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Basic updates to links to resources for Transfiguration / Last Epiphany A have been posted at: http://www.textweek.com/yeara/transfiga.htm . Basic links for Ordinary 9 are here: http://www.textweek.com/yeara/epipha9.htm . Updates will continue throughout the week.
02/27/2011 at 07:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.
Matthew 6:24-34
“The righteousness demanded of disciples is a demand of God, the exemplar of such righteousness; and the verbal/conceptual connections with 5:20 (also Matthean!) seem close enough to require the ethical interpretation in our passage as well. In other words, the demand is rooted in the character and activity of God, but the ethical demand itself is central.”
“[Forgiveness] is a charisma, a gift of the Holy Spirit. It enables a person to let go of the person who wounded him/her, and perhaps, in time, to be less preoccupied with both the perpetrator and the wound. Moreover, as New Testament scholar Krister Stendahl pointed out, the modern church's emphasis on sin and forgiveness is not a correct interpretation of Paul. From a post-Freudian perspective, we tend to psychologize biblical texts in ways that were unknown in the ancient world. Therefore, to assign a modern emotional understanding to the texts about forgiveness is anachronistic and probably says more about our preoccupation with guilt and anxiety than the Bible actually says about God, Christ, or the early Christian community.”
“In thinking about preaching on forgiveness there are many issues to take into account. This article is designed to touch on a number of them. Although I make use of a number of psychological sources in this article, I am convinced that the most important way to interpret forgiveness is theological. The Lord's Prayer reminds us that human forgiveness and God's forgiveness are inseparable. Thus it is important for the preacher to deal with forgiveness theologically and not get side-tracked onto views that are simply psychological or behavioral.”
Isaiah 49:8-16
“Second Isaiah's use of positive feminine imagery provides a welcome relief and counterbalance to the earlier prophetic condemnation of Zion and Israel as the unfaithful wife and lover. In these oracles of comfort and restoration, God speaks tenderly and approvingly of the city as a grieving mother and honored spouse. The passage before us may have found its way into the lectionary readings for Year A, the 8th Sunday in Epiphany, precisely because of the positive nature and clarity of this comparison between maternal and divine love.”
Psalm 131
How do you preach a lullaby? That is what this psalm is a lullaby. It is a tender and intimate nightsong. It is the song of a troubled heart being given the peace that passes understanding. If we could pray it as our own, perhaps we would sleep better at night.
02/22/2011 at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Updates to links for resources for Epiphany 8 / Ordinary 8 are posted at http://www.textweek.com/yeara/epipha8.htm . Updates will continue throughout the week.
02/20/2011 at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.
Epiphany 7A / Ordinary 7A
February 20, 2011
Matthew 5:38-48
“A group of colleagues has spread a rumor about you. The rumor is totally false. Yet if it is believed, it is the end of your career. "They" have performed a hateful and violent act. You feel sabotaged and betrayed. What to do? Retaliate with rumors about them? Damage them professionally and/or personally? Confront? Seek reconciliation? Seek disciplinary action and their dismissal? Seek legal action? Absorb the attack? Or your country is attacked and thousands die. How does your country, which has deep roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition, respond? Absorb the attack? Retaliate? Seek dialogue with the attackers? Address underlying issues contributing to the hostility? What would Jesus say?”
“Too often in our reflections about Muslims, we create an "enemy" that is based on our own cultural biases and generalizations. Genuine human encounter can undermine this process.”
“The New Testament appropriates Leviticus 19:18 in a variety of contexts. ‘Love your neighbor’ is a central injunction for all followers of Jesus. The task is to determine who is the ‘neighbor.’”
“In this economy, there is one sun in heaven that shines on everyone and everything—no matter what genus or species they are, no matter how much saliva they produce, no matter what they have done or left undone. They all get sun. In the same way, when the rain comes down, everyone and everything gets refreshed—those who deserve it right along with those who do not. That is just the way God is with God's creatures. We are here because God made us, and if God made us, we live by love.”
“So, unlike some of the other passages discussed in this issue of Interpretation·, our challenge with Matt 5:43-48 is not to find the exegetical skills to interpret it, but rather to summon forth the homiletical courage to proclaim it and the ecclesiastical support to perform it. Do we really believe that we have a God who not only makes "the sun to rise on the evil and on the good," but also enables the good to love and to pray for the evil?”
“Christians who took the ideal seriously would likely find serious implications for their own involvement in the structural exploitation inherent in many social-economic institutions. It may be worth noting, finally, that although this investigation has been critical of the presuppositions and exegesis of studies (such as Yoder, 1972) that articulate an absolute pacifist position, it reaches fundamentally similar conclusions about the serious implications of these sayings of Jesus for ethical judgments regarding political-economic structures.”
“Let us make a fresh start. Let us presuppose as we ought in light of the fulfillment theme that dominates the remote and immediate context of the passage that Jesus did not wish to deny justice, but wished to point out the direction that justice must take if this ancient law, incorporated into the Torah, is to find its perfection.”
Leviticus 19
Abstract: “This study contends that there is a considerable, albeit asymmetrical, continuity between the Old and New Testaments with respect to love and law. The Old Testament's emphasis and contribution to this continuity is that by placing the love of neighbor in a legal context it demonstrates that love should extend to the type of societal relations that are commonly regulated by law. Leviticus 19.11 -18 contains an impressive array of social commandments prohibiting all manner of theft, oppression, injustice and hatred. Conversely it commands the love of neighbor, which is the positive counterpart to the pericope's prohibitions, as well as their unifying principle. The New Testament's contribution highlights the interpersonal nature of love.”
“This essay illuminates a number of nuances implicit in the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" by exploring its connection to Israeli election theology as well as to the larger Priestly theology that forms much of the framework of the Torah.”
“Preaching this text is challenging but worthwhile. The text is rich with issues that resonate with our current situation. We should receive the text as the word of God, which we need even when it judges our failings. We see in these commands and prohibitions the God who is holy, and the God who calls us to holiness. That holiness is not simply ritual and spiritual, but tangibly related to the way we choose to live together as members of local communities, specific and connected congregations, and the one global village.”
02/16/2011 at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are a coupole of links I'm looking at in connection with the Leviticus text. Any thoughts?
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=10/26/2008&tab=1
http://thehardestquestion.org/yeara/epiphany7ot/
02/14/2011 at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Updates to links to resources for Epiphany 7 / Ordinary 7 , February 20, 2011 have been posted at http://www.textweek.com/yeara/epipha7.htm . Updates will continue throughout the week.
02/13/2011 at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.
Epiphany 6 / Ordinary 6
February 6, 2011
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Conder, Tim, "Curses & Blessings," The Christian Century, 2007.
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“This is a fresh perspective on God as Creator and on covenant faithfulness. Just as with the ancient Israelites, our covenant-keeping means living in a rhythm of holistic living and worship.”
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Kuck, David, "Paul and Pastoral Ambition: A Reflection on 1 Corinthians 3-4," Currents in Theology and Mission, 1992.
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“I propose as our focal text 1 Cor 3:5-4:5.4 Here are all the elements that bring ambition and competition to the forefront of the discussion: competitive factions forming in the church, apostles held up as rivals, Paul's fear of failure in Corinth, and a congregation only too eager to compare and judge its leaders. Paul here does not deny the role that ambition for reward plays in the minds of the congregation and its leaders, including himself. Rather, he encourages everyone, including himself, to set ambitions for reward in a more adequate perspective, that of God's ultimate judgment. It is this eschatological way of looking at ambition which will enable servants of Christ to work hard and well toward achievement, but without a competitiveness which threatens the unity of the church. “
Polhill, John B., "The Wisdom of God and Factionalism: 1 Corinthians 1-4," Review and Expositor, 1983.
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The section on this particular text begins on page 333. “Paul decries any attempt to rally behind Apollos or himself. Both are to be seen as servants (diakonoi) of Christ, and the ministry of each depends on that of the other. It is a mutual, not a competitive, ministry. Neither can boast, for ministry is itself a gift of God.”
Matthew 5:21-37
Bibb, Wade, "Preaching in Ordinary Time: The Extraordinary Subject of Jesus' Realm," Review & Expositor, 2007. (Section on this text begins on p. 313.)
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Abstract: “Matthew's Gospel challenges both delivery and content for the preacher. Sermons based on these texts urge the congregation to deeper spiritual formation, authentic responses to God's calling to serve, a renewed commitment to mission(s), and an inclusive response to our increasingly pluralistic society. Sermons based on these texts will also challenge the preacher to wrestle creatively with texts often memorized, but rarely studied—texts that often leave us uncomfortable in the pulpit. This article presents: (1) a discussion on the importance of Ordinary Time in the preaching cycle; (2) helps for preaching from selected texts which serve as thematic interpretations for the larger preaching cycle; and (3) an emphasis on the Propers in Epiphany (texts from the Sermon on the Mount), which reappear during Ordinary Time. “
Metzger, Paul Louis, "Christ, Culture, and the Sermon on the Mount Community," Ex Auditu, 2008.
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“Bonhoeffer's life bears witness to the Lord's incarnational orientation. He was truly a man of his time, whose allegiance to Germany was so all-encompassing that he was willing to endure great sacrifice. During Hitler's reign Bonhoeffer could have stayed in America to avoid the mounting pressures on the church and its leaders, but instead he determined to come back to Germany to identify with the people, saying that he could not serve in the rebuilding efforts after the war if he did not endure the tragedies that had befallen the people. This is what it means to be "of the culture" in a positive sense.”
02/09/2011 at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
02/07/2011 at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Basic updates are up: Links to resources for Epiphany / Ordinary 6, Feb 13, 2011.
http://www.textweek.com/yeara/epipha6.htm
02/06/2011 at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.
Epiphany 5A / Ordinary 5A
February 6, 2011
Matthew 5:13-20
Carter, Warren, "Jesus' 'I Have Come' Statements in Matthew's Gospel," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1998.
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“This conclusion suggests that the soteriology of Matthew's Gospel embraces Jesus' death and his actions and teaching. By engaging with these seven sayings containing the expression "I have come" the audience understands that all of Jesus'existence—his words, actions, death, and resurrection —carries out God's purposes for him: that he save from sins and that he manifest God's presence.”
Craddock, Fred, "Two Arenas for Faithfulness," The Christian Century, 1990.
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“Jesus stood within his own heritage but was not blind to its distortions and falsifications So it was that he often appealed to the tradition to admonish interpretations of it that violated its intent and spirit His mission, he said, was not one of abolition but of completion, and those who follow him are to manifest such a mission in their behavior and relationships Anyone who appeals to faith and freedom in Christ to do less, be less, give less, serve less and love less than our forebears has grossly misunderstood Jesus' message.”
Minear, Paul Sevier, "The Salt of the Earth," Interpretation, 1997.
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“Despite much misunderstanding among modern readers and preachers, Jesus' saying in Matthew 5:13 ("You are the salt of the earth") concerns sacrificing one's life to follow Christ. Moreover, this high cost of discipleship has cosmic significance.”
Walaskay, Paul W., "Between Text & Sermon, Matthew 5:17-20," Interpretation, 2002.
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“Yes, Jesus requires his followers to honor the codification of God's desire for relationship with us and with one another. The text of that code, down to the smallest fragment of a letter, will never pass from our sight or our obligation. It will outlast this world. Jesus asks his disciples to persist in discerning the will of God embedded in those words. Being aligned with God's will, through love, will keep us on the path of righteousness that leads toward the kingdom of heaven (7:21).”
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Cousar, Charles B., "1 Corinthians 2:1-13," Interpretation, 1990.
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“Every Generation of Christians has to wrestle with the fundamental issue of I Corinthians 1—4: What do we know of God and God's purposes for the world and how do we know it?”
Grindheim, Sigurd, "Wisdom for the Perfect: Paul's Challenge to the Corinthian Church (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)," Journal of Biblical Literature, 2002.
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“We have seen that, although there is no identifiable heterodox teaching Paul is combating in 1 Cor 1-4, his evaluation of the schisms is profoundly theological. The factionalism is rooted in a misapprehension of the gospel. Instead of having their self-identity in the word of the cross, the Corinthians rely on a kind of rhetoric that was supposed to allow them to excel in personal status, to the detriment of others.”
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
Barton, Mukti, "I Am Black and Beautiful," Black Theology, 2004. (Metaphor of "light" and "darkness.")
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Abstract: “Racism is perpetuated when the colour black is used in negative, and white in positive, ways. Many believe that these uses have come from the Bible because of the metaphors of light and darkness. In this article I present an examination of the actual biblical usage. I argue that European prejudicial interpretation of the Bible may be responsible for value-loaded usage of black and white.”
Bruckner, James K., "Justice in Scripture," Ex Auditu, 2006.?
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“The Scripture also has claims to make, presenting God's perspectives on justice. This external perspective may bring comfort to some, but it may also challenge and reshape our categories.”
Chase-Ziolek, Mary, "Repairing, Restoring, and Revisioning the Health of Our Communities: The Challenge of Isaiah 58," Ex Auditu, 2005.
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“The health of each of us is related to the health of all of us. This statement is not only a basic principle of public health, but is also well supported in Scripture…”
02/01/2011 at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)