Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday, 14 July 2019, is the Fourth Sunday after Trinity
The appointed readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for Proper 9 (Year C), as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland are in two groups.
The readings:
Continuous readings: Amos 7: 7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1: 1-14; Luke 10: 25-37.
Paired readings: Deuteronomy 30: 9-14; Psalm 25: 1-9; Colossians 1: 1–14; Luke 10: 25-37.
There is a link to the continuous readings HERE.
There is a link to the paired readings HERE.
Introducing the readings:
Next Sunday’s readings link faith with action. For the people who are at the centre of the prophecies of Amos, their worship has been diverted from the one true God, and this is reflected in how they oppress those who live among them.
For the Psalmist, God’s universal reign is established with the suppression of idolatry and brings the promise of universal justice.
The Colossian Church is reminded of the centrality of faith, hope and love, and is invited to move from darkness into the light of Christ.
The Gospel reading may be so familiar to many of us, that it may be difficult to find fresh ways of speaking about the Good Samaritan next Sunday. Bearing this in mid, the commentary on the Gospel reading is divided into three parts: first, a commentary of the discussion between Jesus and the lawyer of the two great commandments; secondly, an examination the Parable of the Good Samaritan; and finally, an alternative way of looking at this parable from another tradition.
This combination of Saint Paul’s faith, hope and love and the law’s heart soul and might also offer an interesting opportunity for creative approaches to these readings next Sunday.
Amos 7: 7-17:
We have just completed a set of readings on the life of Elijah and Elisha, and now have a short set of readings from the prophets Amos, Hosea and Isaiah before beginning a longer series of readings from the Prophet Jeremiah.
The reign of King Jeroboam II (786-746 BC) introduced a period of prosperity for the northern kingdom, Israel. However, social and religious corruption were rife, and many people were materialistic and worshipped other gods.
Amos was a herdsman and a fruit farmer or ‘dresser of sycamore trees.’ He was born in Tekoa, in the hill country in northern Judah, and probably owned land in the Jordan valley where sycamores flourished. Palestinian sycamores bear fruit like figs, and they need to be dressed or punctured to make the fruit edible. God calls Amos to leave behind his prosperity and to warn the north about the impending doom that is a consequence of their waywardness.
This reading opens with Amos having visions of two potential catastrophes: locusts devouring the crops, and of fire consuming the whole of creation.
In his response to these visions, Amos pleads with God on behalf of the people, pointing out that Israel is weak and helpless. God listens and cancels his plans. But when Israel is tested in another vision, like a wall with a plumb line, it fails to measure up. Amos makes no plea against divine judgment. God will no longer ignore the errant ways of the people, and will destroy both the high places, or mountain-top altars where they worship false gods, and the sanctuaries dedicated to him. The neighbouring Assyrians will end Jeroboam’s line with the sword.
Bethel was the principal northern shrine to God, and Amaziah was the royal priest there. Before the king, Amaziah accuses Amos of treason and of upsetting the civil order. He quotes Amos out of context and seeks to banish him to Judah.
Amos retorts that he is not a professional prophet, paid to say what the king wishes to hear, but one called by God. Because Amaziah has contradicted God’s orders, Israel will be invaded, there will be rape, slaughter of innocents, and plunder, and even Amaziah the priest will be exiled and die in ‘unclean land.’
Psalm 82:
Psalm 82 is described as ‘a psalm of Asaph.’ Asaph was appointed by David to share in leading worship, and he sang at the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon.
In a vision, the psalmist sees God as a member of the council of gods. God accuses these other ‘gods’ of favouring the wicked over the weak and the needy. They are ignorant of the ways of the one true God and walk in darkness.
Their failure to be just rocks the foundations of the world. They may be seen as ‘gods,’ but they are not and they will die.
In verse 8, which may have been sung in the Temple by the congregation in response, acclaims God as the only true, universal ruler of the earth.
Colossians 1: 1-14:
For four successive Sundays, we are reading from the Letter to the Colossians, the twelfth book in the New Testament, and on the following Sunday the reading includes the great Christological hymn in this letter (1: 15-20).
The Letter to the Colossians was written (see 1: 1, 23 and 4: 8) by the Apostle Paul and his companion, Saint Timothy to the Church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea, about 160 km from Ephesus in Asia Minor.
All Saint Paul’s letters, apart from Romans, have multiple senders, with Timothy named among all of these, apart from Galatians. This letter may have been written by Saint Paul in prison in Rome or in Philippi, although many scholars suggest it was written from Caesarea or Ephesus. If Saint Paul was the author, he may have used an assistant or secretary, in writing the letter (see Colossians 4: 18), possibly Saint Timothy.
However, scholars Increasingly question Saint Paul’s authorship and attribute the letter to an early follower, although the authenticity of the letter remains, and date it ca 80 CE.
The phrase ‘forgiveness of sins’ (verse 14) occurs only in the letters to the Ephesians and Colossians and not in letters whose Pauline authorship has been generally accepted.
Colossae is in the same region as the seven churches of the Book of Revelation. There is reference in this letter to local Christians in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. Colossae was about 19 km from Laodicea and 23 km from Hierapolis, and it was destroyed by an earthquake in the year 60 CE. The buried ruins of Colossae are 3 km north of Honaz, known in Hellenistic times as Chonai (Χῶναι). The Byzantine poet Manuel Philes from Ephesus incorrectly thought the name Colossae was connected to the Colossus of Rhodes.
The Church in Colossae was probably founded by Epaphras (1: 7). People in the Church in Colossae may have been incorporating some Jewish rituals and Greek or pagan elements into their practice, including worship of angels or spirits. This letter declares Christ’s supremacy over the entire created universe and calls on Christians to lead godly lives.
The letter is in two parts: first a doctrinal section, then a second regarding conduct. Those who argue that the impetus of the letter was a growing heresy in the Church see both sections of the letter as opposing false teachers who have been spreading error in the congregation. Others see both sections of the letter as primarily encouragement to a developing church
The letter begins in typical Greek style, with the names of the senders and the recipients, and then a prayer for thanksgiving.
The writer then reminds readers that they are part of the larger church, and that the three virtues of faith (verse 4), love (verse 4) and hope (verse 5) are steps in their becoming part of the Church is growing in the whole world (verse 6).
Their particular community first learned from Paul’s disciple, Epaphras, who has spoken to Paul about them.
Verses 9-14, now presented as one paragraph in the NRSV, is one single sentence in the Biblical Greek and a prayer for spiritual wisdom. Here the writer proclaims that he and his companions have not ceased praying, asking on behalf of, and giving thanks for – perhaps naming in the Eucharist – the Colossian Christians.
In contrast to the gnostic teachings that may have been subverting their faith, the writer or writers pray for spiritual wisdom and offer practical knowledge that is born of the experience of Christ who has rescued us from darkness and brought us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Luke 10: 25-37:
Over the past few Sundays, we have seen Christ and the disciples have set out on two separate missions ahead of him on the road to Jerusalem (see Luke 9: 51-56; and Luke 9: 57-62).
Christ has given the disciples advice on how to introduce people to his message and how to respond to those who reject it.
They are about to travel through a Samaritan area, when a lawyer, a man who is an expert in the Mosaic law or halakha, approaches Christ with an interesting question, has the question turned back on him, and when he asks yet another question, the response comes in one of the best-known parables in the this Gospel, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Part 1 (Luke 10: 25-28): The Good Samaritan
When the lawyer approaches Jesus, his question is not about the law. Instead, he asks respectfully: ‘Teacher (rabbi), what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
Christ does not answer directly, but instead asks a pair of questions: ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’
The lawyer answers with two citations from the Law, one from the Book Deuteronomy and a second from the Book Leviticus.
The first command is: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might’ (Deuteronomy 6: 5). This verse follows immediately after the Shema, the basic, fundamental prayer of Judaism, recited constantly and twice daily. The response to hearing God’s word and believing in God is to love God.
The Jewish theologian, Professor Michael Fishbane of the University of Chicago, says this great exhortation is at the heart of the Hebrew Bible. In The Kiss of God (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1996), he adds: ‘These words are also at the heart of Judaism and constitute its religious ideal’ (p 3).
In Jewish tradition, the word love stipulates loyalty and covenantal relationship. Each of these loves demands all: all my heart, all my soul and all my might. There is a progression here, moving from my heart or mind, to expanding to my soul or life force, and culminating in my might or locus of energy.
But the lawyer interpolates or enhances this verse, quoting it as: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.’
The addition ‘with all your mind’ (ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, en ole te dianoia sou) is significant. Fishbane believes this is undoubtedly a lost midrashic reading of me’odekha (‘your might’) as mada‘akha (‘your mind’).
The mediaeval Jewish philosopher and theologian Maimonides describes a kenosis or self-emptying in prayer focused on the Shema that sets the mind on the course of loving God with all one’s heart (mind), soul and might. After this discipline is perfected, one is properly prepared to attend to things pertaining to the world.
So, it is consonant with Jewish tradition that the lawyer then moves to citing as the second command: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (Leviticus 19: 18). Rabbi Avika, who lived at the end of the first and beginning of the second century CE, in the midrashic commentary or Sifre on Leviticus, refers to this command as ‘the greatest principle in the Law.’
Christ then echoes a verse in the Law: ‘You have given the right answer; do this and you will live’ (verse 28). Compare this with: ‘You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing this one shall live: I am the Lord’ (Leviticus 18: 5).
The promise of life comes not through inheritance or deeds, but through love – love of God, and love of neighbour.
Part 2 (Luke 10: 29-37): The Good Samaritan, or the Good Neighbour
The lawyer then goes on to ask: ‘And who is my neighbour?’ (verse 29).
Their journey to Jerusalem is going to take Jesus and his disciples through Jericho (see Luke 19: 1) and through Bethany (see Luke 19; 29), so they are aware of the dangers they face ahead – the dangerous cost of travelling that road, where so often travellers and pilgrims have been mugged. The road between Jerusalem and Jericho was fraught with danger.
Normally, we think we should identify with the Samaritan in this story. But the first listeners would have identified with the man who was on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. But everyone listening would have identified with the poor man who had been mugged, from the beginning of the story. Many pious Jews would know someone who had been mugged on this road, a close friend, a member of their own family, maybe it even happened once to themselves.
And they would have known that a priest passing by would have had to walk on the other side of the road (verse 31).
After all, this man had been left ‘half dead’ (verse 30). If a priest touched a corpse, he became ritually unclean. He would have become ritually unclean. He could no longer provide the service in the Temple that was the whole purpose of being on that road. Even if the man is half dead, the priest would have been contaminated by touching his blood. And what if the man died in the process?
In Judaism, a Cohen (כהן), a descendant of Aaron the High Priest, may not come in contact with any dead body, may not enter a building where a dead body of a Jew lays, and outdoors is forbidden to come within four cubits of a Jewish corpse or a Jewish grave. A Cohen is commanded to be in a state of purity and avoid ritual defilement by a corpse, which is ritually unclean (Leviticus 21: 1-2). Cohanim (כהנים) do not take part in a burial unless it is one of their closest relatives.
Ritual impurity was also brought about by contact with a significant amount of blood. So, everyone listening would have realised the priest was behaving properly, impeccably. He had a higher duty, he had no right to contaminate himself wilfully, or to deprive the Temple of his service and his family of their source of income.
So too with the Levite. Should he find himself contaminated ritually by contact with blood or a dead body, he could not officiate at the morning service, offer the blessing at the conclusion of the service – as a direct spokesperson for God – or called upon God in prayer in the Temple; he could longer serve in his role, assisting the Temple priests, serving as a guardian of the Tabernacle, sacrificing the Temple offerings, or performing the ritual slaughters. As a Levite, he had no rights to property or land, so if he became contaminated he would lose his income, there would be no food on the table for his children and his family.
Better let the poor man – dead or alive – to wait for a neighbour who would take care of him. And that would have been the expectation of everyone who listened to this story.
But when the Samaritan arrives, those who are listening would be aghast. Was he going to add to the victim’s distress? Mug him again? Root for his wallet or his credit card or his mobile phone?
The sting in the tail is not that Jesus is saying the Priest or the Levite should have contaminated himself. No at all. The sting in the tail is that the mugged man should accept the Samaritan’s mercy and ministrations, accept him as a good neighbour.
The lawyer recognises that the Samaritan has acted properly, yet even now he cannot bring himself to say ‘the Samaritan.’
By and large, we cannot choose our neighbours. The estate agent and the people selling the house naturally tell us the neighbours are wonderful. They are never going to say we are moving into a house where people on one side or the other are people we could not accept. We have to wait to find out ourselves … when it is too late.
We cannot choose our neighbours. But we can decide whether or not to accept them.
And so this parable, instead of being called the Parable of the Good Samaritan, as it is referred to in the headings in many Bibles, including the NRSV, might be better called the ‘Parable of the Good Neighbour’ or the ‘Parable of the Accepting Neighbour.’
Part 3: The Good Samaritan: a second reading
The Early Fathers offered another interpretation of this parable.
The man who goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho is Adam, or humanity, or each and every one of us.
What does it mean that he goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho? Jerusalem is the holy city of God, the place where God is served in worship and in public prayer. It is an impregnable stronghold, but it is located in a hill country, where the soil is stony and barren. On the other hand, Jericho lies below the sea level in the Jordan Valley, in an area that is very fertile and rich in vegetation.
Jerusalem signifies the Divine Commandments. These commandments, like the walls of a city, limit us and our desires, but also create a safe living space where we can live unharmed by sin.
A man being seduced by earthly pleasures, represented by Jericho, goes out from Jerusalem, the stronghold of Divine Commandments. Here, we might think of Adam and Eve.
But the robbers control this way. Who are the robbers?
When people abandon God and seek pleasures in other places, the way of bodily desires first appear to be full of joy. But as time passes, indulging in passions becomes a heavy burden on the soul; in place of pleasure it becomes endless slavery. A man realises that he has lost his freedom and has become a captive of his passions. A soul blinded by passions and wounded by sin becomes incapable of any spiritual activity.
Before God, such a man is half-dead. On the way, the man has been stripped of his raiment, deprived of the raiment of virtues and of the cover of God’s grace and protection.
In this approach to reading the parable, the robbers are demons who act through our own passions. The man wounded by robbers represents fallen humanity before the coming of Christ.
Who then were the Priest and Levite who saw the wounded man and passed by without providing him any help?
The Priest and the Levite are ministers of God. They represent the saints and prophets sent by God from the beginning of time.
Why then is it said that they passed by without helping that man?
Did they not fulfil the ministry of preaching?
Yes, they did. They came to that place, they stopped, they saw the man and they passed by. But the wounded man remained lying on the road. Moses came and passed away, Elijah came and passed away, other prophets came and passed away, but the illness of humanity remained without being healed.
Only God who has created us can recreate us.
This is how Isaiah speaks on the incurable disease of the humanity:
Why do you seek further beatings?
Why do you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and bleeding wounds;
they have not been drained, or bound up,
or softened with oil. (Isaiah 1: 5-6)
Who then is the Samaritan who goes down on the same road?
The Samaritans were the descendants of Israelites and the nations who migrated to Palestine under Assyrian rule after the destruction of Jerusalem. They lived to the south of Judea, between Judea and Galilee. Samaritans believed in the One God of Israel and kept the Law of Moses, but developed their own traditions. For the Jews, they were heretics, and so Jews kept their distance from Samaritans.
Why then does Christ represent himself as a Samaritan?
The Pharisees mockingly labelled Christ a Samaritan, saying, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ (John 8: 48).
Christ humbly attributes to himself the name given to him by his detractors.
In addition, Greek Orthodox hymns note a similarity between the phrases ‘from Samaria’ and ‘from Mary,’ for in Greek these phrases sound similar.
The Samaritan, moved with compassion, approaches the wounded man. He binds his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. The oil symbolises mercy and the wine the true teaching of God. Then he brings the man to an inn where he can be taken care of.
The Gospel readings says that the Good Samaritan ‘put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.’ However, in traditional icons, Christ carries the man on his back. Christ in the incarnation takes on our human nature, our soul and body. That is why in the parable he ‘set him on his own beast,’ interpreted by the Early Fathers that Christ makes us members of his own body.
There is a similar image in the parable of the Lost Sheep (see Luke 15). The Good Shepherd left 99 sheep in the desert and went after the lost sheep, representing humanity. When he found the lost sheep, he put it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
The inn in the parable represents the Church. The innkeeper represents bishops and priests. Christ establishes his Church which, like an inn, accepts and provides shelter for all. The wounded man should stay here to be taken care of. The Samaritan has to leave, however. He takes out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying: ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
Christ indicates his second coming when he will come not to heal our infirmities, but to judge the living and the dead, and to reward each one according to his works.
The silver the Samaritan gives to the innkeeper is the divine grace Christ gives to the Church; it heals and saves souls through the sacraments. Bishops and priests, the ministers of the sacraments of the Church, are the distributors of God’s gifts. They offer to others what they have received: the sacraments and the teaching of Christ. Are they able to spend more? What can they add from themselves to the gift of the Divine Grace? Their labour, their cares, their zeal, which Christ shall recompense them on the day of the Last Judgment.
In this interpretation of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ offers himself as the prime example of mercy and compassion. Through his compassion, he takes on our sufferings and becomes the true neighbour of all fallen humanity.
This is a reading of this parable that connects with the assertion in the New Testament reading that God through Christ ‘has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son’ (Colossians 1: 13).
The Good Samaritan … a modern iconLuke 10: 25-37 (NRSVA):
25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 26 He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ 27 He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’
28 And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ 30 Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37 He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
Liturgical resources:
Liturgical colour: Green
The Collect:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
Increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal
that we finally lose not the things eternal:
Grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ’s sake, our Lord.
Collect of the Word:
Lord Jesus Christ,
in your deep compassion
you rescue us from whatever may hurt us.
Teach us to love you above all things
and to love our neighbours as ourselves;
for you live and reign
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post-Communion Prayer:
Eternal God,
comfort of the afflicted and healer of the broken,
you have fed us at the table of life and hope.
Teach us the ways of gentleness and peace,
that all the world may acknowledge
the kingdom of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested hymns:
Amos 7: 7-17:
381, God has spoken – by his prophets
Psalm 82:
125, Hail to the Lord’s anointed
535, Judge eternal, throned in splendour
140, [The Lord will come and not be slow]
509, Your kingdom come, O God
Deuteronomy 30: 9-14:
211, Immortal love for ever full
Psalm 25: 1-9:
17, Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness (Treoragh mé, treoragh mé, a Thiarna)
652, Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
Colossians 1: 1-14:
84, Alleluia! raise the anthem
455, Go forth for God: go forth to the world in peace
312, Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost
523, Help us to help each other, Lord
619, Lord, teach us how to pray aright
639, O thou who camest from above
508, Peace to you
487, Soldiers of Christ, arise
624, Speak, Lord, in the stillness
323, The God of Abraham praise
9, There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
373, To God be the glory! Great things he has done!
344, When morning gilds the skies
493, Ye that know the Lord is gracious
Luke 10: 25-37:
517, Brother, sister, let me serve you
569, Hark, my soul! it is the Lord
523, Help us to help each other, Lord
495, Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love
499, When I needed a neighbour, were you there
500, Would you walk by on the other side
The Good Samaritan ... a stained glass window in Saint Mark’s Church, Armagh (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)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
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
No comments:
Post a Comment