Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost; 21 August 2022; Proper 16C (RCL); Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17.
I cringe a little whenever we read a passage like this one from Luke’s Gospel. After Mark’s Gospel, Christian authors followed the standard trope of presenting “the Jews” (or some sect thereof, like the Scribes, and/or the Pharisees, etc.) as hypocritical rule-followers. For centuries, Christian biblical interpretation has reinforced this caricature. It behooves us to remember this rhetoric was developed in the midst of a life-and-death struggle between siblings, and we no longer share that context. Maintaining this trope has proved deadly.
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