We are all beggars, of this I am certain

“We are all beggars, of this I am certain.” — Martin Luther’s dying words

John Pilch points out that for the first century nearer behavior at meals was very important. This might well be the reason that observations on table and hosting — and “guesting” —etiquette are common in the Gospel of Luke. Here are a few: Everyone watches whether one washes before supper (Lk 11:38); who eats what, when, and where (Lk 6:4); what is done or omitted at table or in preparation for eating (Lk 7:38-49); who is invited (Lk 14:12-14); where people sit (Lk 14:7-11); with whom one eats (Lk 15:2); and in what order persons of different rank come to the table (Lk 17:7-8).

In the parable that follows our reading today, it becomes obvious that sometimes one must turn down an invitation. (14:15-24) One does so for a very simple reason: Once one accepts the invitation one is obligated by Mediterranean and Mid Eastern custom to reciprocate. (see 14:12) If one cannot it is better to find a reason to say no. 

It supported a cast system, this habit. A host invited those who had hosted him in the past and would host him in the future. Inviting anyone significantly below ones own rank, status, or cast was futile and seen as foolishness. 

 But what is God to do? There are no other gods to invite who would be able to host him in return. There are drawbacks in being the Lord Most High whose name is so holy it is not spoken. If the Almighty invites someone to “eat at the feast in the kingdom of God,” (Lk 14:17) it will be clear to that someone that they are invited to an occasion for which they cannot make a return invitation and it makes no difference who that “someone” is. The rich have no advantage on the poor in this respect. 

If one was to act here on earth as one who took ones cues from how God handles things in heaven who would one then invite? The answer is somewhat obvious: anyone — because reciprocity would be meaningless since it seems to be meaningless to the Almighty. A person’s dignity is in the invitation of the Father in Heaven, not in the capacity of that individual to invite in return. The honor of the Almighty is kept by the Almighty and not by social convention and it is consistent with God’s honor to humble heaven in the person of Jesus. This humility is what Jesus will invite the disciple into later in the chapter, but that is next weeks reading.

Though this is not a Eucharistic text, it does have implications on how we view the Lord’s Supper. There we are invited to “eat at the feast of the Kingdom of God.” (14:17) Yet, we come as radically insufficient guests. We have nothing to reciprocate with really. We come responding to an invitation that echoes Isaiah 55. 

Yet, at that meal we ourselves do come to be hosts in a sense. Surely those to whom the Lord joins himself in Baptism, those who take in his presence in the hosts of the Eucharist “host” the Lord in some respect as they depart from the Altar. But what hosts we are: Faulty and fragile, without holiness or means. Exactly the failures that make earthly hosting impossible. 

In a way the text and the Eucharist are about human dignity, a dignity that is not resident in the human form but is, to use 1 Peter’s language, kept in heaven for us, safe from rust and decay. Our dignity that invites us to the feast is in the eye of the Creator and Father of all. As Paul writes, there is no boasting. (Ro 3) We are called from the least ranks of the table (14:10) to sit at higher places than we can imagine. 

“We are all beggars, of this I am certain,” is timeless wisdom. Yet, we are beggars that have been called from our places of begging at the door (Lazarus) to higher places, places we do not dare claim (14:8) but places the Host of hosts bestowed in the hope that we might host Him, not in splendor but in our humility (14:25-27) for humility is the Lord’s great strength. 

The Texts for Sunday, August 21st, the 14th Sunday after the Pentecost, 2016

First Reading: Isaiah 58:9b-14

 9bIf you remove the yoke from among you,

  the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

 10if you offer your food to the hungry

  and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,

 then your light shall rise in the darkness

  and your gloom be like the noonday.

 11The Lord will guide you continually,

  and satisfy your needs in parched places,

  and make your bones strong;

 and you shall be like a watered garden,

  like a spring of water,

  whose waters never fail.

 12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

  you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

 you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

  the restorer of streets to live in.

 13If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,

  from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;

 if you call the sabbath a delight

  and the holy day of the Lord honorable;

 if you honor it, not going your own ways,

  serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;

 14then you shall take delight in the Lord,

  and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;

 I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,

  for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Psalm: Psalm 103:1-8

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, 

    and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, 

    and forget not all his benefits.

3 He forgives all your sins 

    and heals all your infirmities;

4 He redeems your life from the grave 

    and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;

5 He satisfies you with good things, 

    and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

6 The LORD executes righteousness 

    and judgment for all who are oppressed.

7 He made his ways known to Moses 

    and his works to the children of Israel.

8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, 

    slow to anger and of great kindness.

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-29

18You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20(For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” 21Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

  25See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Gospel: Luke 13:10-17

10Now [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Greek Study Luke 13:10-17

Greek Study Luke 13:10-17

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. ¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

  
v10 ην διδασκων (διδασκω) pres. part. "Jesus was teaching" - a periphrastic imperfect, that accentuates durative action in the past.

εν μια των συναγωγων "in one of the synagogues" - the preposition εν is locative, expressing space and the genitive των συναγωγων is adjectival.

  
v11 και ιδου and behold ην (ειμι) "[a woman] was there" - The Textus Receptus adds the imperfect verb to-be after woman, probably to fix up the grammar.

εχουσα (εχω) pres. part. "who had been" ασθενειας (α) "crippled by [a spirit]" of infirmity, weakness. The simplest explanation is that the "spirit" is her spirit, so she "suffered from a weakening spirit", i.e. ill from some psychological cause. 

ην συγκυπτουσα (συγκυπτω) pres. part. "she was bent over" – with the negated participleμη δυναμενη "not able" this forms a paraphrastic imperfect construction, emphasizing the durative nature of her condition (scoliosis?)

ανακυψαι (ανακυπτω) aor. inf. "straighten" - infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the negated verb "she was not able". The qualifying prepositional phrase εις το παντελες, "completely" is unclear. Is she completely unable (at all) or unable completely to straighten herself (i.e. a bit)?

v12 ιδων (ειδον) aor. part. "when [Jesus] saw [her]" a temporal clause.

αυτη dat. pro. "[said] to her" απολελυσαι (απολυω) perf. pas. + gen. "you are set released” (set free) perfect tense expressing action with ongoing results, i.e. the cure is permanent. 

της ασθενειας (a) gen. "from [your] infirmity" a genitive of direct object after an απο i.e. "set free from". She who was once characterized by this infirmity is now free to be redefined by the community!

  
v13 επεθηκεν (επιτιθημι) aor. "he put his [hands]" - Jesus touching a person, not an essential element in healing, but often used for reassurance, intimacy, involvement...

παραχρημα adv. "immediately"

ανωρθωθη (αναορθοω) aor. pas. "she straightened up" Note the passive so "suddenly she was standing straight and tall!"

εδοξαζεν (δοξαθω) imperf. "praised [God]" another imperfect expressing durative action; she wouldn't stop praising God.

  
v14 The ruler of the synagogue is literally applying Exodus 20:9.

αποκριθεις (αποκρινομαι) aor. pas. part. having answered 

αγανακτων (αγανακτεω) pres. part. "indignant" - annoyed/angry at a perceived wrong. The participle is best taken as limiting the ruler of the synagogue who was indignant 

οτι "because" Jesus had healed on τω σαββατω/ (ον) dat. "the Sabbath" 

τω οχλω (ος) dat. "[said] to the people" δει εργαζεσθαι (εργαζομαι) pres. inf. "6 days for work" - infinitive functions as the subject of the verb "is necessary" ερχομενοι (ερχομαι) pres. part. "come [and be healed]" an attendant circumstance participle expressing action. 

τη ημερα (α) dat. "on the day του σαββατου (ον) gen. "the Sabbath" of the Sabbath. 

  
v15 υπακριται (ης ου) pl. "you hypocrites" Those who pretend to be other than what they are. The person is plural indicating Jesus is speaking to a wider group than just the ruler of the synagogue. 

ου λυει (λυω) pres. "doesn't [each of you on the Sabbath] untie" This negation in a question expects a positive answer.

υμων gen. pro. "[each] of you" - genitive is adjectival.

τω σαββατω (ον) dat. "on the Sabbath" – a temporal dative.

απαγαγων (απαγω) aor. part. "lead it out" participle expressing action that accompanies the verb "give a drink".

v16 ουκ εδει "should not" this verb is often used to imply a divine necessity. If not a divine necessity, at least Jesus is making the point that, irrespective of it being the Sabbath day, he is bound to "set her loose", given that he is able to do so and she is a daughter of Abraham.

ταυτην acc. pro. "this" - emphatic by position.

ουσαν (ειμι) pres. part. "[a daughter of Abraham]" participle is adjectival, so "the one being" = "who is a daughter of Abraham." This argument seems to be that if it is literally proper to untie an animal to give it a drink, then it is obviously proper to "untie" a woman who is a Daughter of Abraham.

ο Σατανας "Satan" - the source of all sickness, although, as noted above, her condition is probably not the consequence of demon possession.

εδησεν (δεω) aor. "has kept bound" aorist expresses punctiliar action, so the immediacy of her being bound and now no longer bound, is in mind.

ιδου behold interjection here serves to emphasize how long this woman has been affected by her illness. This emphasis can be brought out by word order; "For eighteen years Satan has fettered her".

λυθηναι (λυω) aor. pas. inf. "be set free" is an epexegetic subject of the verb "it is necessary", explaining what is necessary. The passive may be a divine passive, God does the loosing.

v17 λεγοντος (λεγω) pres. part. gen. "when [he] said [this]" a genitive absolute construction and is usually translated as a temporal clause, οι αντικειμενοι (αντικειμαι) pres. part. "[all his] opponents" - κατησχυνοντο (καταισχυνω) imperf. pas. "were humiliated" or "were covered with confusion", which may be a throwback phrase to Old Tesmante theology about how God defeats his enemies by first confusing them.

επι + dat. "[the people were delighted] with" - expressing cause; "on the basis of/because of." 

τοις ενδοξοις dat. adj. "[all] the wonderful deeds", or "things", possibly "words"

τοις γινομενοις (γινομαι) dat. pres. part. "[he] was doing" accomplished [by him]. The participle is adjectival,  limiting "the glorious / wonderful things / deeds / words". "Accomplished" generally expresses what Jesus was doing, but in the immediate context he actually is "debating" the leader of the Synagogue.  Still, the reference may well be to the healing, cf. Isa.45:16. An idiomatic translation would be: "His critics were looking quite silly and red-faced. The congregation was delighted and cheered him on".

Might I meet Jesus on the Road?

 "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” — Mother Teresa

You probably remember that we dealt with Luke 13 during Lent this year. We considered the end of the chapter and a week later read the beginning. Then I made the observation that the chapter is the outworking of Pharisaic animosity toward Jesus who has told a number of parables against them and made some harsh pronouncements about them. (11:37ff, 12:1ff, etc)

As is customary with Jesus, word and action go together. Not only does he point out that the Pharisees are just plain wrong, he will prove it in todays lesson of the healing on the Sabbath.

The authorities condemn themselves via the synagogue leader who views a miracle and pronounces it shameful because it happened on a Sabbath and not on an ordinary day. His words are: “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” What an absolutely soul numbing, idiotic, pile of spiritual soft stool this sentence is. So: there is no healing, no comfort, no wholeness on the holiest day of the week. On the day that commemorates that one was set free from slavery, a day that celebrates the victory of the Almighty over Israel’s slavery (Dt 5:14-15, cf13:16) one is not to expect such victory over the slaveries of evil? “No,” says the leader of the Synagogue.

More than that, she cannot raise her face to the heavens, this daughter of Abraham. An evil spirit has taken hold of her and it keeps her eyes solidly earthbound — a terribly fate to be so earthly bound and tied that one cannot at least contemplate heaven or dare do so. Yet, is not Sabbath and Synagogue precisely the time and place where that heavenly gaze ought to be expected? Is not Sabbath and Synagogue — and church or that matter — that time and that place that ought to facilitate that gaze to heaven? And if one cannot cast that gaze, should not Synagogue and Church be just the place that will do any and all things to allow for that gaze, that foretaste of the realm of God? The Synagogue cannot pull it off, it would appear. Synagogue has been bent over for many years itself. Can the church accomplish what the Synagogue under the Pharisees could or would not? 

Yet, the ruler of this world (Jn 12:31, 16:11) likes it that we look down and down only. The ruler of this world would love for Abraham to get busy counting the stars when he should be listening in awe to the quiet voice speaking the covenant: “So numerous shall your decedents be.” (Gn 15) The ruler of this world likes it when Esau values food for his  hungry frame more than his place in carrying on life under the promise God made to his great grandfather. The ruler of this world would prefer that Jesus concentrate on his own hunger, fame, and worldly power. (Lk 4:1-13) The ruler of this world cheered when the thief on the left reviled Jesus saying: “Aren’t you the Messiah, save yourself and us.” The ruler of this world was defeated when the thief on the right pleaded: “Remember me when you com into your kingdom.” In that moment someone had looked into heaven, had dared to see the Almighty in the form on the cross next to him, and had found that image more precious than life itself and counted paradise gained far more valuable than earth lost. In doing that, the thief rendered all the kingdoms of this world valueless. (Lk 4:4-6) 

According to Ex 35:1-2 one is to be put to death for working on the Sabbath. Never mind that the work was a liberation from bondage to the adversary of God. Work on Sabbath had an earthly penalty and one had to insist on it. This was the religious case against Jesus the night he was betrayed and judged by the religious authorities. He was “perverting our faith.” 

Yet, it was the authorities who were the ones bent over and could not see heaven or the almighty in human vestiture. Their gaze was below so they were blind while the thief on the cross saw and worse, their healing stood in front of them in Jesus. It therefore was they who perverted the faith for they could not recognize the very Messiah they were waiting on. 

My Nazarene friend has a unique way of gaging attendance at his church. It is not how many belong, it is not how many show up that suggests to him that the place is healthy. It is the answer to the question: “How many come expecting,” that day. “To come expecting,” it turns out, is the conviction that one will most certainly meet with the God of heaven and earth that morning in that church one is going to.

So, do you? Come expecting, I mean. For that matter, do you “live expecting?” The ruler of this world would like you to think that this is all there is or that at least God is absent, far off hardly paying attention at all, and rally not involved. The contemplative in me rises every morning — at my best — in pray that this day Jesus Christ might consent to meet me on the road. 

The Texts for Sunday August 14th, the 13th Sunday after the Pentecost, 2016

First Reading: Jeremiah 23:23-29

23Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? 24Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. 25I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” 26How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. 28Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord. 29Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Psalm: Psalm 82

1 God takes his stand in the council of heaven; 

    he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:

2 "How long will you judge unjustly, 

    and show favor to the wicked?

3 Save the weak and the orphan; 

    defend the humble and needy;

4 Rescue the weak and the poor; 

    deliver them from the power of the wicked.

5 They do not know, neither do they understand;

they go about in darkness; 

    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 Now I say to you, 'You are gods, 

    and all of you children of the Most High;

7 Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, 

    and fall like any prince.'"

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:29--12:2

29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

  32And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented—38of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

  39Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.

 12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Gospel: Luke 12:49-56

[Jesus said:] 49“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53they will be divided: 

 father against son

  and son against father,

 mother against daughter

  and daughter against mother,

 mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

  and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

  54He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Greek Text Study for Luke 12:49-56

Greek Study Luke 12:49-56

⁴⁹“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! ⁵¹Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! ⁵²From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;⁵³they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. ⁵⁵And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

V49 ηλθον (ερχομαι) aor. "I have come" - in the sense of coming on a mission. The aorist tense is ingressive (inceptive) where the beginning of the action is still within view. 

βαλειν (βαλλω) aor. inf. "to bring/cast" - possibly "kindle" - infinitive expresses purpose.

πυρ (πυρ πυρος) "fire" - position is emphatic. What "fire" is intended is debatable. Is it i] the fire of the gospel that condemns and divides; ii] the fire of eschatological judgement in the last day; iii] the fire of the Holy Spirit; iv] the fire of suffering; v] the fire of holiness; vi] or the fire of faith? It seems best to accept eschatological judgment since fire is a dominant Old Testament image of judgment. 

τι "how [I wish...]" - an indefinite statement, a wish or possibly an interjection or perhaps a question as in, "what do I want if it is already kindled?" followed by an unfulfilled wish ει ηδη ανηφθη, "Oh that it were already kindled". 

v50 βαπτισμα (α ατος) acc. "[I have] a baptism [to undergo]" perhaps an idiom meaning; an overwhelming need to experience. We have here an example of baptism being used in the metaphorical sense, e.g. immersed in teaching/spirit/experiences as opposed to being immersed in water. Here the immersion is in suffering as the crucifixion is accompanied by cosmic signs and a preemptive rising of the dead which serves to prefigure the coming day of judgment (hot damn a zombie apocalypse!) It is most certainly not an allusion to Christian baptism, or baptism in the blood of martyrs. 

βαπτισθηναι (βαπτιζω) aor. pas. inf. "to undergo" - to be overwhelmed infinitive is epexegetic explaining what Jesus must have to experience. 

συνεχομαι (συνεχω) pres. pas. "[how] distressed I am" possibly in the sense of "constrained" or "preoccupied".

εως οτου + subj. "until [it is completed]" - a temporal clause referring to time up to a future point, so "until". 

v51 οτι that [I come] …a dependent clause expressing what “they” might think.

δουναι (διδωμι) aor. inf. "to bring" - in the sense of "establish"- an infinitive expressing purpose, "in order to".

ειρηνην (η) "peace" - position is emphatic; an idiomatic saying; "do you really think peace is the purpose/ consequence of my coming? No way!" The Lord’s Day is a day of apocalyptic tribulation. Jesus aligns himself with the prophets when he reminds us that "the good news" has a sting and so is for some bad news! 

διαμερισμον (ος) "division" – a Hapax legomenon, Matthew records the word "sword" rather than "division". Luke clarifies the meaning of the word "sword" by his use of "division". The sense is of separating sheep from goats, wheat from chaff; repentant from unrepentant. In the present, this division is achieved by the gospel. This separating is both a separation unto life or death, and also a social separation (vv52-53).

v52 απο του νυν "from now on" - general time designation used by Luke to identify a change caused by the arrival of Messiah.

εσονται (ειμι) fut. "there will be" - Future of the verb to-be. If linked to the participle it forms a "periphrastic future perfect", so "a household of five will be divided".

οικω (ος) "[in one] family" - house.

διαμεμερισμενοι (διαμεριζω) perf. pas. part. "divided against each other" - action is intensive with durative effect; from now and into the future there will be division so it is permanent.

The Texts for Sunday, August 7th, the 12the Sunday after the Pentecost, 2016

First Reading: Genesis 15:1-6

1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Psalm: Psalm 33:12-22

12 Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD! 

    happy the people he has chosen to be his own!

13 The LORD looks down from heaven, 

    and beholds all the people in the world.

14 From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze 

    on all who dwell on the earth.

15 He fashions all the hearts of them 

    and understands all their works.

16 There is no king that can be saved by a mighty army; 

    a strong man is not delivered by his great strength.

17 The horse is a vain hope for deliverance; 

    for all its strength it cannot save.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him, 

    on those who wait upon his love,

19 To pluck their lives from death, 

    and to feed them in time of famine.

20 Our soul waits for the LORD; 

    he is our help and our shield.

21 Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, 

    for in his holy Name we put our trust.

22 Let your loving-kindness, O LORD, be upon us, 

    as we have put our trust in you.

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

  8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

  13All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; 

indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Gospel: Luke 12:32-40

[Jesus said:] 32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

  35“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

  39“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”