The Readings for Worship on August 30th, 2015

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good

things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in

us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth

in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,

for ever and ever. Amen. (from the Book of Common Prayer)

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

1 So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. 3 You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did with regard to the Baal of Peor—how the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.

  5 See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. 6 You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” 7 For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? 8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

  9 But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.

The Word of the Lord.

Psalm: Psalm 15

1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? 

    who may abide upon your holy hill?

2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, 

    who speaks the truth from his heart.

3 There is no guile upon his tongue;

he does no evil to his friend; 

    he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.

 4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, 

    but he honors those who fear the LORD.

 5 He has sworn to do no wrong 

    and does not take back his word.

 6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, 

    nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

 7 Whoever does these things 

    shall never be overthrown.

Second Reading: James 1:17-27

17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

  19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

  22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

  26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The Word of the Lord.

Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

1 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around [Jesus], 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 

   ‘This people honors me with their lips,

     but their hearts are far from me;

  7 in vain do they worship me,

     teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

  14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

  21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Greek Text of Mark 7:1-23

Mark 7:1-8; 14-15; 21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ²they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.³(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; ⁴and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) ⁵So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” ⁶He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; ⁷in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ ⁸You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

¹⁴Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²²adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

v1 οι Φαρισαιοι (ος) "the Pharisees" - Two groups are identified, local Pharisees and Pharisees from Jerusalem.

των γραμματεων (ευς εως) gen. "[some] of the teachers of the law" - genitive is adjectival, partitive.

συναγονται (συναγω) pres. pas. "gathered around" - this is the main verb of the sentence, sometimes treated as if introducing a temporal clause.

v2 ιδοντες (οραω) aor. part. "saw" - attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "comes together."

αρτους (ος) pl. "food" – literally bread- references to eating bread normally refer to eating food in general; probably not a link back to the feeding of the five thousand.

κοιναις (ος) "unclean" - common as opposed to "private", but took on the particular ritual sense of "impurity", "defilement", in Jewish circles.

ανιπτοις (ος) "unwashed" – Mark explains the meaning of the word "common" to his Gentile readers.

v3 παντες οι Ιουδαιοι "All the Jews" – many Pharisees practiced rigorous purity rituals, but certainly not "all the Jews." 

πυγνμ (η) "ceremonial" - with the fist. This word obviously has another meaning other than "fist", but it is not known. Yet, the point of the sentence is clear; religious Jews practiced ritual purification. Gundry suggests "raising hands that are cupped in a fist-like fashion, but with fingers held slightly apart to allow full coverage with the least possible amount of water."

κρατουντες (κρατεω) nom. pl. pres. part. "holding to" – grasping- participle is possibly causal, "they do not eat because they strictly observe the traditions of the elders",

v4 κρατειν (κρατεω) pres. inf. "they observe" - infinitive introduces an epexegetic construction explaining, in summary form, the type of traditions received. 

ποτηριων (ον) gen. "of cups" - genitive is verbal, objective

  
v5 επερωτωσιν (επερωταω) pres. "asked" – a historic present tense. 

περιπατουσιν (περιπατεω) pres. "live" - walk abou - in the sense of "conduct oneself."

των πρεσβυτερων gen. adj. "tradition of the elders" - adjective serves as a substantive, as far as Jesus is concerned, their received wisdom is man-made. 

χερσιν (ρ ρος) dat. "with [defiled] hands" - dative is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of their eatin.

  
v6 των υποκριτων "hypocrites" - This popular Matthean term is only used once in Mark. Note how Mark says that Isaiah's words are for "you". The prophets words are for their own generation, but also for subsequent members of the kingdom.

τοις χειλεσιν (ος) dat. "with their lips" - dative is instrumental, expressing means.

η ... καρδια "[their] hearts" - the issue of scribal religion being external rather than internal (a problem of belief necessitating inner renewal) is developed in v14-23.

  
v7 ματην adv. "vain" – the word is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

διδασκοντες (διδασκω) pres. part. "teachings" - participle is causal; "also not in the Hebrew, but in the LXX, and applicable here in reference to the Pharisees. 

ανθρωπων (ος) gen. "merely human [rules]" - genitive is adjectival, limiting "commandments".

v8 αφεντες (αφιημι) aor. part. "you have let go" - abandoned, forsaken, left - participle is adverbial; "you hold to human traditions and drop what God commands." Here the sense is possibly "neglect" (let go by default) rather than wilfully abandon, although a shift from what God commands to a watered down version of the law is surely worse than neglect. Neglecting the good is one thing, defining the good as something other than what God calls good is another. 

κρατειτε (κρατεω) pres. "holding on to [the traditions]" - this verb with the accusative usually means "to hold firmly and completely" but here probably with the sense "keep/observe".

v14 προσκαλεσαμενος (προσκαλεομαι) aor. part. "called" - participle is temporal.

τον οχλον (ος) "crowd" - Jesus now moves his attention from the Pharisees to the crowd, from argumentation to parables.

ακουσατε (ακουω) aor. imp. "listen" – a call to give careful thought to his words that follow.

v15 ουδεν "nothing" Emphasizing that defilement is not caused by contamination from unwashed hands or anything, eg. contact with a dead body, Jesus is not actually demolishing Leviticus 15, nor the image of purity required of God's people as illustrated in the food laws etc., but rather the foolish notion that a person can, by the careful observance of external purity law, be declared holy. 

εξωθεν + gen. "outside of" - spacial.

κοινωσαι (κοινοω) aor. inf. "[can make him] unclean - make common. 

εισπορευομενον (εισπορευομαι) pres. part. "by going [into them]" - instrumental, expressing means.

εκπορευομενα (εκπορευομαι) pres. part. "comes out" - participle is adjectival, "the things which come out." "What defiles a man is what comes out of him", Cassirer.

 
v21 εσωθεν "from within, what comes out that defiles, or better, sin that inevitably comes out of a corrupt heart is what defiles.

των ανθρωπων (ος) gen. "of a person's [heart]" - adjectival, possessive.

διαλογισμοι (ος) "[evil] thoughts" - reasoning, deliberations, designs. "Thoughts" is somewhat misleading as the reasoning is active, rather than a passive. The phrase serves to cover all the evils that follow. 

  
v22 πρεονεξιαι (α) "greed" - covetousness with a sexual connotation.

ασελγεια "lewdness'' - indecency.

οφθαλμος πονηρος "envy" - evil eye.

αφροσυνη "folly" - foolishness, stupidity- not so much intellectual foolishness, but rather the wrongheadedness of unbelief.

  
v23 εσωθεν adv. "from inside" - adverb of place. "A person is corrupted by what is within."

Wash your hands before supper!-- Pr. Kruse

'When God wishes, He becomes fire, burning up every coarse passion that has taken root in the soul. "For our God is a consuming fire" (Dt. 4:24; Heb. 12:29). When He wishes, He becomes an inexpressible and mysterious rest so that the soul may find rest in God's rest. When He wishes, he becomes joy and peace, cherishing and protecting the soul.’ — St. Macarius the Great

I make little to no secret of the fact that I have a problem with the way the lectionary cuts texts into pieces or out of their context. This week both happen. We have read 6 weeks of John 6 so it is important to recover where Jesus is right now and where Mark’s story is. It is also important to read and use what the lectionary has omitted. 

Where are we: As in John, we have sat with the 5,000 that were fed in the lonely places outside of villages. With the disciples we have crossed the lake. There was a headwind and Jesus came to them walking on the water. He got into the boat and the wind died down. They made it to Gennesaret where many brought the sick to be healed. Then the Pharisees gather to challenge him. 

It is good to remember that verses 9-13 exist. They are the expansion of the though: “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” (7:8) These verses make a case that the “great tradition” that the Pharisees are trying to defend and impose is really faulty. It is faulty because it makes one an actor of the ways of the God of Moses rather than a follower of that way. In other words, another set of motivations has taken over, another state of heart rules, and that state of heart and mind becomes the stage on which the Law of Moses is acted out and it is brought to terms. When that happens the law of Moses is nullified and the Pharisees are exposed as “actors” of it. Hypocrite in a positive use means just that: Actor. 

The second gap in the text is at 17-20. (If your bible has a 16th verses it will say: If anyone has ears, let him hear. A common phrase in Mark but it is not in all the manuscripts.) Here we learn that Mark considers verses 14-15 a parable. Jesus explanation, and it is a impatient one since he seems to have thought that the disciples should have understood it, ends with the words: “And so he declared all foods clean.” He does so by pointing out that food just passes through a person and cannot by its own nature defile since it does not enter the “heart,” the seat of faith and convictions. One can obviously avoid shellfish meticulously and one can install two kitchens in ones house, one for meat and one for dairy products so one does not accidentally cook a calf in milk that contains traces of its mother’s milk. All this matters very little unless the heart is set on God. Clean food does not make a clean heart or spirit, though a clean heart and spirit might avoid certain foods. (Ps 51:10 and Rom 14:13-22)

Pilch explains that what is at stake is a struggle between the middle class, urban Pharisees and the rural peasants and artisans. The former had their “Great Tradition” that they assert in verse 5. What the disciples were doing at this occasion was to act like the rural fishermen they were. Pilch notes that there was a “Little Tradition,” that the people in Gennesaret and Galilee would have observed and followed. The difference is really one of practicality and is hinted at in Mark’s aside. (7:3-4) When water is easily accessible washing things ceremonially is no problem. When living in a controlled urban environment, the “unclean” things, like dead animals or fish, can easily be kept at arm’s length or even rendered plain absent. If one is a builder, or fisherman, or a shepherd, on the other hand, coming in contact with dead and otherwise unclean things is called “Monday.” 

No doubt the Pharisees had heard about Jesus escapade with the 5,000 people. One must wonder what they thought of it. Based on their Great Tradition and its rules on cleanliness, the meal in the wilderness must have been nothing short of a disaster to them. No one, I presume, washed their hands before handling the bread and the fish and one wonders if the fish would have passed “kosher” regulations if there is something like that for salted fish. Yet, in the Little Tradition this meal was a meal of the poor and humble who lack the luxury of large stone jars to hold water for ablution. 

But does not Deuteronomy, which we also read this Sunday, say that obeying the law is vital and fundamental? Is not the law good? After all, the LORD gave it. 

Again, the omitted verses tell a tale. The experience of God in the Exodus and the wilderness was to have taught Israel compassion for one another and especially for ones own, just as the LORD had shown compassion to the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, remembering the covenant made with their ancestor Abraham. Ought one not have compassion as well if one stands under the protection and loving eye of that God? That compassion even spill out on those not under covenant as seen in the story of the Syrophoenician woman that follows our reading today.
So: if one is compassionate as God’s holy people, how can one then refuse to come to ones own father’s and mother’s aid with ones fortune? This is what is at stake in verses 11 and 12. Saying that what one might have used for the purpose of caring for ones own elderly is “Corban” puts it beyond reach. It is like saying: “I dedicated the money I had set aside for you to God so discuss your poverty with the almighty.” It causes the one who does so to be so earthly minded — wealth minded — that they are no longer any heavenly good — for compassion for the helpless and hungry is a heavenly core value. 

But, the Corban in the law of Moses and therefor it was in the Great Tradition but that tradition allowed one to say: “I need to make sacrifice to God and here is the money to purchase the sacrificial animal. Now that I am X amount poorer because of my sacrifice, I no longer have the money to care for others.” Convenient, but also blasphemous. Both the sacrifice and the treatment of ones parents would have made a stench in the nostrils of the almighty. 

The issue is not even so much about Great Tradition versus Little Tradition but about the heart that keeps any of the traditions at all for out of the heart’s convictions, out of the hearts Faith and commitment to Jesus, come our actions; our good actions but also our pseudo good actions, as well as our evil deeds. Today’s text is not about evil deeds but about our pseudo good deeds. Is our compassion true and an overflowing from the heart like the compassion Jesus displayed at seeing the 5,000 before them or is our compassion compulsion that says: “I should but I have not enough so I won’t even try?” (6:37)

Much is disclosed about you in the ways you act, especially when you act under stress when thinking through your next actions is not your privilege. There it is seen what your heart does. In the seizure of plotting your next move, declaring your money for mercy Corban is a good cover. In the stress times we all become manifest as who we are. If anyone has ever told you that: “I don’t like being around you when you are stressed out,” then it is time to think about what is in your heart because it spilled out. 

Scriptures call is to be conformed to Christ, heart and soul, and mind. That heart, is one of compassion. Where is your’s?

The Texts for Sunday, August 23rd, 2015

First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2a And Joshua said to all the people, 14 “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

  16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

Psalm 34:15-22 (from the Book of Common Prayer

15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, 

    and his ears are open to their cry.

16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, 

    to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them 

    and delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted 

    and will save those whose spirits are crushed.

19 Many are the troubles of the righteous, 

    but the LORD will deliver him out of them all.

20 He will keep safe all his bones; 

    not one of them shall be broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked, 

    and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants, 

    and none will be punished who trust in him.

Second Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

10 Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

  18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Gospel: John 6:56-69

[Jesus said,] 56 “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

  60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

  66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

The Greek Text of John 6:56-69 -- Pr Fourman

Greek Study John 6:56-69

⁵⁶Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

⁶⁰When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” ⁶¹But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶²Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? ⁶³It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him.⁶⁵And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” ⁶⁶Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

v56 ο τρωγων (τρωγω) pres. part. "whoever eats" - participle serves as a substantive.

μενει (μενω) pres. "remains" – abides – the present tense indicating a continuing state. The one who eats and drinks of Christ becomes “one with Christ” and thus being identified with Christ, shares the reward of that faithful relationship.

v57 ο ζων πατηρ "the living Father" – God possesses life in himself and it is he who has granted the Son to also possess life in himself. "The Father who is life" is a better translation than "the source of life."

  
v58 ο .... καταβας (καταβαινω) aor. part. "that came down" participle is adjectival for bread.

οι πατερες "your forefathers" - "those ancestors" who ate.

ου καθως "but" - not as. - comparison is unclear; is it between the ancestors and those who eat the bread Christ supplies, or between the bread the ancestors ate and the bread Jesus gives?

ο τρωγων "he who feeds" - participle serves as a substantive. Again, a singular person is used of personal faith in Christ, although the individual is part of a community.

v59 ταυτα "this" - these things- referring to the entire discourse, v27-58.

διδασκων (διδασκων) pres. part. "while teaching [in the synagogue]" - participle is adverbial forming a temporal clause.

εν συναγωγη (η) "in the synagogue" - Although there is no definite article before "synagogue", it is still likely Jesus was actually in the synagogue when he gave the "synagogue instruction". It is possible that the lack of an article indicates that an assembly for worship is in mind rather than a building. 

  

v60 ακουσαντες (ακουω) aor. part. "on hearing it" - participle is adverbial, temporal; "therefore, many of the disciples, when they understood what he was saying..."

μαθητων (νς ου) "[his] disciples" – followers; not to be confused with the 12. These are those who have accepted Jesus and his words and followed him, but now they do not accept his words and abandon him. This is about perseverance, not intellectual assent. 

σκληρος (ος) "hard" - offensive. Jesus' teaching is intolerable. Why? The illustration of eating his flesh and drinking his blood is offensive to those who don't understand metaphor. Possibly there are those who are so crass that his failure to produce more free food is grounds for disassociation. It is more likely that Jesus' claim that he is authorized by God to give life and therefore stands over Moses is the source of the offence.

ακουειν (ακουω) pres. inf. "[who can] accept?" literally, “{who can stand} to hear?”

v61 ειδως (οιδα) perf. part. "aware" – ‘inward knowing” adverbial, Jesus is conscious that some of his followers are antagonistic to his teaching. There is no miraculous understanding implied - any sensitive teacher picks up on his student’s reactions!

σκανδαλιζει (σκανδαλιζω) pres. ind. "[does this] offend [you]?" – lit. cause you to sin/stumble.

v62 εαν + subj. "what if" - Introducing a conditional clause, 3rd. class, where the condition has the possibility of coming true, except contextually this doesn't make sense. So this may be an aposiopesis, a rare Greek grammatical form that mimics a rhetorical question.  It literally means to “break off into silence” or “to leave a sentence hanging”. So think of Jesus saying to the crowd about to bail on him; "So…..what if you were to see the son of man ascend to where he was before??????"

του ανθρωπου (ος) gen. "[Son] of Man" – a title drawn from Daniel 7:13, a mysterious messianic person who comes to the Ancient of Days and receives power & authority.

αναβαινοντα (αναβαινω) pres. part. "ascend" - participle is an object complement. In John, Jesus ascends to the Father by being lifted up on the cross. If Jesus' words have offended the disciples, how much more will they be offended with they see that? So possibly, "how much more will your faith be shaken when you see me crucified?"

το προτερον adv. "[where he was] before" – formerly - the sense of being reunited to the Father through death on a cross.

v63 Bultmann's translation of this verse is "You say, 'it is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless'; but I say, 'the words that I have spoken to you are both Spirit and life.'" There is much to commend this. The disciples may be offended by Jesus' teaching up to this point, this :”greater than Moses” claim and his claim to be the source of eternal life. But surely the Spirit is the source of life, not words, not a flesh and blood man like Jesus. "Not so", says Jesus; "the words I have spoken to you are both Spirit and life!" We are talking new theology here.

το πνευμα (α ατος) "the Spirit" - meaning "the Holy Spirit", "God's Spirit", or "human spirit". Usually without an attributive the word "spirit" in the NT means "God's Spirit", but the context can imply that the human spirit, i.e. our being infused with the words of Jesus, produces life. [Probably " Holy Spirit" is intended!]

ζωοποιουν (ζωοποιεω) pres. part. "[gives] life" - participle serves as a substantive. In the Nicodemus discourse, chapter 3, Jesus reworked the Old Testament life-giving role of the Spirit. Here the words of Jesus, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, give life. Such an assertion would indeed offend many of Jesus' disciples.

ρηματα (α ατος) "words" – actually “things” – a word most often associated with legal speak…is the closest Greek equivalent to the Hebrews word used in Genesis 1, “God spoke and it was…” which  theologically sounds like “λογοσ” but it’s not. The point is, John is using this word intentionally to distinguish the “spirit word” (ρημα) from the “incarnate word” – (λογοσ).

εγω pro. "I [have spoken]" – the emphatic "I", God through Moses gave life-giving Manna; Jesus gives life-giving words.

v64 πιστευουσιν (πιστευω) pres. "believe" - Jesus identifies the problem of doubting disciples; they are not in relationship with “rhema” and so do not receive the gift of life.

ο παραδωσων (παραδιδωμι) fut. part. "who would betray" - the future substantive articular participle is rare in John. The word is often used of Jesus being "delivered up" to the cross or of Pilate or even Jesus himself ‘delivering up”. But here it refers to Judas and again indicating Jesus' ability to read people.

v65 ελεγεν (λεγω) imperf. "he was saying. imperfect is iterative, expressing repeated action, "I told you once…”.

δια τουτο "this is why" - referring to the lack of faith in v64a. Jesus knows some of the disciples would not believe the unfolding revelation in his person and work. He has already made the point in v37 and v44 that only those attracted by the Father will continue in faith.

v66 εκ τουτου "from this time" - from this. The sense may be that some disciples "turned back" because they were not "empowered" (v65) by God to have faith.  Or they turned back because what they wanted, Jesus would not give and what he offered they would not receive. 

εις τα οπισω "[turned] back" - (lit. "what lies behind") i.e. went back to their former ways. They had followed Jesus and now they return to their former lives.

  
v67 τοις δωδεκα dat. "the twelve" - Dative of indirect object; the first mention of ‘the twelve” in John! (This may indicate a new literary source!)

v68 απελευσομεθα (απερχομαι) fut. ind. "[to whom] shall we go?" – a deliberative rhetorical phrase where the question expects no reply. The verb in such a construction is usually an aorist subjunctive but here is a future indicative. Peter faced with such a radical choice, states clearly that for him there is no other way than to follow Jesus, the source of life.

ρηματα (α ατος) "the words" -ζωης (η) gen. "of [eternal] life" - the genitive is unclear; probably epexegetic, limiting "words", serving to expose the nature of the head noun in question. Yet, what is the sense of the genitive? Are they words which "give eternal life", or words that "lead to eternal life", or words that "have the ring of eternal life", or "living words" or just words that "concern life"? Any is possible!  Welcome to Greek 101!

Study Insights and questions on John 6:56-69 -- Pr. Nelson

Notes from a couple of commentaries– Working Preacher – Brian Peterson and Karoline Lewis

• Lesson is not about bread so much as life.  At this point it is the disciples who “grumble”.  Is it because they don’t understand – or do and don’t like it.  Mark Twain – “Not so much the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that trouble me – it’s the ones I do.”
• Jesus says – this causes offense?  What about when he “goes up” via the cross?  Will they be able to see the glory of God there?
• “flesh” does not mean the body is bad.  Flesh here is the normal way of seeing reality.  The “flesh” way cannot see that eternal life comes through the exaltation of Jesus on the cross.  Only the “spirit” way can do this – make faith possible.  See Martin Luther – 3^rd article of the creed.  Jesus points to his own words that give life, to the Spirit as the one who gives life, and to the Father as the one who brings people to Jesus.  In other words – faith is the work of the Triune God.
• Unbelief is not only “them” – but in us.  It asks where we feel reluctant to follow Jesus.
• At the end – Jesus popularity has plummeted.  This does not look promising but also shows us how God works – in the midst of apparent failure and rejection.  We are always being called and drawn toward life in God.
• Peter “chooses” to stay (although he will deny him later).  The paradox is that we, too, are asked to respond at the same time we know that it is God who does the “choosing”.  We are to gratefully respond to God’s call.
• At the end of the gospel –Judas is identified as the betrayer.  What is betrayal in John’s gospel?  According to Lewis, betrays is not believing that the abundant life Jesus offers you is real.  Betrayal is anything and everything that makes you think you aren’t someone Jesus could love.  The other disciples walk away and Judas is introduced.  This is betrayal.  Not handing Jesus over but not being able to handle the intimacy of relationships that matter, but most importantly, our relationship with God.  

Questions:   

1. Can you identify yourself in different characters in this story?  Like a part of the crowd who walked away – is it sometimes hard to follow Jesus?  What does Peter’s confession sound like – a resignation – like “what else can we do, Lord” or something else?  
2. Consider the definition of betrayal in the last paragraph.  Do you agree?

What are you holding in your hand: On John 6:56-69 -- Pr Kruse

Brother, often animals are wiser than men. Let us learn obedience and patience from the ox, humility and meekness from the lamb, cleanliness and industry from the ants and bees. We can learn a lesson for our life from all the animals. — Elder Paisios Olaru from Sihla Sketes

Joshua is on the banks of the Jordan and about to cross into the promise land. Unbeknownst to the crowd, the Manna that has kept them alive and about which they have complained so often is about to cease falling. Its time is done. It has kept a people alive for a generation but now they are at Jordan’s banks and new realities are taking hold. The LORD will still provide but in different ways. 

There is a difference between Manna and the Holy Eucharist. One is a temporary provision to keep alive the wandering refugees. The latter is the food of heaven, eternal, given to wandering and trembling souls as well as settled and secure ones, the poor and fortunate ones alike, the fearful sinner and the humble saint, and it is meant toward eternity.

One cannot really hold on to Manna. It spoils overnight. (Ex 16) It has to be created new every morning. Not so with the Eucharist: It is the Body and Blood of Christ who is without beginning and without end. It is not a temporary solution. It is the food of the world to come as well as the food of those who are longing for that world, having been destined toward it through baptism. (6:57)

We have heard Jesus make it plain: Moses and the people ate Manna, a miraculous gift, but they nonetheless died. (6:58) It was a gift given for this world. To long for it is to long for the things of this world. Neither Moses nor Manna are diminished by Jesus’ words. They were and are gifts to this world by a gracious God. But we do well not to loose perspective: They are temporary and beyond them lies the vastness  of eternity where they are of no avail. (6:63) There, in the vast space and time of God, only the Body and Blood of Christ avail. There not the letter of law but the Spirit avails. (1:12-13) In this world bronze snakes (once a sign of healing, later an idol destroyed by Hezekiah — 1 Kings 18:4) are lifted by prophets (Moses), there the Son of Man is lifted up. (3:14)

The multitude has come seeking Jesus and he has taught them many things. He fed them in the wilderness. They sat and ate their fill. (6:26) But they are not disciples. They have not placed their Faith in him. More importantly, he has not called them to follow. For now, that privilege rests only on the 12. At the end of chapter 6, those 12 are the only ones left to follow him and he seems fine with it. They are the only ones who will gather at the passover with him. They are the same who will gather at the beach after the resurrection. No, I have not forgotten about Judas who, in John, is taken hostage by the evil one and betrays Jesus only to disappear in the telling of St. John. 

The rest of the crowd withdraws. Unlike the 12, it had not been given them to follow Jesus. (6:65) Their values and commitment are to Manna, blessed but temporary. Their values and commitment worship on mountains at shrines and the Temple — both destined to be destroyed. (4:21) They are of the world, of the temporary things. They cannot go where he is going and will perish in the temporary and in their sin. (8:21) There are earthly things and heavenly things and he is master of both and lives in both but is obedient only to the heavenly, as must you be. (3:13) 

You wish to be his disciple? Then you too must realize that he has overcome the world. (16:33) He has no need to judge it, it will pass by its own nature. (12:47) But those who put their faith in him cross over from the passing to the eternal. (5:24)

At this point the question of faith becomes difficult. Are you here just for dinner or are you here for something radically different? Jesus seems to be content to lose a throng of dinner guests in favor of a small band of disciples who put their Faith, allegiance, and their life in him and him alone. That is not a very worldly thing to do or think. No wonder it was remarked that his were hard sayings. (6:60)

John writes in the prolog: 

1:16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Heaven’s graces replaces earth’s graces, even the dear ones, even the best ones, even our finest, even the miracles we experience, even Moses. The same spirit is contained in the post script to John’s Gospel on the beach: “Do you love me more than these?” (21:15)

What in the world will you not give up for Faith and for the Lord? You will give them up. All of them. Each of them. In the end, what will you be left with? In the end will you not be either be left with Christ or nothing at all? 

The gifts and graces of this world abound and they are good in their time. Will you love Him more than these? 

Sunday Texts for August 16th, 2015

First Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6

  1 Wisdom has built her house,

     she has hewn her seven pillars.

  2 She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,

     she has also set her table.

  3 She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls

     from the highest places in the town,

  4 “You that are simple, turn in here!”

     To those without sense she says,

  5 “Come, eat of my bread

     and drink of the wine I have mixed.

  6 Lay aside immaturity, and live,

     and walk in the way of insight.”

The Word of the Lord

Psalm: Psalm 34:9-14

9 Fear the LORD, you that are his saints, *

    for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, *

    but those who seek the LORD lack nothing that is good.

11 Come, children, and listen to me; *

    I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Who among you loves life *

    and desires long life to enjoy prosperity?

13 Keep your tongue from evil-speaking *

    and your lips from lying words.

14 Turn from evil and do good; *

    seek peace and pursue it.

Second Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20

15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel: John 6:51-58

[Jesus said,] 51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

  52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”