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10/27/2014

Textweek ATLAS November 23, 2014: Christ the King / Reign of Christ

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/yeara/christa.htm

Reign of Christ / Christ the King
November 23, 2014

“This Psalm is one of the best-known and best-loved in the entire repertoire of the Psalter. It breathes a faith of simple trust, glad surrender, and faithful responsiveness. It is not sung by newcomers who are only now embracing the faith but by those who are seasoned and at home in this faith and piety. Nor is it sung by the alienated who have any cause either against God or neighbor.”

Byars, Ronald P., "Between Text & Sermon, Psalm 95," Interpretation, 2002.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

“It may be that the crisis for faith in our time is linked to the habit of shrinking God to a manageable size. There is among us a widespread agnosticism, on the one hand, and a surfeit of easy God-talk on the other.”

“The writer wants the Gentile recipients to apprehend and be apprehended by "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (v. 3) that have been experienced already by the Jewish community. Ultimately, he prays for and, indeed, declares that those two communities have been constituted by the one God to live into the fullness of Christ's work and to experience it together as one body.”

“One of the ways Moltmann expresses this thought is by the use of the term ‘anticipation.’ For him, the Christ event is not only the subject of Christian proclamation, but it also affects the process of proclamation and the way it takes place. As the Christ event anticipates the future of God, so Christian proclamation functions to do the same.”

"The church of Jesus Christ cannot be merely a spectator in history. It must actively engage its historical and social circumstances. It must be active in daily life to be a part of history. Unfortunately, our celebrations and religious rituals are frequently very distant from the realities around us."

10/27/2014 at 02:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

10/26/2014

Textweek ATLAS November 16, 2014 Proper 28A Ordinary 33A Pentecost+23

Textweek ATLAS November 9, 2014 - Proper 27 / Ordinary 32 / Pentecost +22

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/yeara/propera28.htm

Proper 28A / Ordinary 33A / Pentecost +22
November 16, 2014

“Our story is revealed as a variation on one central theme—the identity of the savior—which also testifies to its integrity. Is it now possible to separate an original story from a later redaction responsible for openings and closings? The suitability of the beginning and end to the other components of the story suggests other possibilities. For instance, perhaps the redactor who arranged the openings and finales also designed the body of the stories? Perhaps the original version was so worked over that it lost its pristine tenor and cannot be extricated from the present text. In my opinion, that is what actually happened.”

“Notions of building and planting have profound significance in the discourse of biblical literature. One important indication of this is the inner-biblical discourse of a wartime curse, which threatens Israel in the following words, "You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not harvest its fruit" (Deut 28:30). A survey of biblical literature reveals that this particular curse held an especially prominent place in the discourse of ancient Israel and early Judaism…”

The section on this text begins on page 199. “…Those rescued from wrath should remember that the death of Christ offers life with Christ both here and hereafter (5:10). This theological reality should impact their ethical activity until he comes; who they are should affect what they do. The indicative and imperative meet in Paul once again.”

“Matthew’s community remembers Jesus Christ and awaits Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Matthew serves as guide for this twofold endeavor. By its teachings the community knows what to remember and therefore how to wait. Tucked in the middle of chapter 25 of this manual is Matthew's parable of the Talents (w. 14-30). The parable tells the community a story about what three servants did in their master's absence. Two knew how to wait. One did not.”

“Every Thanksgiving my family gathers at my parents ' home in Oklahoma. During our Thanksgiving meal, each of us names that for which we have been thankful in the past year. I usually have something nice to say. I even had something nice to say last year when we gathered only a week after Micah died. But a year later, I did not. All I could be thankful for this year was that in the community of faith there are others who can give thanks to God for me when I cannot. They can "choose faith" for me. They can hold me in prayer and hope while I'm tossed about by grief and doubt. I can be thankful for that. And perhaps one day, I will again feel in my heart the blessing that is God's abundant love outlasting the pain and sorrow, the doubt and anger, and even the fear.”

 

10/26/2014 at 02:57 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Textweek ATLAS November 9, 2014 - Proper 27 / Ordinary 32 / Pentecost +22

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/yeara/propera27.htm

Proper 27A / Ordinary 32A / Pentecost +22
November 9, 2014

“Consumerism has become a demonic spiritual force. Does the gospel have the power to help us withstand it?”

Norfleet, AgnesW., "Between Text and Sermon, Joshua 24:1-28," Interpretation, 2012.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

"Each community that gathers for Christian worship in any church is not far from Shechem. We are surrounded by many gods and are called to choose whom we will serve. By regularly claiming our baptismal heritage, we reach down deep into our own tradition and find the living streams of God’s liberating grace that will carry us forward in faith."

“We feel the compelling power of the words. ‘Choose this day whom you will serve,’ Joshua says, and we can almost hear his tone of voice. This is important to Joshua; this is vital; this is urgent; this is spoken in the imperative mood. A choice has to be made, and not just any choice at that. On this choice depends the future of the nation.”

Norfleet, AgnesW., "Between Text and Sermon, Joshua 24:1-28," Interpretation, 2012.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

"The church has enough ministers who want to be efficient, effective, and successful. We need passion, anger, and desire. 

“More interesting still is the fact that Amos, like King, was not afraid to rework the standard idiom of his tradition in order to adapt it to his own purposes.”

“Amos speaks a difficult word to those who believe they have a special claim on God because God has a unique, covenantal relationship with them. To be chosen by God is no reason for self-satisfaction or self-righteousness. God has called us for mission, not privilege.”

“Amos's famous diatribes against music and ritual make no sense as denunciations of worship itself But they should continue to worry us profoundly as warnings against music and worship that anesthetize us against the justice that Amos calls for and that God requires.”

Abstract: “The reality of violence and the question of how best to respond to it are crucial dimensions of biblical interpretation. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus teaches nonviolence and conducts his mission nonviolently, yet Matthew envisages that as the returning Son of humanity he will indulge in violent retribution at the parousia. This article probes the discrepancy between Matthew's ethical portrait of Jesus as a teacher of nonretaliation and his (own) violent eschatology. Following a survey of select studies of Matthew's retributive eschatology, the moral problem of eschatological violence is considered. The article concludes with some hermeneutical reflections on potential responses to eschatological vengeance in Matthew.”

 Wimberly, John W, Jr., "Sharing Versus Hoarding," The Living Pulpit, 2003.

“Jesus warns us that we cannot prepare for the future by making safe little warrens for ourselves and our loved ones. It does not work. The fate of those without resources is inherently and intrinsically bound up with the fate of those of us who have resources.”

The Gospel writers were theologians and not just reporters. They collected and revised earlier material, then aimed it at specific situations in their own era. It is hard to evaluate how much the average congregation knows of Bible stories, let alone biblical criticism. Preachers and teachers of the Word have a responsibility, however, to make such knowledge available and practical. We may even find that the homiletical loaves have miraculously multiplied.

10/26/2014 at 02:27 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Textweek ATLAS November 9, 2014 - Proper 27 / Ordinary 32 / Pentecost +22

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/yeara/propera27.htm

Proper 27A / Ordinary 32A / Pentecost +22
November 9, 2014

“Consumerism has become a demonic spiritual force. Does the gospel have the power to help us withstand it?”

Norfleet, AgnesW., "Between Text and Sermon, Joshua 24:1-28," Interpretation, 2012.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

"Each community that gathers for Christian worship in any church is not far from Shechem. We are surrounded by many gods and are called to choose whom we will serve. By regularly claiming our baptismal heritage, we reach down deep into our own tradition and find the living streams of God’s liberating grace that will carry us forward in faith."

“We feel the compelling power of the words. ‘Choose this day whom you will serve,’ Joshua says, and we can almost hear his tone of voice. This is important to Joshua; this is vital; this is urgent; this is spoken in the imperative mood. A choice has to be made, and not just any choice at that. On this choice depends the future of the nation.”

Norfleet, AgnesW., "Between Text and Sermon, Joshua 24:1-28," Interpretation, 2012.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

"The church has enough ministers who want to be efficient, effective, and successful. We need passion, anger, and desire. 

“More interesting still is the fact that Amos, like King, was not afraid to rework the standard idiom of his tradition in order to adapt it to his own purposes.”

“Amos speaks a difficult word to those who believe they have a special claim on God because God has a unique, covenantal relationship with them. To be chosen by God is no reason for self-satisfaction or self-righteousness. God has called us for mission, not privilege.”

“Amos's famous diatribes against music and ritual make no sense as denunciations of worship itself But they should continue to worry us profoundly as warnings against music and worship that anesthetize us against the justice that Amos calls for and that God requires.”

Abstract: “The reality of violence and the question of how best to respond to it are crucial dimensions of biblical interpretation. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus teaches nonviolence and conducts his mission nonviolently, yet Matthew envisages that as the returning Son of humanity he will indulge in violent retribution at the parousia. This article probes the discrepancy between Matthew's ethical portrait of Jesus as a teacher of nonretaliation and his (own) violent eschatology. Following a survey of select studies of Matthew's retributive eschatology, the moral problem of eschatological violence is considered. The article concludes with some hermeneutical reflections on potential responses to eschatological vengeance in Matthew.”

 Wimberly, John W, Jr., "Sharing Versus Hoarding," The Living Pulpit, 2003.

“Jesus warns us that we cannot prepare for the future by making safe little warrens for ourselves and our loved ones. It does not work. The fate of those without resources is inherently and intrinsically bound up with the fate of those of us who have resources.”

The Gospel writers were theologians and not just reporters. They collected and revised earlier material, then aimed it at specific situations in their own era. It is hard to evaluate how much the average congregation knows of Bible stories, let alone biblical criticism. Preachers and teachers of the Word have a responsibility, however, to make such knowledge available and practical. We may even find that the homiletical loaves have miraculously multiplied.

10/26/2014 at 02:26 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

10/19/2014

Textweek ATLAS links November 2, 2014 Proper 26A / Ordinary 31A / Pentecost+21

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/yeara/propera26.htm

Proper 26A / Ordinary 31A / Pentecost +21
November 2, 2014

“…our tendency has been to fight our fiercest battles at the theological periphery of evangelicalism, where we believe the limits of tolerance have been exceeded. We rarely ask who in our midst may be equally misguided (and possibly even more dangerous) because they have drawn the boundaries too narrowly rather than too broadly.”

“…The construction of the "other" takes an interesting turn, however, as the polemic finds expression in the language of "masks." The author of Matthew creates a constant and systematic attack on Jewish leadership. As the reader moves through the barrage of accusations of hypocrisy, it becomes clear that Matthew sees the Jewish leaders as no more than actors on a stage, actors whose motions and actions (of ostensible law-abiding righteousness) belie the lack of righteousness just beneath the surface. The strength of this polemic is doubly damning because not only are these opponents denounced for cloaking themselves in disguise, but they are also condemned for leading others astray by their deception (e.g., 23:15). Here again the polarity between the opponent and Matthew's community is revealed in the chasm between "us" and "them," but revealed this time by the deconstruction of the "other," the unmasking of the enemy.”

“The figure of Satan is deeply woven into the fabric of the Bible and theology, including the theology of Martin Luther. Satan symbolizes evil better than any other symbol in history.”

“By omitting such difficult texts from public discourse in the church, we are leaving the hardest parts of the Bible for people to make sense of on their own—or relinquishing our duties to radio and television preachers who are not as squeamish as we. Either way, we are supporting a sanitized version of holy scripture that allows people to speak breezily of the Bible as "life's instruction book."”

Abstract: “This article constitutes the first half of a statement on a possible paradigm for Old Testament theology. To a large extent, the Old Testament borrows from the "common religion" of the ancient Near East, which serves to legitimate theological order and so to authorize political-social-economic order in the name of the deity. This structure-legitimating function is evident in the Mosaic tradition of covenant, the prophets, Deuteronomic theology, and the sapiential tradition of Proverbs. In various ways it is argued that God's governance is to maintain an order that cannot be mocked, disregarded, or nullified. While this function contains important religious affirmation, it also lends itself to ideological use by those in positions of power. This theological motif, which is everywhere present is, by itself, inadequate, for it cannot very well acknowledge the incongruities which occur in human experience. It is a primary concern of the Old Testament to correct and protest against commitment to order through the embrace of pain. This tension between order and pain is present, not only in the life of Israel, but in the very life of God.”

“What may this passage have to teach us about the necessity of competing theological visions within the church and the concomitant necessity of responding to our opponents with grace and humility?”

Beck, John A., "Why Do Joshua's Readers Keep Crossing the River? The Narrative-Geographical Shaping of Joshua 3-4," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2005.

“The Israelites stood beside the Jordan River for three days contemplating its importance as a boundary into the Promised Land and feeling the concern about crossing it safely. In the same way, the reader is brought again and again to see the roiling river by the repetition of the word "Jordan." The narrator says it. Joshua says it. The Lord himself says it over and over again. Narrative-geographical analysis of this text has shed new light on this repetition, allowing us to better answer the question of why Joshua's readers keep crossing the river.”

10/19/2014 at 03:44 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)