Proper 7A/OT12
Proper 7A
Third Chair: Diann Bailey, Senior Minister, First Church Suffield, CT
Psalm 86, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist, Patreon
Genesis 21:8-21, Casey Fitzgerald
Psalm 86, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist, Patreon
Musician - Bri-Anne Swan “This Land is Not Mine,” from her album Letters From Home. Bri-anneswan.com, Twitter: @SwannyBee, Facebook: Bri-Anne Swan Music
Matthew 10:24-39
Initial Thoughts
Picking up from where we left off last week, which is an important part of this passage.
Bible Study
Context is key: Missionary Discourse
This passage really starts in v 5 with the sending of the disciples and the foretold persecutions
Think of this as a “Dear disciples, the S@%t is about to hit the fan. You have been warned. <3 xoxo JC”
10:21-22 “Brothers and sisters will hand each other over to be executed. A father will turn his child in. Children will defy their parents and have them executed. Everyone will hate you on account of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end will be saved.”
Perhaps this is the message we as the church need to hear now more than ever
Charles Cousar:
“In a condensed version of the Bible, [texts like this about the coming suffering and persecution of the early Jesus-followers] would be the first part to eliminate. They have historical value to tell us how dangerous it must have been to follow Jesus in the environment of the first century, but we do not live in the first century, and we sense an enormous gap between the readers Matthew addresses and ourselves. We find it hard to imagine ourselves as ‘sheep sent into the midst of wolves.’
“At the same time we dare not dismiss a text like Matthew 10 too quickly. It speaks a pointed message to the particular readers the evangelist projects, we do well to listen in on that conversation, to eavesdrop as Matthew conveys Jesus’ charge to the disciples. The texts says a lot about fidelity and fear, about the present and the future. In the particularity of the text may be a needed word for modern disciples.” (Texts for Preaching, Year A. p. 377)
Discipleship - What does it mean to be like Jesus?
Power: Slaves and masters, students and teachers - power relationships
Disciple: student or learner
Apostle - to be sent out
To be devoted to Jesus above all else
Life as a Disciple includes being rejected.
Following Jesus means that they will follow him in all ways.
If they call Jesus “Beelzebul,” of course they will call them that too.
Anti-prosperity Gospel
If survival and prosperity isn’t the good news - then what is? Love
Family: Jesus is more important than family
“The idea that family members would turn on each other says something quite radical. In the first century, one’s family deserved paramount loyalty and total attachment. To turn against one’s family was something almost unthinkable. Jesus’ words here anticipate an alternative family that he will outline later… Commitment will bring conflict.” (Michael Joseph Brown, True to Our Native Land, p. 99)
“Jesus is no champion of family values. He has kingdom values, and these are often not the same thing.” Lance Pape
CONTEXT: Family was your social status, your 401K, your social security, your job, your education, your neighbors and housemates. Family = security (religiously, socially, commercially and economically)
I have come to separate you from your security, from your 401Ks, from your cultural ignorance, from your privilege, from your justifications.
Jesus is NOT ANTI-FAMILY
Jesus is about restoring and purifying relationships. But when forced to choose between God
It is not an “unequivocal reinforcement of family cohesiveness. It does not suggest that the sticking together of families necessarily reflects faithfulness… Jesus calls into question an idolatry of family and warns that the gospel may divide rather than unite the home.” (Cousar, p. 379)
“The cross saying in verse 38 puzzles many commentators… A figurative understanding seems implicit in the coupling of this saying with the preceding one about ‘hating’ one’s family. Disciples of Jesus must be willing to be ‘crucified’ by their families.”
Quote Micah 7:6
Part of Micah’s lament that there is no one to hear his words.
“Micah 7:6 had already been interpreted in Judaism as the prelude to the messianic times.” (Eugene Boring, New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. VIII, p. 262)
Survival: To be afraid or not to be afraid?
It is better to be killed for the sake of the Gospel than to live denying it.
"To give one's life away in the name of Christ is to be given all that makes life free, holy and good." Thomas G. Long, Matthew, Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 120-22
“The ends justify the means” does not seem to compel Jesus who leads us to the cross
Perhaps we, the church need to stop fearing the things which will damage our buildings and programs and instead focus on our souls.
“To forsake lesser loyalties is to risk social death in hope of a new kind of life.” Lance Pape
Thoughts and Questions
What is the word that we can get from this ancient Christian community that had to be warned of such dire suffering?
If we are not facing struggle, are we doing Christianity right? The Gospel message is one that challenges status quo, comfort, and established power. When preaching the Gospel of Jesus, there is going to be push back.
At the same time, the modern Christian church has a large martyrdom complex, perceiving persecution at every turn. As the white Christian population has had its privilege exposed and challenged, many see persecution when in reality it is simply a correction.
What does it mean to love Jesus more than family?
How does this relate to maintaining healthy boundaries - especially with families? Are there relationships that need a sword to sever - for your own health, emotional and spiritual?
Where do our true devotions lie? Are we willing to die for the sake of love? Including love for our enemies?
Genesis 21:8-21
Initial Thoughts
Listener Comment from 2014, Suz Cate said:
“About the Abraham/Sarah/Hagar triangle: It's important to note how Haggar came to be part of the household. See Genesis 10:12-30, in which Abram passes Sarai off as his sister, and she is taken by Pharaoh. When Pharaoh realizes what's going on, he sends Abram away with money and slaves, including Guess Who. Hagar is "bought" with Sarai's being put into a dangerous situation. Resentment much?
“Consider also how casting Hagar out takes on echoes of Exodus and the freedom of Israel obtained from Egypt. Might be interesting to reflect on the feelings of the Israelites in the wilderness: cosmic justice for the suffering inflicted upon Hagar? Wandering in the wilderness, provision of water, encounters with God. (with a tip of the biretta to Walter Brueggemann's commentary in New Interpreter's Bible).”
Sub-heading says a lot about the passage.
Is it “Haggar and Ishmael Sent Away,” or is it “God protects Haggar”
Paired next week with “Binding of Isaac”, start thinking about how they go together.
Incredibly important in inter-faith conversations
Great conversation with Katey Zeh on her commentary on this passage from her book, Women Rise Up: Sacred Stories of Resistance for Today's Revolution
Bible Study
This is the second leaving of Hagar
The first - Gen. 16:5-6 - Hagar flees after Sarai “dealt harshly with” Hagar
The brutality of Sarah against Hagar is the same word used in Exodus 1:1 to describe the abuse and oppression of the Israelites by the Egyptians. Wilda Gafney, Womanist Midrash on the Torah, p. 42
An angel appears to Hagar and tells her to go back to her abusive mistress (a horrific story)
What did Ishmael do?
“Playing” or “laughing” - Sarah saw Hagar’s son _____”
Can be identified as “mocking” or “jesting” (Gen 19:14-Lot’s sons-in-law think he is joking about the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) or have sexual overtones - “playing with” or “fondling” (Gen. 26:8- Isaac is seen being intimate with Rebecca, his wife, whom he told Abimelech was his sister)
Some translations, like the NRSV, include “with her son” (based on other ancient text - not the Hebrew Bible).
These alternative interpretations portray Sarah and Abraham in a better light - i.e. they saw Ishmael fondling Isaac or rough housing with Isaac and they feared for the younger boy - however there is nothing really in the text to support this
Participle of the verb “to laugh” which is the basis of Isaac’s name
Most likely - Sarah saw Ishmael “isaacing”. In other words- Ishmael was playing the part of Isaac - taking his place as the heir (which would be his proper place as the older son of Abraham)
“The same verb that meant ‘mocking’ or ‘joking’ in Lot’s encounter with his sons-in-law and that elsewhere in the Patriarchal narratives refers to sexual dalliance. It also means ‘to play.’ Some Hebrew exegetes, trying to find justification for Sarah’s harsh response, construe the verb as a reference to homosexual advances, though that seems far-fetched… Given the fact, moreover, that she is concerned lest Ishmael encroach on her son’s inheritance, and given the inscription of her son’s name in this crucial verb, we may also be invited to construe it as “Isaac-ing” - that is, Sarah sees Ishmael presuming to play the role of Isaac, child of laughter, presuming to be the legitimate heir.” (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, p. 69)
Ineffectiveness of Abraham
God tells Abraham to obey Sarah
Abraham’s desires are disregarded
“Celebration of Isaac and Anguished settlement of Ishmael are set in juxtaposition.” (Walt Brueggeman, Interpretation: Genesis, p. 183).
Conflict between the “treasured” and the “elect” (Brueggeman, p. 183)
Conflict between the boy that was the result of Abraham’s plan, and the boy that was a part of God’s plan.
Ishmael
Not a child, but a teenager - at least 13- maybe 16
“Ishmael had been born when Abraham was eighty-six (16:16). The announcement of Isaac’s conception came when Abraham was ninety-nine (17:1), thirteen years later. Moreover, Ishmael was said to have been circumcised when he was thirteen (17:25)...old enough to be called a na‘ar (vv. 12, 17, 18, 19, 20). While na‘ar might be used for an infant, “in Genesis it usually refers to young men capable of taking care of themselves, such as the seventeen-year-old Joseph (37:2), servants (18:7), and those old enough to be morally responsible (19:4).” March, W. E. (2014). “Exegetical Perspective (Genesis 21:8–21).” Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Additional Essays (Vol. 24, p. 4).
Both Ishmael and Isaac receive similar promises to be blessed and be great nations.
Resolve of Haggar
Hagar ends up where we had originally fled in Gen. 16 - begging the question concerning why she had to return to Sarai and Abram
Her grief is described vividly, encouraging compassion and empathy from the reader.
Hagar is first called by name by the angel of the Lord (Ishmael is not named in this passage - though the angel names him in Gen 16:11).
We should not be surprised when the ancient patriarchal culture produces text that ignores and subjugates women. We should be shocked - and celebrate - when from this culture comes a story with a woman who is strong, named, and fully human.
Protection of God
Ishmael means “God hears.”
God hears the crying Ishamel (v. 16 refers to Ishmael crying, not Hagar), and responds.
Centuries later God hears the moans of the Hebrews in slavery.
God hears the pleading of Moses
God hears the prayers of Elijah and the Prophets
God hears the song of Mary
Hagar and Ishmael return to Egypt which will play its part in the brutalization of the Israeites continuing the cycles of violence.
Thoughts and Questions
Interpretation Commentary from Brueggeman: Ishmael is the product of human design and planning. Isaac is the product of pure miracle - God’s intervention and wonder. To live in a world purely by our own devices might be appealing to culture of the “self-made man,” but it runs contrary to the Gospel story of allowing God’s grace to be the driving force of life. (p. 184)
Abraham and Sarah are anti-heroes in this story. Neither comes out looking very good. Sarah is jealous and cruel. Abraham is unable to lead the family, and abandons his son. Hagar, the slave girl, is the one who is shaded with compassion and empathy. It is to her that God promises protection and salvation.
“The story of Hagar is the story of the terrible jealousy of Sarah and the singular ineffectuality of Abraham and the way Hagar, who knew how to roll with the punches, managed to survive them both. Above and beyond that, however, it is the story of how in the midst of the whole unseemly affair the Lord, half tipsy with compassion, went around making marvelous promises and loving everybody and creating great nations like the last of the big-time spenders handing out hundred-dollar bills.” (Frederick Buechner)
What can we learn when the heroes prove to be the foils? What can we learn about our God who takes the side of the slave-girl? What can we learn about ourselves, and our tendency to allow power and comfort to corrupt the way we treat one another?
“Hagar is the mother of Harreit Tubman and women and men who freed themselves from slavery. I see Hagar as an abused woman. I see God’s return of Hagar to her servitude and abuse as the tendency of some religious communities to side with the abuser at the expense of abused women and children…Abraham’s sexual use of Hagar has resonates in the sexual and reproductive uses of women’s bodies in the American slavocracy and in countless other global contexts across time.” Gafney, p. 44
Romans 6:1-11
Initial Thoughts
2nd week of Romans- check out our conversation with Beverly Gaventa distinguished professor of NT at Baylor
For some background- check out last week’s notes on Romans 5
Bible Study
Sin
Addressing sin straight on- probably not the norm for many of our churches- we all still sin, but don’t want to talk about it
Not sure if a unison confession counts as addressing it either- maybe we need a new ritual?
The gift of AA and other support groups- no pretending, accepting our flaws and working with and through them
Identity
Through Baptism we see the world and ourselves differently- we are a “new creation”
Being a new creation is both faith and action- Christianity is a lived faith that permeates every part of who we are because of whose we are
V.1
Paul addresses the logical concerns raised at the end of chapter 5: “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more..”
One of the most important questions of our faith
If God’s grace is SO abundant and offered to all people, then why stop sinning? Doesn’t greater sin invite greater grace?
Is the grace amazing if I am not wretched?
Shawnthea Monroe - When my son was in preschool, he accidentally spilled an entire carton of milk on the floor. He was devastated by his mistake. So as I mopped the floor, I reassured him that everything was going to be just fine. I said, "Look! Now the whole floor is nice and clean!" He turned to me and said brightly, "Hey! Maybe I should spill on the floor more often!" Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary - Feasting on the Word – Year A, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16).
V.2-11 are the answer - not because to accept the Way of Jesus is to dramatically change your heart and mind (metanoia/repent)
Baptism- death to the old, and rebirth to the new
We no longer sin- or at least we no longer sin willingly because we choose the way of Christ
To accept the grace of God is to recognize the fallacy of sin
We cannot keep sinning without denying the grace of God and therefore denying who we have become.
Baptism
Paul is concerned with how we baptism but what baptism means
Most likely the thought of baptizing children was not even considered during Paul’s time
Baptism is a sacrament of one committing to the way of Jesus Christ
So then- why do we baptize children?
Is Baptism our action or Gods? Baptism is our response to God’s love and grace. The grace is God’s gift, the baptism is our response to that gift - a commitment
Baptism is a dying or drowning to the old life of sin - a painful experience and as Paul will explore- not an easy experience (the shackles of sin are pervasive, but through the strength of God in Christ we can overcome.
Thoughts and questions
It is ironic that baptism has become a cultural or familial celebration when it is actually incorporation into the body of Christ which may draw you away (or even in opposition) to your family (Matthew 10:34-38; Luke 14:26)
Furthermore Baptism is not salvation from pain or suffering (like the Prosperity Gospel might claim), but rather calls us into crucifixion - both figurative and ,in the case of several of the early apostles , literal.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING AND GET IN TOUCH:
Thanks to our Psalms correspondent, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com,@pomopsalmist). Thank you to Scott Fletcher for our voice bumpers, Dick Dale and the Del Tones for our Theme music (“Misirlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Sunday Morning”,"Real Ride"and“Summertime”) and Paul and Storm for our closing music (“Oh No”).