A Preacher’s Ponderings – Page 3

The vineyard and its tenants

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost; 8 October 2023; Proper 22A (RCL); Exodus20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Psalm 19; Philippians3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46.

I dread this parable. If there were any passage I could excise from scripture, it would be the parable of the vineyard and its tenants. All three synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke) include a version of it. It happens in the narrative context of Jesus teaching in the Temple after he has expelled the sellers of animals and overturned the tables of the money changers, so the Temple cult is in view. And any parable about vineyards or vines occurs against the background of Old Testament passages like Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80:8-19, in which Israel is compared to a vineyard or a vine.

By what authority?

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost; 1 October 2023; Proper 21A (RCL); Exodus 17:-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32.

Matthew puts two sayings or teachings of Jesus together that on first sight don’t have a lot to do with each other. The first is the controversy exchange with the religious authorities. It’s important to remember that the “these things” about which the authorities are questioning him include driving out the merchants of animals and tipping over the tables of the money changers, although the lectionary leaps over this incident. So, the place of the Temple is in view in this exchange.

Reasonable worship

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost; 27 August 2023; Proper 16A (RCL); Exodus 1:8 – 2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20.

In Mark’s account of Peter’s confession, Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that I am,” while Matthew changes that to, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Then, in both versions, he asks the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew seems to be distancing Jesus from the title “Son of Man.” If the Son of Man is an eschatological figure (as in Daniel), then perhaps Matthew is suggesting that Jesus is not the eschatological figure who will judge and reign at the end times. That makes the Messiah (or Christ) something different from the eschatological Son of Man. Does Matthew, like Luke, see an intervening age of the Church?

Who’s in and who’s out

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost; 20 August 2023; Proper 15A (RCL); Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 133; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:10-28.

I wish we weren’t skipping over so much of the story of Joseph in the Track 1 readings. Last week, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, and this week, everything is wonderful. The story of Joseph is really quite troubling. Joseph, acting for the Pharaoh, ends up buying his own people into slavery in exchange for grain. I suspect hidden in this story is some Northern Kingdom/Southern Kingdom antipathy, but that’s a story for another post.

God’s righteousness

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost; 13 August 2023; Proper 14A (RCL); Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33.

Someday, I’ll understand how the designers of the lectionary chose which parts of which passages to read. If we’re only going to read a snippet of Romans 10, why not verses 1-4? Those verses set up Paul’s main argument for the chapter. The bit that begins at verse 5 is just the supporting material for the main argument. How can we understand the supporting material if we don’t the argument? Paul is praying for his kin according to the flesh (that is the Jews, if that term isn’t anachronistic, or better, for Israel, according to the flesh). The crucial sentence (my translation) is “For, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own (righteousness), they did not arrange themselves under God’s righteousness” (v. 3).

The promises

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost; 6 August 2023; Proper 13A (RCL); Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 16; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21.

I know, I know. August 6 is the Feast of the Transfiguration, which takes precedence over a Sunday. But I didn’t want to miss the chance to preach on Romans 9, so I asked permission of my bishop to use Proper 13 instead, and received it. As we’ve been reading Paul’s argument over the summer, it is clear that he is using the epic of Israel as his outline. Adam, Abraham, slavery, freedom through baptism (the Red Sea), the giving of the law, and at last (in Chapter 8) the inheritance.

What shall separate us?

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost; 30 July 2023; Proper 12A (RCL); Genesis 29:15-28; Psalm 105:1-11, 45b; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:21-34, 44-52.

Who doesn’t love this passage from Romans, with its assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ? The list sounds pretty extreme, so surely nothing we face can compare. But for Paul hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or the sword was a catalog of dangers he had faced personally (see 2 Corinthians 11:21-29 — five times he received the forty lashes less one, and then a whole list of other trials). And yet, he was confident of the gospel he preached.

Labor pains

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; 23 July 2023; Proper 11A (RCL); Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139:1-11, 22-23; Romans 18:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

More on wheat and tares below, but I want to start with the Romans reading. Paul’s theological vision is stunning. Creation is not yet complete; it is coming to birth. And it was subjected to futility by none other than God. What can this mean?

Flesh/Spirit

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost; 16 July 2023; Proper 10A (RCL); Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.

I’ve always found (and still do find) the parable of the sower a little bit troubling. Sowing seed was often used in the ancient world as a metaphor for teaching, but in most cases, the focus of the metaphor was on the careful preparation of the soil. The philosopher/teacher spent a great deal of care in preparation of the soil, so that the implanted seed would take root and bear fruit.

Is Paul crazy?

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost; 9 July 2023; Proper 9A (RCL); Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:11-18; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.

We abbreviate the story of Abraham’s servant and Rebekah for the sake of liturgical reading, but it is one of the most complete novellas in the Old Testament. And after reading it, can there be any doubt that John is copying the plot of this standard story in the episode of the Samaritan woman at the well? It is interesting, however, that after the events of last Sunday’s lection (call it the Sacrifice of Isaac, or the Obedience of Abraham, or what you will) that Abraham and Isaac never speak again in the story.