Readings for October 2, 2011

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 and Psalm 19 • Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80:7-15 • Philippians 3:4b-14 • Matthew 21:33-46

Exodus 20:1-4,7-9,12-20
The giving of the Ten Commandments marks the starting point of Israel as a self-defining community. They form a covenant between God and Israel but, unlike God's agreements with Noah and Abraham, here both parties have a stake in it, and either can break it.

The Israelites have arrived at Mount Sinai. They clean themselves physically and ritually.Moses and Aaron who ascend the mountain. God speaks to all, to the whole community. God enters into a pact : “you shall be for me a ... holy nation” (19:6). They are to have “no other gods before [or beside] me” (v. 3). In the ancient Near East, people commonly encountered gods in sculpted images, but the Israelites are not to do this (v. 4), because God is different: he demands loyalty to him alone (v. 5); he punishes for a long time those who intentionally reject him, but rewards with compassion those who love him and follow his ways. Those who use God’s name for a false or evil purpose (e.g. for casting spells, doing magic) will not be acquitted (v. 7) or held harmless. Each week, time is to be reserved for praying to, and worshipping, God. The Israelites must honour older people; doing so will contribute to their own longevity. Then v. 13-17: life, marriage and property are sacred. Testifying falsely against another (or even spreading innuendos) is prohibited. Even coveting, desiring greatly, the possessions of others is prohibited. This scene of God’s presence among humans ends as it began (in 19:16-19) with “thunder and lightning” (v. 18), trumpet blasts and “the mountain smoking”. There being no evidence of vulcanism on the Sinai Peninsula, scholars think the description is poetic rather than literal: perhaps of a mountain storm in which God is present. In 19:2-25 God has appointed Moses as intermediary; in v. 19, the people accept Moses’ role.

For reflection:

A number of people have published alternative versions of the 10 Commandments. Are their commandments that puzzle you? Would you add to the list?

Some commentators, like Bill Maher have criticized these rules because the first few don`t have anything to do about morality or ethics. They are just ``about God. `` Why are those first commandments included then?

The Commandments are not a set of rules, they are a covenant agreement. They define a relationship. What kind of relationship is this?

What are other important rules do we find in Scripture?

Psalm 19
In the cosmology of the Israelites, the “firmament” was a giant bowl over the earth, beyond which was a hierarchy of “heavens”. God’s glory is told “day” (v. 2) and “night”, yet silently (v. 3a), to all people. God has created the sun as his agent (v. 5); it rises early in the morning, as does the “bridegroom” from his night’s rest, traverses from one edge of the heavens to the other, making God’s presence known with its “heat” (v. 6). Vv. 7-9 present the wonders of the law, as an expression of God’s will for Israel. Here we find synonyms for the Law, characteristics of it, and its benefits for humankind, e.g. it makes”wise the simple”, those immature in understanding and judgement. It warns the psalmist (“servant”, v. 11). If he accidentally breaks it (“hidden faults”, v. 12), may God forgive him. May God protect him from those who intentionally go against God’s ways (“the insolent”, v. 13), lest he be influenced into sinning intentionally (“great transgression”). May his words and his thoughts be acceptable to God, who restores him.(v. 14).

For reflection:

This imagery of the sun "like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy", this personification of the sun draws to my mind Greek/Roman mythology, and no doubt made contemporaries of the psalmist think of similar images of sun-gods in other religions. The difference? Here the sun is put into place by God, not a god in itself.

God is more than gold, sweeter than honey. A simple message - but this reminds us of things we put too often before God in our lives. What do we put before God? What does our society value more than anything?

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations..." This verse is often used by clergy before they begin preaching. As one commentator has written: "I like this verse, but if there's a way to use a Bible verse too much to the point of over doing, this one makes it on my personal list!" Are their other passages that are misused, over used, such that they know are hard to really hear?




Philippians 3:4b-14
In the early church, there were tensions as Gentiles joined what had been a predominantly Jewish community. Now do the Jewish customs and rules apply to non-Jewish converts? Paul has warned his readers about those who try to convince them that being a Christian requires acceptance of Jewish law, including circumcision. True circumcision is of the heart – and not of the “flesh”, i.e. following legal precepts, as in Judaism. Inner circumcision is what is required of us.

He cites his own experience as an example. In early life, he was as true to Judaism as anyone could be: he was circumcised; he is from the elite tribe (“Benjamin”, v. 5), as Jewish as one can be (“a Hebrew born of Hebrews”); like other Pharisees, he knew the Law well and applied it in daily life. He zealously persecuted Christians and faultlessly kept the Law. And yet, knowing Christ has made him realize that a Jewish, law-based, approach to God is a “loss” (vv. 7-8) for Christians: it obstructs God’s free gift of love. True “righteousness” (v. 9) comes through “faith in Christ”, not self-assessment of godliness, per legal precepts. He has cast aside all his Jewishness in order to realize the gain Christ offers (v. 8).

He wants to “know Christ” (v. 10) as risen and living. This involves attaining oneness with him through sharing his sufferings and participating in his death. Out of this, he will come to know “the power of his resurrection”. He is still working on understanding Christ completely (v. 12), an obligation he has for Christ has chosen him (“made me his own”). He has made progress not on his own, but through God’s grace (v. 13); however he has left his past behind and eagerly seeks what lies ahead. As the winner in a Greek foot race was called up to receive his “prize” (v. 14), so he seeks God’s call to share in eternal life. (“Heavenly” is literally upward.)

For reflection:

A faithful Jew all his life, Paul says his faith identity would give him reason to boast except that now, in Christ, these things are "regard[ed] as loss]." Why? These things simply aren't important in Christ: in Christ there is no Greek or Jew. Paul is struggling to integrate new people with new customs and world views into the church .Who do we struggle to include? What barriers do we erect that we should move aside so that others can enter? What rules no longer need apply?

"Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." It isn't easy to forget the past. Indeed, it is not always wise either. But what Paul urges here is to forget the identity that was without Christ, so that we can focus on 'the prize' of living fully in Christ in the present/future. What parts of our past should we forget? What do we need to hang on to... ?


Matthew 21:33-46
The Sanhedrin members who first heard this parable would recall Isaiah 5:1-7, where God tells what will happen to his unfruitful “vineyard”, “the house of Israel, and the people of Judah”. In vv. 33-39, Jesus tells the parable: the landowner plants the vineyard, leases it out, and leaves. At harvest time, he sends successive sets of slaves “to collect his produce”; all are mistreated. When he sends his son, he is killed. If a landowner died without an heir, the land passed to the first claimant, so by killing the son (presumably the only one), the tenants become landowners. Jesus’ hearers answer his question: the first tenants will suffer “a miserable death” (v. 41) and other tenants will be found who will deliver.

Here, the landowner stands for God, the first tenants for Israel’s leaders, and the time the landowner is away for their period of stewardship of God’s chosen people. So the second tenants are replacements for Israel, probably those who follow Christ. Is Jesus “the son” (v. 38, Aramaic: ben) and the “stone” (v. 42, ‘eben)? Then v. 43: to oppose God will be disastrous; his patience will be exhausted. The leaders of Israel recognize his reference to Isaiah; were it not that Jesus was widely accepted as God’s “prophet” (v. 46), they would have arrested him.


For reflection:

Jesus is saying: God will find tenants who will produce. Do we want to be tenants? What will we produce for the landowner? If we produce nothing, why would that landowner want us to stay as tenants?

The Pharisees get that Jesus is talking about them, but remain immobilized. Do you ever feel that way? The scriptures you know are calling you to accountability, and yet you still do not act. Where does the church remain immobilized