Patrick Comerford
Sunday next, 30 September 2018, is the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVIII), with the liturgical provisions are for Proper 21.
The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland are:
Continuous Readings: Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10, 9: 20-22; Psalm 124; James 5: 13-20; Mark 9: 38-50.
Paired readings: Numbers 11: 4-6,10-16, 24-29; Psalm 19: 7-14; James 5: 13-20; Mark 9: 38-50.
There is a link to the readings HERE.
Introducing the readings:
Some years ago, when I was discussing the readings for next Sunday with a colleague, I jested that I was going to preach from a phrase in the Epistle reading that reminds us: ‘Elijah ... prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth’ (James 5: 17).
After the mixed summer we have had in Ireland this year, it is fine to make childish jokes about passages like this in Scripture. Indeed, the Old Testament reading, despite its tragic background, is part of a book that creates entertaining and rowdy occasions in synagogues to this day.
But there is a more serious context to this reading, and both the Old Testament reading and the Gospel reading are serious warnings against the consequences of plotting and scheming that could destroy the innocence of children and the quality of life in wider society.
Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10, 9: 20-22:
The Old Testament reading is one that creates entertaining and rowdy occasions in synagogues to this day.
As the story of Esther is read at the festival of Purim, which usually falls in March [28 February to 1 March 2018, 20 to 21 March 2019], a month before Passover, the synagogue is crowded with men, women, and children, the adults wearing their best Sabbath clothes, and many children, and some adults too, dressed up in colourful costumes, funny beards and masks.
Children in particular enjoy dressing up as the characters in the Book of Esther, including King Xerxes, the banished queen Vashti, Queen Esther, her cousin Mordecai and the evil, scheming Haman.
In some communities, they still burn an effigy of Haman. So for Jewish communities , Purim is like Hallowe’en, Carnival, Mardi Gras and Guy Fawkes Night ... all rolled into one, and usually focussed on children.
Purim and Hanukkah are two Jewish festivals that are not prescribed in Mosaic law. Indeed, the Megillah or Scroll of Esther is the only book in the Bible not to mention God’s name. It tells the story of the villain Haman who plots the genocide of the Jews in Persia.
Whenever his name is mentioned during the reading, everyone in the synagogue boos and hisses and stamps their feet, and they make a racket with graggers or rattles and cymbals.
The purpose of all this fun is to blot out the name of Haman. Originally, when his name was read, the congregation would shout ‘Cursed be Haman,’ or ‘May the name of the wicked rot!’
Any noise will do, and it is a mitzvah that Jewish people should eat, drink and be merry at Purim. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until they cannot tell the difference between ‘Cursed be Haman’ and ‘Blessed be Mordecai’ ... although opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is.
In Sunday’s reading, we can tell the difference, for we have the end of the story: Haman the villain is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai, and Mordecai is given Haman’s job.
This story of Xerxes and Esther, Mordecai and Haman, is not relevant for Jews alone today. It is a story that reminds us constantly, with or without reference to God, that there are always people who plan and plot evil on a grand scale, happy to wallow in the misery and deaths of millions, men, women and children.
The fate of Haman – and of the 70,000 Persians over the course of three days – may seem severe and unconscionable by today’s standards. But it is not their executions, but rather the plots they planned to execute that faithful Jews are asked to call to mind at Purim.
For those with young children, trying to protect them from stories of evil and genocide is fraught with difficulties, and trying to fill their lives with appropriate but fun-filled and joyous occasions is not possible to sustain.
But while Haman and Hitler planned and plotted on a grand scale, there are always people who plot and plan evil and the destruction of innocence on varying scales of intensity and application. And we would be naïve to ever underestimate the capacity of people to do evil, nor ever undervalue the importance of our contribution to protecting the vulnerable, the frightened and the victimised children in our society today.
When we realise that we have been saved from disasters or from our enemies, then it is not only a matter for celebrating among ourselves. When sorrow has been turned into gladness and mourning into a holiday, we should not only feast and celebrated among ourselves but also mark these as ‘days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor’ (Esther 9: 22).
Psalm 124:
I sometimes wonder how the story in the Book of Esther was read by Jews during the horrors of the Holocaust, how they could possibly have sung the words of the Psalm for next Sunday:
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
– let Israel now say –
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us ... – (Psalm 124: 1-3)
But the story of Esther is a reminder that even when God’s name is not mentioned or invoked, God can act through political decision-making to protect the rights of the vulnerable, the abused and the violated. For, as the Psalmist says, and as we – and all children – should be able to sing:
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124: 8)
James 5: 13-20:
On Sunday, we come to the end of a series of readings from the Letter of Saint James. This conclusion to the letter may have been a sermon originally. Here, the author discusses prayer extensively. Whether we suffer or are cheerful, we must pray.
When people are seriously ill, we should call on those authority in the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. The word πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros), translated as elder, is the Greek word that provides the words priest and presbyter in English.
Anointing with prayer connects physical health with spiritual health.
Sins should be mutually confessed, to attain integrity with God. We should pray for one another, for prayer is powerful and effective. The prayer of Elijah is an example of effective prayer.
We should prayer for one another, and help to rescue others from their sins.
Mark 9: 38-50:
In preparing the Gospel reading for next Sunday (Mark 9: 38-50), we should note that verses 44 and 46 are omitted in most translations. This is not an error in publication, but because these are identical to verse 48, and are not found in the best ancient authorities.
To put the story in its context or setting, Christ and the disciples are in Capernaum. But on the way there, as we heard in the previous Sunday’s reading (Mark 9: 30-37), the disciples were arguing with one another about who is the greatest. Christ has told them not to seek position or prestige.
One of the Twelve, John, complains that someone who is not part of their inner circle has been casting out demons in Christ’s name. But did the disciples welcome him? Did they praise him for bringing comfort to distressed people and for restoring them to a good quality of life?
Christ now rebukes the disciples for attempting to stop this exorcist who is curing in his name. Just as the Book of Esther makes no mention of God, yet the story can be introduce the ways in which God works, we are reminded here that God can work through those who are not followers of Christ.
On the other hand, Christ warns us against putting an obstacle or stumbling block in the way of ‘little ones.’ He reprimands the disciples for being smug and jealous and unwelcoming.
Instead of being smug among themselves, arguing about who among them was the greatest, the disciples should have been like this man, bringing comfort to those who were in trouble, looking after those who were thirsty both physically and spiritually.
I once worked as a journalist in The Irish Times. A former colleague there, who was ordained a priest in the Church of Ireland a few years before me, was visiting our house one evening. I asked him what the difference was between the two – being a journalist and being a priest.
And with a grin he told me: ‘Not much. I continue to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.’
Perhaps not in so many words, but in Sunday’s Gospel reading Christ tells the disciples that they should be afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.
More than 68.5 million people fled war or persecution last year, a new record, according to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Of those, 25.4 million people were refugees, 52% of them children, according to UNHCR’s Global Trends Report.
The present civil war in Yemen has been dubbed ‘the forgotten war.’ Meritexell Relano of the UN children’s agency, Unicef, says ‘the conflict has made Yemen a living hell for its children.’
She says more than 11 million children are threatened by food shortages, disease, displacement and access to essential social services. ‘An estimated 1.8 million children are malnourished in the country – nearly 400,000 severely malnourished and they are fighting for their lives every day.’
In Ireland today, how many children live hopeless lives with their parents in what we still call ‘direct provisions’? How many children sleep in temporary and often cramped accommodation in hotel rooms and hostels, not knowing how long they are going to be there, when they are going to be moved, and how long the journey to school is going to be next week?
In the past week, The Irish Times has reported the number of children kept in ‘wholly unsuitable’ conditions at ‘direct provision’ centres in Ireland has risen by more than a third over the past three years. These latest figures show 1,547 children are being held at 34 direct provision centres in 17 counties as their parents await the outcome of their applications for asylum.
That figure is up 37 per cent from 1,131 children in 2016. That number rose again last year to 1,420 children. The majority of the children are from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Albania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The children’s charity Barnardos says the system is diminishing the lives of children confined to the centre. ‘Simply put, the direct provision system is no place for children and the longer a child spends in this system the more their well-being and development will be hindered, said Jean Tinsley, head of advocacy for Barnardos.
Meanwhile, a report published by the Child Care Law Protecting Project highlights the difficulties in finding suitable places for disturbed children and young people and how these difficulties continue to take up the time of the courts. In one case, a nine-year-old boy had placement moves in 13 days.
A judge in one of these cases remarked this ‘is not the social worker’s fault, it is not the guardian ad litem’s fault, and it is most certainly not [the child’s] fault.’
On the same day, a consultant paediatric psychiatrist spoke at an Oireachtas committee hearing about an ongoing crisis in psychiatric services for children as current inpatient and outpatient facilities are not ‘fit for purpose.’
All children in these situations and these dilemmas are innocent. There is no such thing as a child being the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. All children should feel safe, in all places, at all times.
But we need to move from Victorian Sunday School images of the children being brought to Jesus, and ask how he would hear the voices of children today and how he would respond to those who plot to do them harm.
Would Christ challenge us to hear the cries of children in the slums, in the sweat shops, in the brothels, to hear the cries of children behind the bedroom doors of respectability?
Would he ‘name and shame’ the Hamans of today who plot the end of a child’s childhood, taking away his innocence, her fun, their rights to love and life?
Mark 9: 38-50 (NRSV):
38 John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ 39 But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
42 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
49 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical Colour: Green.
The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God:
Increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
All praise and thanks, O Christ,
for this sacred banquet,
in which by faith we receive you,
the memory of your passion is renewed,
our lives are filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory given,
to feast at that table where you reign
with all your saints for ever.
Suggested Hymns:
The hymns suggested for next Sunday in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling, include:
Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10, 9: 20-22:
537, O God, our help in ages past
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
372, Through all the changing scenes of life
Psalm 124:
642, Amazing grace (how sweet the sound!)
553, Jesu, lover of my soul
537, O God, our help in ages past
Numbers 11: 4-6, 10-16, 24-29:
381, God has spoken – by his prophets
304, Loving Spirit, loving Spirit
386, Spirit of God, unseen as the wind
Psalm 19: 7-14:
606, As the deer pants for the water
631, God be in my head
696, God, we praise you! God, we bless you!
616, In my life, Lord, be glorified
384, Lord, thy word abideth
432, Love is his word, love is his way
638, O for a heart to praise my God
James 5: 13-20:
511, Father of mercy, God of consolation
614, Great Shepherd of your people, hear
635, Lord, be my guardian and my guide
619, Lord, teach us how to pray aright
513, O Christ, the Healer, we have come
625, Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire
369, Songs of praise the angels sang
Mark 9: 38-50:
643, Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
455, Go forth for God; go forth to the world in peace
507, Put peace into each other’s hands
527, Son of God, eternal Saviour
446, Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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