The Texts for June 1, 2014, Easter 7

First Reading: Acts 1:6–14

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"  ⁷He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.  ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  ⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  ¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  ¹¹They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away.  ¹³When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.  ¹⁴All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 4:12–14; 5:6–11

Chapter 4

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  ¹³But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.  ¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.  

Chapter 5

⁶Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.  ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.  ⁸Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.  ⁹Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.  ¹⁰And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.  ¹¹To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel: John 17:1–11

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,  ²since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  ³And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  ⁴I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.  ⁵So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

⁶I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;  ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.  ⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.  ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.  ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

John 17, the Greek - Pr. Fourman

John 17:1-11a

The subject shifts in this part of the prayer from Jesus speaking to the disciples, to him speaking to God the Father.

v 1 ελαλησεν (λαλεω) aor. "after [Jesus] said [this]" - - referring to the previous discourse and indicating a change in object from disciples to Father.

επαρας (επαιρω) aor. pas. "he looked " - attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "said"; "lifted up his eyes ..... and said" is the typical attitude of prayer.

εληλυθεν (ερχομαι) perf. "[the hour] has come" - perfect expressing a completed act with ongoing consequences.

δοξασον (δοξαζω) aor. imp. "glorify [your Son]" - aorist indicating a single act, i.e. Jesus' crucifixion. 

v2 εξουσιαν (α) "authority over" - Jesus is given a particular authority for "all humanity". On the basis of this responsibility, Jesus asks that the Father "glorify" the Son.

παν ο δεδωκας (διδωμι) perf. "you have given [him]" – the perfect is denoting the permanence of the gift.

v3 γινωσκωσιν (γινωσκω) subj. "they may know" - present tense is durative, expressing an ongoing, ever-expanding action. 

τον μονον αληθινον θεον "the only true God" - an affirmation of monotheism..

απεστειλας (αποστελλω) aor. "you have sent" aorist indicating punctiliar action probably referring to the incarnation.

v4 εδοξασα (δοξαζω) aor. "I have brought [you] glory" 

τελειωσας (τελειοω) aor. part. "by finishing" presumably the cross is the completed work that is on Jesus' mind, although the totality of his work on earth up to this pointis another possibility. 

v6 The focus of Jesus' prayer now moves to the disciples, establishing first the validity of his request on their behalf (they belong to God and have responded in faith), and the reasons why he prayers for them and not the world, v6-11a (they belong to God, and v11a, he must go and they must remain).

εφανερωσα (φανεροω) aor. "I have revealed" - Jesus, as the Word of God, serves as the apex of God's revelation to humanity.

σου το ονομα "Your name" i.e. the intimate name of God (trinity).

τοις ανθρωποις (ος) dat. "to the men ους εδωκας "you have given [me]". The sense can move between "those whom you have caused to believe " to "those who are in but not of the world."  Jesus recognizes God's chosen people belong to the Father and the Father has given Jesus authority over them. 

του κοσμου "the world" – in John's gospel this term refers to humanity apart to God.

τετηρηκαν (τηρεω) perf. "they have kept. The perfect expresses the idea of a past act with ongoing consequence, so they have done and continue to rest on what they have done. "Obeyed" is unhelpful as it implies some kind of ethical choice.

τον λογον "[your] word" here means "the divine message of Jesus as a whole. 

v8 τα ρηματα (α ατος) "the words" – the things/matters/message this stands in apposition to λογον.

ελαβον (λαμβανω) aor. "[they] received. the disciples received the divine revelation communicated by Jesus, i.e. they put their faith in the gospel, having recognized Jesus' credentials.

v9 ερωτω (ερωταω) pres. "I pray" this word is often employed in John's gospel of Jesus praying to the Father.

ου περι του κοσμου "[I am] not [praying] for the world" - The position of "not the world" is emphatic here, a concern sometimes expressed by commentators over Jesus' harsh neglect of the lost. But in fact, it is through the disciples' mission that God's love for humanity is realized in the calling out and saving of the lost.  So Jesus prays for the means to save του κοσμου”

v10 τα εμα παντα "all I have [is yours]" - a problem with the neuter - Jesus is surely speaking of God's chosen "all who are mine are yours.

δεδοξασμαι (δοξαζω) perf. pas. "glory has come" – the perfect is expressing a completed act with ongoing consequences.

v11 ουκετι ειμι "I will remain [in the world] no longer" - the present tense expresses immediacy, so it actually reads "I am no longer in the world".

ερχομαι "I am coming" – since Jesus is addressing the Father, "coming" rather than “going” makes more sense.

Left Behind - Pr. Kruse

There are few that aim beyond themselves, therefor they remain entangled in themselves and cannot be elevated in spirit above themselves. - Thomas a’Kempis

Congratulations! You have been left behind. Jesus is going to the Father and you, you are in the world and there you are meant to be and there he leaves you — for now. You have, by definition, been left behind.

Good for you. 

The great High Priestly Prayer of Jesus — a prayer of consecration, if you like — has many theological twists and turns in it that echo and advance the case that the Gospel as a whole has and will make, but there remains one overarching little fact that is echoed throughout the prayer: Jesus will leave these, his disciples and those who will come after them, here  in this world where their presence will not always be welcomed. 

What is consecration? A definition might be: The solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred.” (looked up on the inter web, must be true) To use the logic of the Holy Eucharist and to paraphrase the wisdom of St. Katherine Drexel, what Jesus is doing here is to consecrate his followers much like the church consecrates the bread and wine to join the sacred to the elements and giving the elements wholly to the faithful to be their strength, peace, and salvation. None of the elements is left when all is said and done (as long as the altar guild is well trained and reverent). 

Polycarp, I think, wrote to the Philippians that he saw his impending martyrdom — by lions — as a matter of being ground into fine flour like wheat is ground by the stones.  One should not mourn such a fate, was his wisdom. No, his death was akin to the fate of the wheat that became the bread of the Eucharist. This loss, both to his congregations and himself, was a matter of being consecrated and given to advance God’s Holy purpose here in the world. Like the bread and the cup, once consecrated there is really no choice what should happen next. 

But there is and we know it. We live in a world where our Faith is sometimes advertised as the way to spiritual prosperity and personal betterment. It is our job to get happy by becoming part of the church. We ask ourselves to be careful how we cast our nets in service lest we cast them past our own zone of happy. A net held back in mid toss tends to snap back at the thrower and, as Thomas observes, entangles the thrower. It will not catch or serve anything but rather keep the thrower busy dealing with a net and himself. 

 What if we served and gave beyond what makes us happy? Maybe all Christian action has the aim of martyrdom. Ok, ok,ok, I know you now think I am nuts. You would be right but that is not important right now. Truly: Martyrs are people who give it all to the point of total oblivion. Here was really nothing left of Polycarp. But look, I can still remember him. Why? Because he is one of the thousands and thousands who, in spectacular and totally unseen actions and events transformed this world, for which Jesus has consecrated us all, utterly all the way down to your and my faith. 

We are all in some way sacrificed for the atonement of this world. In other words, there is something that we are meant to do spectacular or unseen in the God’s scheme to transform the world one more time. The disciples in our lesson from Acts this week know this. They gather to pray and in this way to catch a glimpse of what will be their work. (Acts 1:14) 1 Peter assures the church in small Asia that their work, even though it brings much trouble and travail, is holy work and therefore must be engaged in with integrity and faith. Their lives are a sacrifice for the hope of the world and so are ours. So, how far are we really throwing our nets these days? 

he Texts for Sunday, May 25th, 2014, Easter 6

First Reading: Acts 17:22–31

²²Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.  ²³For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.  ²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,  ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.  ²⁶From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live,  ²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us.  ²⁸For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said,

'For we too are his offspring.'

  ²⁹Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.  ³⁰While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent,  ³¹because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:13–22

¹³Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?

¹⁴But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated,  ¹⁵but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;  ¹⁶yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.  ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. 

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,  ¹⁹in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,  ²⁰who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.  ²¹And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,  ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Gospel: John 14:15–21

¹⁵If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.  ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

¹⁸I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.  ¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.  ²⁰On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  ²¹They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

John 14:15-21 Greek Study - Pr. Fourman

John 14:15-21

Two observations:

1. This text is very Trinitarian, presupposing conversation between God and the Son, and the Son and the Spirit.
2. Faith, defined in relational language (αγαπε) between the believer and Jesus, the believer and God, enabled by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, underlies this as well.

v:15 αγαπατε (αγαπαω) pres. subj. "you love" - keeping Jesus' commands entails the ongoing action of being in relationship with Jesus. 

τηρησετε (τηρεω) fut. "you will obey" note the tense, not present but future. There is something missing yet!

τας εμας "what" - τας εντολας (η) "I command" - "believe in God, believe also in me", is the substance of Christ's command to his disciples. υπακοην

πιστεως  "the obedience of faith" means keeping God's commands through faith.

v16 ερωτησω (ερωταω) fut. "I will ask" – not as in asking God a question but rather as in a prayer request to the Father. 

δωσει (διδωμι) fut. "he will give" – this is reminiscent of the East/West divide on the procession of the Spirit (either from the Father alone, or the Father and Son.)

παρακλητον (ος) masc. sing. "Counselor/advocate/comforter” – “spirit” in Greek is neuter in tense but John renders paraclete as masculine singular – it is a person not a thing or a power. The word is a verbal adjective that functions as a noun, and it has a number of possible meanings:

i] "Advocate", one who advises and speaks on our behalf in the courts of heaven, "someone else to stand by you",

ii] "Counselor", in that he gives divine counsel

iii] "Helper"

iv] "Comforter", a meaning originating with Wycliffe; 

v] "Convincer", the one who convinces us of the things of God and accomplishes in them a change of heart; 

vi] "friend". 

All of these words describe the FUNCTION of the Paraclete/Spirit.

v17 της αληθειας (α) "of truth" literally meaning “to not forget” – the truth is in part about the retention of what we already know, as well as the revelation of what we do not!

ο κοσμος (ος) "the world" in John's gospel this is usually a negative word. 

λαβειν (λαμβανω) aor. inf. "[cannot] accept" - complementary, completing the sense of the negated verb "is not able." Sinful humanity in rebellion against God, is not unable to exercise faith apart from the Paraclete. 

v18 ουκ αφησω (αφιημι) fut. "I will not leave (you)" – a strong word. 

ορφανους adj. "orphans" – an adjective used as a substantive, defining "you". 

ερχομαι pres. "I will come" - We are unsure what "coming" Jesus is referring to; either the resurrection or in the coming of the Holy Spirit; it is extremely unlikely he is referring to the parousia. Given the context, the coming in the Spirit is most likely.

v19 ετι μικρον "before long" – literally “a little time” – in a hot minute. 

ουκετι θεωρει (θεωρεω) pres. "will not be able to see [me]" – the present tense again emphasizes the immediacy of the seeing. Jesus does not reveal himself to the general population after his resurrection, only to his disciples - or once again might refer to the coming of the Spirit. 

ζησετε (ζαω) fut. "you will live" - The sense of " live" is dependent on what is seen (the risen Christ or the manifested Spirit?) If it is the risen Christ then "live", is in the sense of "be alive" in the now, but if the Spirit then in the sense of “life in the fullest measure now and in the future”.

v20 εν εκεινη τη ημερα "in that day" – again that day is not stated, but Jesus is referring either to his post-resurrection appearances or the manifestation of the Spirit. Given the content of the "knowing", the Holy Spirit may well be intended, although John has his own slant on this in 20:22.

v21 ο εξων pres. part. "whoever has" - the participle serves as a substantive. The present tense is durative, (ongoing action) so the sense is "firmly in mind". 

τας εντολας (η) "[my] commands" - although a debatable issue, it is very likely that Jesus' instructions distill down to faith. So, a more general translation is "my authoritative words." 

τηρων (τηρεω) pres. part. "obeys/keeps" a substantive. the "commands" are ethical in nature, so an idiom; whoever accepts my words and acts on them."

ο αγαπων pres. part. "the one who loves [me]" - serves as a substantive. 

αγαπηθησεται (αγαπαω) fut. pas. "will be loved]" – here the passive to bring out the idea of the conscious experience of love. Such love is reciprocal; but there is no suggestion that God's love is conditional.  The language here simply reflects the substantial relationship that exists between the believer and the Triune God, a relationship that rests on faith. 

εμφανισω (εμφανιζω) fut. "[I will] show/reveal”. The specific revelation is not identified and so we are left with the same set of options: is it post resurrection appearance of Christ, the spiritual manifestation of the Spirit, the appearance of Christ is His glory, or even the personal manifestation of Christ to believers through prayer, Word and Sacrament? I suppose it could be one or more of the above, John’s language is couched a bit too much in mystery here, although the manifestation of the Holy Spirit seems the best option – which is through all of the above (Word, Sacrament, piety and prayer.

Is it True? - Pr. Kruse

It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love — Billy Graham [yes, poor Trinitarian theology, let it go]

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Where is Phillip when you need him? Someone, at least in the Gospel of John, needs to ask: “Show us your commandments and we will fulfill them,” but not such luck. But then, Jesus does give them a, one, commandment: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” 

John Pilch points out that in Jesus’ days, honor was more important than truth. In the service of the honor of your family, tribe, faction, or of your own house and person, it was normal, even expected, to tell lies. The verses in the Sermon on the Mound about oaths are addressed at this. Perhaps the lies told at Jesus’ trial can be seen by this light as well. The honor of the Temple is at stake therefore the lie serves the Temple. So, if Pilch is correct then the honor of God, being assumed to be in jeopardy, was being defended by killing Jesus. Irony in John is a well discussed theme.

In the upper room Jesus has just instructed the disciples to love one another (13:34) and to trust that the Holy Spirit will lead them into the Father’s love. They are to be a community that loves its own even as Jesus loved his own. (13:1) In other words, within his church, all honor and glory are given to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit now and forevermore and the honor of God rests on the new habitation, the holy priestly people (1Pt2:5) where love seeks no honor of its own and the people have no need to lie for honor’s sake. 

Now: The world does not know the Spirit. The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. (14:16) Does then the Honor of God rest on all the world? The answer seems to be “no.” God awaits that the world submits to Jesus’ and in doing so to the honor of the Holy Trinity. 

How does one then treat the world? Can one, in customs proper to the time, lie to the world in defense of the faith or the church? Well, the devil is the father of lies. (8:44) Just saying. 

Yes, this is somewhat of a martyrs’ theology, but then, our Lord did not die of old age. It is also a non aggression theology. Not only is truth given no matter the cost, but also, since God judges, and since God redeems, defense of the truth of the faith is also left up to God whose honor is served by love and truth.

Can love live without truth? Can truth be a way of life without love? Is not honor, status, striving for power and riches an enemy to both? 

I know what you are thinking: What is he going on about. How does that have anything to do with me? There seems to be a Christian moral code of conduct that is marked by truth and love. St. Peter speaks it very clearly in this weeks Epistle lesson. (1Pt2:14-17) Christian conduct must be above board and marked by charity in the sense that it is obvious that the disciple’s life is lived in gentle service to others. If bad things are said about Christians then those things ought to be lies. If they are not then the disciple has some repenting and confessing to do. 

Mother Teresa is said to have once told Nouwen that the secret to a happy life was to spend no less than an hour a day adoring Christ in prayer and never doing anything that one knew to be wrong somehow. One could do worse as a motto for life. 

The Readings for Sunday, May 18th, 2014 Easter 5

First Reading: Acts 7:55–60

⁵⁵But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  ⁵⁶Look, he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"  ⁵⁷But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him.  ⁵⁸Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.  ⁵⁹While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."  ⁶⁰Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:2–10

²Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation —  ³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and  ⁵like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For it stands in scripture:

"See, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious;

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

  ⁷To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,

"The stone that the builders rejected

has become the very head of the corner,"

  ⁸and

"A stone that makes them stumble,

and a rock that makes them fall."

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

  ⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁰Once you were not a people,

but now you are God's people;

once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.\

Gospel: John 14:1–14

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.  ²In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.  ⁴And you know the way to the place where I am going."  ⁵Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"  ⁶Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  ⁷If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

⁸Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."  ⁹Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.  ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.  ¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.  ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.