Studying lectionary texts? 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:
http://www.textweek.com/yearc/properc16.htm
Proper 16C / Ordinary 21C / Pentecost +14
August 25, 2013
Chase-Ziolek, Mary, "Repairing, Restoring, and Revisioning the Health of Our Communities: The Challenge of Isaiah 58," Ex Auditu, 2005.
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This is from an paper presented at the symposium on the theological interpretation of health and healing, North Park Theological Seminary, 2005. “Isaiah 58 offers a challenge to justice and righteousness that reaches beyond self-interest and cares for the well-being of all humanity, indeed for all creation. The church of today is being called not simply to change but to transform the health of her communities, rebuilding and restoring in such a way that equitable opportunities for health are available to all, and a new vision of what it means to be a healthy global community is created. The very well-being of those with power and privilege, as well as those who are poor, depends on it.”
Williamson, H.G.M., "Promises, Promises! Some Exegetical Reflections on Isaiah 58," Word & World, 1999.
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“An examination of the ‘if...then’ announcements of Isaiah 58 helps us understand the close and complex relationship between condition and promise in prophetic speech. There is a logical (or theological) unity between promise and exhortation.”
Duke, William H., Jr., "Between Text and Sermon: Jeremiah 1:4-18," Interpretation, 2005.
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A “Between Text & Sermon” article from an Interpretation issue on “vocation.” “First, Jeremiah's call and commission were based solely on God's sovereign choice…
Second, Jeremiah's reluctance to affirm God's call and commission upon his life is completely understandable…Third, the promise of God's presence and strength are not to be under-estimated. Jeremiah had no reason to believe that his ministry would be successful other than the promise of God's continual presence and assurances from God to provide both the strength for the task and the ultimate wisdom and grace of faithfulness.”
O'Connor, Kathleen M., "The Prophet Jeremiah and Exclusive Loyalty to God," Interpretation, 2005.
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Kathleen O’Connor from the same issue of Interpretation. “In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet's calling involves profound engagement with the world, with God, and with the local community. Exclusive allegiance to and intimate experience of God propel the prophet into the world, become the fiery source of his passion, and make Jeremiah the model of survival for his devastated community.”
Claassens, L. Juliana M., "Praying from the Depths of the Deep: Remembering the Image of God as Midwife in Psalm 71," Review & Expositor, 2007.
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Abstract: “How does one sing songs of liberation to the liberator God in those instances where liberation seems a remote possibility? At a time when the community of faith is recovering from the trauma of exile, and continuing to endure the trauma of submission to foreign empires, the psalmist looks to God for redemption. That redemption begins with the remembrance of God's past acts of deliverance, but memories of past liberations are not enough in the face of past and present pain. The key image in the psalm that transforms it into a redemptive hope is the ¡mage of God as midwife in verse 6. Like a midwife, God acts to bring forth life even in the midst of pain—even when the mother may suffer death. This image of God as midwife calls the community to compassion and comfort in the midst of shared trauma.”
Craven, Toni, "Between Text and Sermon: Psalm 71," Interpretation, 2004.
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From Interpretation, 2004: “For biblical interpretation, the act of forging links between text and sermon would be well-served by a four-step process focusing on: (1) the compositional shape of the text; (2) word-study of key terms; (3) innerbiblical exegesis that highlights resonances between biblical texts; and (4) intertextuality that brings the concerns of the cultural setting of preacher and parishioners to the interpretive process.”
Clifton-Soderstrom, Michelle, "Recalling Luke's Healer: Slave Doctoring as Liberative Healing," Ex Auditu, 2005.
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“This paper argues for what is perhaps a truism—namely, that healing is not an end in itself. It is a tool for kingdom work and must be understood in the context of a rightly ordered kingdom. Healing is a tool for liberation, for establishing God's order. In Luke's healing narratives Jesus' work brings about kingdom order by attending to the social dimensions of health and healing. These dimensions include the communal narrative framing health and illness, the relational aspect of health and healing, and the social justice brought about in healing. These dimensions participate in establishing God's order.”
Isaak, Paul J., "Health and Healing as a Challenge to Christian Ethics and Diaconal Ministry of the Church," Black Theology, 2003.
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Abstract: “The healing of persons has long been considered part of the Church's pastoral and diaconal calling. For Christians, the ministry of healing is grounded in the Word, sacraments and prayer. Some churches have focused on healing through prayer and laying of hands, whereas others view these practices with suspicion. However, most churches are involved in healing through various diaconal ministries. In this article I explore particular challenges of healing in our world today. This focus provides a real opportunity for us to discover elements of Christian faith, which have been neglected or ignored in mainline churches for too long. This includes neglected aspects of our own traditions as Christians as .well as the contribution that African Church and theology can make to the ministry of healing.”
Phelps, Stephen H., "Between Text & Sermon: Luke 13:10-17," Interpretation, 2001.
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From an Interpretation issue with focus on “The Church and Postmodernity.” “When preachers merely retell the familiar stories, this is the point where everyone cheers as if Jesus had just slam-dunked one. Yet when today's rules are broken by servants of Christ, few in the churches cheer. Therefore, we may conclude that the cheering is far from God's truth and probably prevents our hearing the gospel. The preacher must begin with an assumption that, now and always, acts of Christ's living body will bear the marks of the cross: they will still touch those bent down and immediately bend back the rules and bars that bow them down; they will still dismay the law-abiding; they will still run terrible risks for the sake of compassion.”
Torgerson, Heidi, "The Healing of the Bent Woman: A Narrative Interpretation of Luke 13:10-17," Currents in Theology and Mission, 2005.
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“As the primary protagonist in the larger Lukan narrative, the impact of Jesus' role in this episode is perhaps most significant. First, Jesus ' words and actions reveal clearly that he values people and their well-being over rules and the law. Second, Jesus' activity emphasizes his commitment to stand at the margins with those who are outcast rather than on the side of established leadership. These two realities, combined with Jesus' unapologetic shaming of "powerful" ones that do not share his values, create a profoundly countercultural message to an original hearer.”
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