wife, Elizabeth
    • John the Baptist
    • Mary, a virgin from Nazareth in Galilee
    • Joseph, the man to whom she was engaged
    • Gabriel, an angel sent by God
    • Emperor Augustus
    • Quirinius, Roman governor of Syria
    • Shepherds and angels
    • Simeon
    • Anna
    • scribes and teachers in the Temple
    • Nazareth townsfolk

    WHAT

    • miraculous conceptions (John then Jesus)
    • prophetic oracles (Song of Zechariah, Song of Mary, Song of Simeon)
    • imperial policies and decrees
    • traditional piety
    • recognition by Jerusalem authorities
    • rejection by hometown mob

    WHERE

    • Temple (made famous by Roman victory in 70 CE)
    • synagogue (one in every major Roman city)
    • Bethlehem
    • Jerusalem
    • Nazareth

    WHEN

    • in the days of King Herod of Judea (37-4 BCE)
    • in reign of Emperor Augustis (27 BCE-14 CE)
    • when Quirinius Publius Sulpicius was governor of Syria (6-9 CE)

    WHY

    • divine providence at work
    • bringing blessings of peace and salvation to those favored by God
    • Jesus revealed as the one on whom God’s Spirit rests

    Assuming Luke-Acts is written some time during the 50 years after 70 CE, how would all these details of character, event, location and timing combine to communicate a particular interpretation of Jesus to Luke’s readers?

    • This Jesus is a Jew, but not a rebel.
    • His birth is marked by impressive signs and oracles.
    • He respects tradition and is no outlaw.
    • He is blessed with the divine Spirit but has no revolutionary intentions.
    • He brings the blessings of God to great and poor alike.
    • He offers hope without apocalyptic fantasy.
    • He generates joy rather than tribal hatreds.
    • He promotes social cohesion rather than chaos.
    • His own people mostly fail to see him for what he is.

    Whether or not this is an accurate description of Jesus between, say, 25 and 30 CE, it is the way that Luke represented Jesus to the Gentiles who were increasingly turning to Christianity in the decades after the devastating war between the Jews and Rome (66-73). This Jesus found a place in the imagination of the Roman world, and would eventually claim Caesar as his disciple as well.

    How do we represent Jesus to our world? Can the Jesus of hymnal and creed still capture the imagination of the 21C person? Do we need latter day Lukes to fashion fresh representations of Jesus for the third millennium? Will they be found inside the churches or only beyond their boundaries?

     

     

    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

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

  • Epiphany 2C (20 January 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Isaiah 62:1-5 & Psalm 36:5-10
    • 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
    • John 2:1-11

    Introduction

    This week many faith communities will be settling into the EPIPHANY season, even if they do not use that language in naming the Sundays between now and Lent. The major Western lectionaries will show little variation through this period.

    The ecumenical significance of this convergence in lectionaries often passes unremarked, but may be worth some reflection this week.

    The following statement affirming the significance of the lectionary in shaping and sustaining a living faith comes from the Theological and Educational Foundations of the Seasons of the Spirit congregational resources:

    The Bible contains meaning and mystery beyond the printed words. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are called to engage continually in biblical exploration in community. We learn from biblical scholarship and value the insights and experiences of people of diverse cultures and life situations and all ages and eras.
    The lectionary provides an organized, holistic exploration of Scripture, linking education and worship and calling us to service. Through the yearly cycle of readings, we are drawn into the story of God’s creation of all things; God’s calling and forming a people; the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; and the witness of the early church in the world.

    Jesus in the Epiphany Cycle, Year C

    During the course of Epiphany, the lectionary invites us to reflect on a selection of Gospel “snapshots” of Jesus. These particular episodes are mostly chosen from the opening chapters of Luke, although this week’s passage will be from John:

    • 1st Sunday after Epiphany: Jesus is Baptized [Luke 3:15-17,21-22]
    • 2nd Sunday after Epiphany: Miraculous Wine at a Wedding in Cana [John 2:1-11]
    • 3rd Sunday after Epiphany: In the Synagogue at Nazareth [Luke 4:14-21]
    • 4th Sunday after Epiphany: Jesus rejected at Nazareth [Luke 4:21-30]
    • 5th Sunday after Epiphany: The Great Catch of Fish [Luke 5:1-11]
    • 6th Sunday after Epiphany: Beatitudes [Luke 6:17-26]
    • 7th Sunday after Epiphany: Love of Enemies [Luke 6:27-38], or
    • Last Sunday after Epiphany: Transfiguration [Luke 9:28-36, (37-43)]

     

    Taken as a set of texts, this makes an interesting bundle of epiphany passages:

    • In what ways are these episodes epiphanic, or revelatory?
    • What do they reveal to us about the meaning of Jesus, at least within the faith of the Gospel writers if not in his own lifetime?
    • And what do these passages reveal about ourselves, and our own capacity to be epiphanies?

    Miraculous wine at a wedding in Cana

    It is fairly easy to see that this miracle story is intended to be understood as an epiphany or revelation of the divine glory of Jesus:

    Jesus attends a wedding in a Galilean village, along with his mother (never called “Mary” in this Gospel although his father is named as “Joseph”) and his disciples.

    • This event is set “on the third day”–a significant pointer to the symbolic nature of the story.
    • Jesus’ mother mentions to him that the wine has run out and, after initially declining to get involved, Jesus issues instructions that solve the dilemma.
    • As the servants pour water into six large stone ritual jars it is miraculously transformed into wine of the highest quality!
    • Everyone is amazed, Jesus’ glory is revealed, and his disciples believed in him.

    John P. Meier devotes 16 pages to this particular miracle story, taking particular care to isolate the Johannine traits to see whether any kernel of historical memory can be identified. According to Meier, the elements in the story that presuppose the larger literary and theological context of John’s Gospel, and therefore suggest the hand of the author rather than some historical memory of an event in the life of Jesus, are as follows:

     

    (1) The opening phrase, “And on the third day …” makes sense only within the larger context of the preceding events in chapter 1 with its clearly marked out days:

    • 1:29 – On the next day …
    • 1:35 – On the next day …
    • 1:43 – On the next day …

    The third of these days included the encounter with Nathanael, during which Jesus promises Nathanael that he will see even greater things including the glorification of the Son of Man. The Cana miracle is then immediately set “also on the third day” (translating kai – “and” – as “also”) and begins the process of revealing the glory of Jesus.

    (2) The references to “the mother of Jesus” reflect both the style and theology of the Gospel’”

    (a) John never refers to Mary by name, even when naming Joseph as Jesus’ father and naming various other women associated with Jesus:

    Indeed, the fact that “his mother” can occur in the same verses in which “his father” and all the other women at the cross are mentioned by name (6:42; 19:25) makes it all but certain that, for whatever theological or symbolic reason, the Fourth Evangelist purposely suppresses the name of Jesus’ mother and refers to her only by a phrase that begins to look like some sort of formula or title. (Marginal Jew, II,938)

    (b) The manner in which Jesus addresses his mother appears to be a literary device:

    … outside of John’s Gospel, it is unheard of in either the OT or the NT that a son should address his biological mother with the unadorned title “woman.” When we put this strange mode of address together with the Evangelist’s avoidance of Mary’s proper name in favor of the formal phrase “the mother of Jesus,” the natural conclusion is that the Evangelist intends to convey some sort of symbolic relationship between Jesus and his mother. (II,938)

    (c) Within GJohn, this combination of “the mother of Jesus” and the address “woman” occur only in this miracle story and at the cross:

    In other words, the Fourth Evangelist has carefully introduced and limited “the mother of Jesus” to two pericopes at the beginning and at the end of Jesus’ public life: the “sign” at Cana marking the beginning of his public ministry and a scene at the cross just before his death. That this positioning seeks more than just literary balance is clear from the theological correspondence between the two scenes. At Cana, the reason why Jesus distances himself and his intention from his mother’s implied request is that “my hour has not yet come.” In John’s Gospel, … “my hour,” “his hour,” “the hour” and “this hour” … regularly refer to Jesus’ “glorification” by his death on the cross (7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17;1). (II,939)

    (3) Consistency with a trait seen in the stories of the miraculous wine at Cana (2:1-11) , the healing of the official’s son (4:46-54) and the raising of Lazarus (11:1-57). Typically GJohn portrays Jesus as possessed of divine omniscience, and able to perform a miracle even before it is requested, However, in these three stories there is at least an implicit request for intervention as the need is brought to the attention of Jesus. Meier continues:

    It is hardly by accident that it is in these three miracle stories that we notice a particular Johannine pattern that safeguards the sovereign initiative and control of Jesus. In each of these three stories:

    • A petitioner makes an implied or explicit request for a miracle.
    • Jesus at first seems to refuse the request .. abruptly and unfeelingly … keeps control of the flow of events and shows that whatever he will do he will do in accordance with the “timetable” and purpose of his mission …
    • The petitioner, being a person who is basically well-disposed to Jesus and open to his challenge of faith, is not put off by the apparent refusal but in one way or another persists in his or her request, thereby implicitly affirming faith in the Jesus who appears to be disappointing the petitioner.
    • In the end, in response to this persistent faith, Jesus does accede to the request, but each time in a more spectacular and amazing way than the petitioner could possibly have imagined. Jesus thus makes it clear that, when he does grant the miraculous favor, he does so on his own terms, at his own time, with a superabundant generosity the petitioner could not have expected, and with a special theological symbolism that far transcends the original intention of the petitioner. (II,940)

    (4) Meier identifies two further aspects of John 2:1-11 that seem “very typical” of the author’s theology, namely the spectacular character (and massive scale) of the miracle, and its highly spiritualized symbolic interpretation:

    • The miracle is spectacular and massive, as are many of Jesus’ miracles in John. They often surpass in sheer quantity and quality equivalent stories in the Synoptics.
    • As usual in John, the physical reality portrayed (in this case, the over-abundant supply of fine wine at a wedding feast) symbolizes a higher, spiritual, eschatological reality.
    • … we also find the related OT image of Yahweh, the true husband of Israel, rejoicing with his bride at the wedding banquet of the end time … conjure up the idea of Jesus the bridegroom coming to claim his bride Israel at a wedding feast. The messianic wedding feast which both Matthew and the Book of Revelation place at the parousia, John sees being realized from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry; this is typical of John’s realized eschatology.
    • The description of the happy but ignorant headwaiter betrays the Evangelist’s hand in another way as well. We are told in v 9 that the headwaiter “did not know whence the water-become wine was” … In John’s theology, Jesus has come down from heaven … (his “whence”) … To know Jesus’ true origins (his “whence”), and hence his divine nature and gift, is equivalent to believing and to having eternal life …

    (5) Finally, Meier notes the significance of the summary statement in v. 11 that identifies this miracle as the “beginning” [arche] of the signs performed by Jesus:

    … this sign is not just the “first” in a purely numerical sense. It is also the beginning–not just in the sense of the culmination of the beginning seen in the gathering of the community of disciples narrated in chap. 1 but also in the sense of the beginning of a series of signs that will spell out in ever greater detail the abundant, overflowing gift of divine life succinctly summarized in this first sign. The first sign is the arche almost in the sense of the archetype of all the signs to come. All those signs will progressively reveal the glory that the Word had with the Father before the world existed (17:5; cf. 12:41), the glory that begins to shine forth in Jesus from the incarnation onward (1:14), the glory that is first revealed to the disciples at Cana (2:11), the glory that shines ever brighter throughout the public ministry with its various signs (e.g., 11:40, in the raising of Lazarus), the glory that leaves behind all signs as it blazes forth in the reality of Jesus’ definitive glorification, his death on the cross (12:23,27-33; 17:1-5), the glory that penetrates the believing community and so makes it one even as the Father and the Son are one (17:22), the glory that the disciples will see fully when they are reunited with Jesus in heaven (17:24).

    Meier wraps up his assessment of the Cana story as follows:

    In short, from start to finish, John 2:1-11 is pervaded with Johannine theological concepts and literary patterns. It fits snugly and functions smoothly within the overarching literary and theological structure of the Gospel. Certainly, the impression one gets is that the pericope seems to be for the most part, if not entirely, the creation of the Evangelist–or, as some would claim, of the Johannine “circle” or “school” whose work he inherited. (II,947)

    In sum, when one adds these historical difficulties to the massive amount of Johannine literary and theological traits permeating the whole story, it is difficult to identify any “historical kernel” or “core event” that might have a claim to go back to the historical Jesus. Put another way: if we subtract from the eleven verses of the first Cana miracle every element that is likely to have come from the creative mind of John or his Johannine “school” and every element that raises historical problems, the entire pericope vanishes before our eyes. Many critics would assign the origin of the story to the Johannine “school” or “circle” lying behind the Gospel. I prefer the view that the story is a creation of the Evangelist himself, using a number of traditional themes. (II,949)

    Metaphor and Truth

    As a story about Jesus that seems to have no basis in history, the miracle at Cana raises the question of history and metaphor as ways to communicate truth. This is an issue that Marcus Borg has addressed in his book, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time:

    A metaphorical approach to the Bible … emphasizes seeing, not believing. The point is not believe in a metaphor, but to see in light of it. (Reading the Bible Again, 41)

    Borg distinguishes between narratives that metaphorize history, and purely metaphorical narratives. The former combine both history and metaphor:

    A historical event lies behind the story, but the way the story is told gives the narrative a metaphorical meaning. (45)

    However, a purely metaphorical narrative has no basis in history:

    No particular event lies behind them. Rather, the stories as a whole are metaphorical or symbolic. (46)

    Borg identifies two factors that affect the decision to see a story as purely metaphorical:

    The first centers on elements within the story itself. Does the story look as if it is reporting something that happened, or are there signs within the story suggesting that it is to be read symbolically? … The second factor involves a judgment about what I call “the limits of the spectacular.”

    Borg expands on the question of the miraculous in biblical stories:

    … the question whether there are “limits to the spectacular” asks, “Are there some things that never happen anywhere?” As we think about that question, it is important not to draw the limits too narrowly, as the worldview of modernity does. More things are possible, and more things happen, than the modern worldview allows. For example, I think that Jesus really did perform paranormal healings and that they cannot simply be explained in psychosomatic terms. I am even willing to consider that spectacular phenomena such as levitation perhaps happen. But do virgin births, multiplying loaves and fish, and changing water into wine ever happen anywhere? If I became persuaded that they do, then I would entertain the possibility that the stories about Jesus reporting such events also contain history remembered. But what I cannot do as a historian is to say that Jesus could do such things even though nobody else has ever been able to. Thus I regard these as purely metaphorical stories. (47)

    Borg directly addresses the Cana miracle, treating it as “Jesus’ inaugural scene” in GJohn:

    The text reports a miracle, of course: the transformation of a large quantity of water (122 to 180 gallons) into wine. But if we focus on the event’s “happenedness,” we easily become distracted and miss the point. We then wonder if such a thing could really happen; and if we think it could and did, we may then marvel about what Jesus did on a particular day in the past. But the meaning of this story does not depend on its “happenedness.” Instead, it is a “sign,” as John puts it. Signs point beyond themselves; to use a play on words, they sign-ify something, and what they signify is their significance.
    So what is the meaning of this story as a “sign”? What is its significance? A number of its details have caught the attention of scholars: the odd exchange between Jesus and his mother; the detail that the water was “for the Jewish rites of purification”; the anticipation of Jesus’ death. Though these details matter, they should not divert attention from the primary symbolic feature of the text: a wedding banquet.
    Wedding banquets were the most festive occasions in the world of first-century Palestine, especially in the peasant class (and Cana was a peasant village). Wedding banquets commonly lasted seven days. They featured dancing, wine, and vast quantities of food. The normal peasant diet was meager: grains, vegetables, fruit, olives, eggs, and an occasional fish. Meat and poultry were infrequently eaten, since people were reluctant to kill the few animals they had. But at a wedding banquet, there were copious amounts of food of all kinds.
    Given the above, what is this text–which John places as the inaugural scene of Jesus’ public activity –saying? What is Jesus about? What is the gospel–the good news–of Jesus about? John’s answer: it is about a wedding banquet at which the wine never runs out and the best is saved for last.
    To this metaphorical meaning of a wedding banquet can be added historical associations of banquet and wedding imagery in Jewish and early Christian traditions. In Judaism, a banquet was a frequent symbol for the messianic age. Marriage was also used as a metaphor for the relationship between God and Israel. In the New Testament, Jesus is sometimes spoken of as the bridegroom and the community of his followers as the bride. The book of Revelation refers to “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Jesus) and ends with a vision of the New Jerusalem descending from the sky “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” A wedding could thus symbolize the intimacy of the divine-human relationship and the marriage between heaven and earth. It is a common mystical symbol, and John is the most mystical gospel.
    Did John intend to build all of these meanings into his inaugural scene? There is no way of knowing. But it is the nature of metaphorical language to convey more meanings than the author intended. In any case, it is clear what John is saying: the story of Jesus is about a wedding banquet at which the wine never runs out. (204f)

     

     

    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

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

  • An (un)Common Book of Hours

    Peter Watkins has edited a set of reflections based around the weekday and Sunday readings from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).

    An (un)Common Book of Hours is available only as a digital text (eBook) and can be purchased online at Smashwords for just US$4.99.

     

    The editor reflects on the project in his Preface:

    My motivation for this booklet was to compile a set of reflections and prayers drawn from a group of Christians which reflects, to what seems to me, the great diversity which exists within Christianity, something that is not often acknowledged nor sufficiently celebrated. This represents the “(un)” component of the title. The “Common” is derived from the use of the Daily Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), a three year table of readings from the Bible which is in widespread use around the world (see commontexts.org for further details on the RCL) and thus is common to many of those who offer homilies each week, and the “Book of Hours” refers to the devotional content of this booklet.

    Recruitment of the contributors to this project was by invitation. Some of the contributors I have known for quite some time while, for others, this represent the first time that I have had contact but I hope that this will continue beyond the scope of this booklet. In order to participate, each contributor was sent a copy of the outline which forms the framework for each daily devotional, and a set of readings for each day Lent. Each person was asked to provide a reflection (around 500 words) as well as a prayer that relates to both the reflection and the set of readings. The result of their endeavours is what you will be reading for Lent. When I first envisaged this booklet, I anticipated that, with such a diverse group of contributors, a wide range of voices would be heard. However, with the arrival of each contribution, I found quite the opposite; there seemed not be a multitude of voices but rather only One.

    As one of the invited contributors (responsible for the Third Sunday of Lent as well as Tuesday in Holy Week), I want to congratulate Peter on pulling this project together and thank him for his trust in our collected glimpses of sacred wisdom.

    If the volume is well-received further sets of reflections for other seasons of the Christian year will be planned.

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