Proper 29C (OT34)
image: “Crucifixion of Christ”, Piero di Cosimo (wikimedia)
Rebroadcast of 2019 show w/ Diann Bailey
Luke 23:33-43 - 12:50
Jeremiah 23:1-6 - 8:26
Colossians 1:11-20 - 34:50
Diann Bailey, Senior Pastor of First Congregational Suffield, CT
Rev. Sarah Renfro (m-bodied.com, Facebook, @revrenfro)
Musician: Whym, “Beside Me” from their debut album Sing, Doubter (@WhymMusic, Facebook, WhymMusic.com,Instagram)
Luke 23:33-43
Initial Thoughts
Christ the King Sunday - 1925 Pius XI
1. That nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state (Quas Primas, 32).
2. That leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ (Quas Primas, 31).
3. That the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies (Quas Primas, 33).
Interesting passage in light of the upcoming elections - who do we choose to follow?
Presidents or Jesus?
We worship a crucified king, a king triumphant on the cross - what does this mean to you? To your church? What does it mean to be triumphant and faithful?
Great question from Rob Myallis (Lectionary Greek)”Do those mocking Jesus disbelieve he is king or, knowing this, misunderstand what this means?”
Bible Study
“father forgive them”- v. 34
not included in earliest manuscripts
echo of Stephens prayer in Acts 7:60
Characteristic of Jesus who often prayed to God as “Father” and the theme of forgiveness is definitely consistent.
Escalating violence
leaders make fun of/scoff
soldiers ridicule/mock
criminal blasphemes/derides
questions Jesus as the Messiah
is concerned only for his physical life
he doesn't understand grace
grace is not a ticket away from judgement, but through
doesn’t want to pay for his crimes
Bandits - most likely social bandits (not highway robbers)
Protesters against the Roman Empire
Not that different from Jesus - they also wanted liberation from Rome, but most likely for Jewish liberation not necessarily the Kingdom of God
Usually think of the “good” bandit and the “bad” bandit, but they are both people
First Bandit - aren’t you the Messiah? Yes. Save yourself? No. Save us? Yes - but not in the way you think
Second Bandit - He is innocent. No Jesus isn’t innocent. Jesus is guilty of sedition for preaching and teaching about the Kingdom of God. Jesus remember me
Neither Bandit quite “gets” it - One wants salvation in this life and the other wants salvation in the next- Jesus is the Way to both
Interesting details from Fred Craddock (Interpretation: Luke)
Crucifixion was used since the Persian empire and referred to an impaling stake which did not necessarily have a cross beam
Romans added the cross beam and widely used crucifixion to add humiliation, shame and a slow death
The entire cross would not have been carried- only the crossbeam
Vinegar - probably a reference to Psalm 69:21 - “for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Luke does not mention myrrh, and anesthetic, like Mark 15:23 does)
Casting lots for clothing - reference to Psalm 22:18 - this passage is unclear who, exactly, cast lots for the clothes
The Questions or rhetorical declarations: “if he is the Messiah of God”,“If you are the King of the Jews”, “Are you not the Messiah?” echoes Satan’s question from the temptation in Luke 4:1-13, “If you are the son of God,'' Three times he is asked/told to save himself- just like in the wilderness. Now--as then--Jesus refuses to call upon God to save him
Kingdom of the world
“save yourself”
Beaten, mocked, humiliated
anger
vengeance
outrage
Kingdom of God
“give yourself”
forgiveness
forbearance
patience
empathy
What is the Kingdom of God like?
Bless those who persecute you and curse you (6:28)
a wasteful son returning to a father’s loving arms
a shepherd searching for one lost sheep
a weed grown in a garden to provide shelter for the birds
a rich man’s feast opened to the poor and the lame
“We would rather have had Jesus say that God loves the people we like and the people we say we are like, and that God does not love the people we do not like and the people we say are not like us. We would prefer if God did not love the crackheads and addicts, the adulterers, the thieves, the prostitutes, the rebellious teenagers, and the disgruntled employees. We would prefer it if paradise were exclusively for the nice people, the clean people, the polite people, the well-behaved people, the right people.” - Nancy Lynn Westfield, Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 4: Season After Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-Reign of Christ)
Thoughts and Questions
Jesus refused to let Rome crush the humanity or the divinity out of him. He remains faithful to God’s way of love and forgiveness up to the very end. Will we be as faithful? What would it take for us to turn to violence and anger? A disappointing election?
Christ is King - how does that statement make you feel? Is it comforting or challenging? Why?
If Jesus is King, then why doesn’t Jesus make everything right? Perhaps Jesus’ sense of power and what is “right” is vastly different from our own
If Jesus is King, then there is no ethical or theological justification for not following his way of love and forgiveness
Forgiveness if perhaps the most challenging part of Jesus (and one of the most consistent). How will your church be an agent of forgiveness and reconciliation in the midst of great division?
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Initial Thoughts
Omitting verses 7--8 removes the passage from historical context. Without these verses, it is easier to universalize the text. With those verses, it is about a particular time and plane - the end of the exile. No longer a people of the Exodus, but a people of the End of Exile.
Bible Study
Particular historical context and political intrigue, according to James Newsome:
This is a denunciation of Judah’s rulers at time of King Zedekiah
King Zedekiah was the last of Judah’s monarchs to exercise political power from Jerusalem.
Some believed that the rightful ruler was Jehoiachin, the grandson of good King Josiah, who had already been taken to Babylon after the insurrection of 597 BCE. This was an insurrection mounted by his father Jehoaikim.
After Jehoaikim’s death and Jehoakin’s exile, Johoaichin’s uncle Mattaniah was installed on the vacant throne by the Babylonians and renamed “Zedekiah,” which means “Yahweh is righteousness.”
Zedekiah - not the rightful king - decided to rebel again against Babylon. Jeremiah opposed this. He did it anyway, and this was the second exile.
The name of the righteous king that Jeremiah names will be “The Lord is Our Righteousness” is a play on words from Zedekiah.
Shepherds and Kings
Part of a much-repeated metaphor that compares shepherds to king, and flocks to the people of Israel.
Good Shepherds: Keeps the flock safe, tends to the needs of the flock, and keeps them together.
Bad Shepherds: Allow flock to be predated, ignores the needs of the flock, scatters them.
Good/Bad Shepherds are the same as Good/Bad Kings.
Three-step plan for restoration: 1. Get rid of old leaders. 2. Bring back people. 3. Pick a new righteous leader.
Scatter the bad shepherds who do not take care of their sheep.
I will gather the remaining sheep, bring them back to pasture, where they will “be fruitful and multiply”
Restoring the original divine promise/mandate
Raise up a new shepherd.
Righteous
Line of David
Thoughts and Questions
This is a deeply political text - especially in the immediate aftermath of the election, there are a lot of directions you can go. Remember that there are probably good people in your congregation who voted for Trump, Clinton, Johnson, someone else, or not at all. A text about a prophet railing against an unrightful King, and calling on God to replace him with a righteous one is fraught with pitfalls on any given Sunday, let alone one just a few weeks after an incredible contentious election. You know your context. Tread lightly.
This text defies tired cliches like “God is in control,” and “leave it up to the true King.” This text reveals that leaders matter. There are bad leaders, who scatter their flocks and don’t tend their sheep. There are good leaders, who care about the marginalized. Saying “God is in control” and stepping away from any kind of activism is not supported by this text.
Colossians 1:11-20
Initial thoughts
Colossians background
Author
May have been written by Paul - attributed to Paul at the end (4:18)
May have been written by a later author - sentence structure, vocabulary and theology are not consistent with Paul’s other letters, but could be because of the audience and addressing new areas of concern (Paul S. Berge, Enter the Bible)
Not really significant
Written around 61-63 C.E., during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome
Format
Written to be read aloud
Structured in concentric/bookend circles building to a central focus on the sovereignty of Christ
Colossae
Cosmopolitan city of Greeks, Middle Eastern Jews, and Phrygians
Led to a syncretistic view of religion in which Christ is one of many emanations of the divine
Issues being addressed:
Theological: “Where is God’s true presence to be found and how may human beings gain access to that presence? The answer evidently (for we must bring in the data from the late-second-century Gnostic systems to aid us) came back from these Colossian teachers: God’s fullness is distributed throughout a series of emanations from the divine, stretching from heaven to earth. These “eons” or offshoots of deity must be venerated and homage paid to them as “elemental spirits” or angels or gods inhabiting the stars. They rule destiny, control human life, and hold the entrance into the divine realm in their keeping. Christ is one of them, but only one among many.” (Martin, Interpretation: Ephesians, Colossians & Philemon)
Practical: “How may one prepare for a vision of heavenly realities as part of a rite of passage into the divine presence? The reply was given in terms of a rigorous discipline of asceticism and self-denial. Abstinence, especially from food and drink; observance of holy seasons for fasting and affliction of the soul (2:16); possibly a life of celibacy and mortification of the human body (2:21, 23)—all these exercises and taboos were prescribed as part of the regimen to be accepted if the Christians at Colossae were ever to gain “fullness of life” (2:10).” (Martin, Interpretation: Ephesians, Colossians & Philemon)
Bible Study
V. 11-14 Prayer for the Colossians
Go back to at least verse 9 for the passage to make sense.
The letter begins with giving thanks for the Colossians
V. 10: We’re praying for you to
Producing fruit of good works
Growing in knowledge
Inheritance is an important part of Paul’s theology.
We inherit God’s Kingdom through the Son.
The inheritance is not something we accept after WE die. This is not about going to heaven.
“I fear often that we read Paul’s “inheritance” language and think, “yeah, yeah, heaven, future, spiritual, other, but I have to live now,” when Paul clearly uses it for definite encouragement for the here and now. This change of identity and promise of an inheritance was meant as very real encouragement for the here and now, and I think we lose something of our enthusiasm and confidence when we over-spiritualize it or leave it solely as something for the future that doesn’t affect us now. Paul meant it to embolden and encourage his hearers, and we should consider that as we teach and preach this.” (Mariam Kamell, Working Preacher)
V. 15-20 Confessional hymn
Most likely this is not original to Paul but something he incorporated into his letter
Includes phrasing and theological ideas which are not in Paul’s other letters (Martin, Interpretation: Ephesians, Colossians & Philemon)\
Most likely edited by Paul to support his overall emphasis on Jesus’ sovereignty
See Ralph Martin’s commentary (Interpretation: Ephesians, Colossians & Philemon) for a helpful breakdown of the structure and the elements Paul most likely added to address the Colossian context.
Meant to be read as a complete whole, not as individual statements
Note this does not address the readers directly (like the immediately preceding and following verses)
“The hymn proclaims Christ’s connection with creation itself: he is firstborn, he is an agent of creation, he is the origin and goal of creation. Third, Christ is the head (or origin_ of the church and the firstborn from the dead.” (Beverly Gaventa, Texts for Preaching, Year C. p 606)
Focus on the supremacy of Christ before and above all other cosmic entities.
Jesus is the image of God - maintaining monotheism - “He is not a copy or likeness of God but the “projection” of God on the canvas of our humanity and the embodiment of the divine in the world of men and women” Martin
In him all things have been created - making Christ above all other beings celestial and terrestrial
Martin focuses on two questions:
Who is the Church’s Lord? God embodied/projected upon the human likeness of Jesus. Not Zeus or the cosmos - only God, one God seen in Jesus
What is the Church? The beginning of a new people, a new creation reconciled wholly and completely with God - think of Pauls’ other language of Jesus as the second Adam. Just as Adam was the beginning of humanity so Christ is the beginning of a new humanity
Thoughts and Questions
This passage draws “attention both the reign of Christ in all creation and the implications of that reign for humanity. Through Christ, God transfers humankind from ‘the power of darkness’ and into ‘the inheritance of the saints in the light.’ The commemoration and celebration of that transfer carries with it, of course, the obligation to gratitude and endurance.” (Gaventa, ibid). This prayer and hymn are a call to gratitude and endurance. We are to be grateful for all God has given to us, and this gratefulness can give us the power to endure. Giving thanks is good for you.
This passage pushes the church to examine what it means to call Christ the King. If Christ is the King, then where does that leave us? If Christ is the firstborn of the dead; if Christ was present before Creation; and we are the inheritors of Christ (or as Paul says other places, the Body of Christ), what kind of call, mission, and responsibility does that place on the Church. To call Christ the King is to call the church into mission, into the light, into the inheritance that God intended.
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 (“Miserlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Sunday Morning”,"Real Ride"and“Summertime”) and Bryan Odeen for our closing music.