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November 28th, 2020

11/28/2020

This Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent, and it starts the church year. It should not be too surprising that the Old Testament text is from Isaiah [64:1-9]. The Gospel according to Mark starts almost immediately with a quote from that book. This year three of the four Sundays in Advent will have the Old Testament text from Isaiah.

The connections between Isaiah and the New Testament are numerous. One of the more interesting ones is calling God ‘Father’. This title is extremely rare in the Old Testament, but when it happens, Isaiah is often the place. And it happens most often at the end of the book.

Here is a somewhat literal translation of those verses where that occurs:

Nevertheless, you, Yahweh, our Father, although Abraham does not know us, and Israel does distinguish us; you, Yahweh, our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name (63:16).

And now, Yahweh, our Father you are, we are the clay, and you are our potter, and the work of your hand is all of us (64:7).

The text for this Sunday contains the last time the phrase ‘Our Father’ will be used in the Old Testament when referring to God. It is indeed a very rare thing. It is so well known in the New Testament, especially since the Gospel according to Matthew is the first account that many people encounter. The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ first sermon in this gospel account, and the use of ‘Father’ within that sermon is extremely frequent. The Lord’s Prayer is within that sermon, and its importance is shown in that the use of the word ‘Father’ in the Lord’s Prayer is the middle use within the sermon.

The Lord’s Prayer is indeed a special prayer. A little less familiar fact regarding that prayer is the fact that the two words ‘the evil’ are the last two words of the prayer. Many people add a conclusion, or at least an ‘Amen’ to the end of the prayer. But the prayer in the text ends with the final petition to, literally, ‘deliver us from the evil’.

This makes the last word ‘evil’ and the official first word ‘Father’. The word ‘our’, both in the Hebrew and in the Greek, is after the word ‘Father’. What a contrast in this prayer between the beginning and the ending!

What is even more interesting than that is that, in the middle of the Lord’s Prayer, is the word usually translated as ‘daily’, which describes the bread for which we are asking. Unknown to many is that this word’s translation as ‘daily’ is only a good guess and is largely based on context. The word appeared nowhere else before its appearance in the New Testament. A better translation might be ‘supersubstantial’; that word was in a Latin translation. You might respond to that word by saying it is not really a word, but Jesus may have said a new word when he gave this prayer. An acceptable translation that would use a more familiar word might be the word ‘special’.

What the word does exactly halfway through the Lord’s Prayer is that it asks for something that is not completely understood by the Christian, but that is okay. What is requested is still asked for in confidence that it will be given, and the One who gives it and what is given is certainly special. And it certainly makes a difference when asking for it.

That kind of bread makes a difference because now on earth the sins committed by some Christians are forgiven by other Christians—that is the focus of the fifth petition. This kind of bread also makes a difference in that the Father is on the level of his people, and he certainly leads them, but he will not lead them into temptation—that is the sixth petition. On the contrary, he will deliver them from all evil—here is the seventh petition.

The special word ‘Father’ starts the Christian down a wonderful road. The end is in sight. And it is an exceedingly special one.

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November 21st, 2020

11/21/2020

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This Sunday, called the ‘Last Sunday of the Church Year’, is our last look for a while at the Gospel according to Matthew—although we have recently been looking at the Old Testament texts that are connected to the gospel text. There is much that could be the focus on this Sunday; considering the end of the universe is no small matter. But I would like to focus on the verb ‘to scatter’.

Sometimes a person can feel like a ‘scatterbrain’. I was looking at the word more closely because it appeared in the Old Testament text from Ezekiel [34:11-16, 20-24]. The word also appears several times in the New Testament. What I had forgotten is how many different words can mean to ‘scatter’.

What is important to keep in mind is that various things can be scattered. Sometimes it is a good thing that things get scattered. And sometimes it is a bad thing. And there are extremely different words for different types of scattered things.

Ezekiel 34:12 brings up the idea of being scattered twice:

‘As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness [English Standard Version, hereafter ESV; copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.].’

It is not obvious with the English, but the two words for the scattered sheep are different words in Hebrew. The first one is not so bad and basically means to separate. The second one is worse, the one on the day of ‘clouds and thick darkness’; that one means to scatter.

I am glad that the Greek translation of the Old Testament, usually called the Septuagint, also makes a difference between these two words. And it is nice that the meaning essentially follows the Hebrew.

What is interesting is that the second word here, to scatter, also comes up in the New Testament. It is also a word that might be familiar to some—diaspora.

Sometimes scattering is seen as a bad thing. And it may LOOK like a bad thing. But there may be a significant amount of good behind it.

The idea of scattering is significant within the Book of Acts. In chapter 5, the author takes the time and space to quote Gamaliel, a Pharisee and teacher of the law, who, in the words of the author, was ‘honored by all the people’ (Acts 5:34). When the apostles were arrested and the council basically wants them killed, Gamaliel puts himself into the center of the struggle and makes a strong case not to kill them. While doing this, Gamaliel also mentions a couple groups of people who were eventually ‘scattered’ in some way, although the translations sometimes say something worse.

‘Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do to these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God [ESV; Acts 5:35b-39a]!’

The word above translated ‘dispersed’ has, as its root, the verb ‘to destroy’. And the root of the word that is translated as ‘scattered’ is, surprisingly enough, the word ‘scorpion’. Those two words are obviously very bad scatterings.

Now when the Church is scattered in Acts 8, right after the killing of Stephen, the word there is a good type of scattering—the diaspora. With that word ‘scatter’, the root word there means to sow seed. When you are planting seeds, to scatter those seeds is certainly a good thing.

A good type of scattering happened back then. And good scatterings will continue, until we are finally all gathered together on that Final Day. On THAT day, no more separation, no more social distancing, and no more scatterings.

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November 14th, 2020

11/14/2020

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This Sunday, as we get to the end of the church year, we get to a ‘major’ topic from a ‘minor’ prophet. The Old Testament reading for this Sunday deals with the End Times and is from Zephaniah [1:7-16], the book of the Bible that is near the end of the Old Testament.

This prophet is sometimes confused with Zechariah. This prophet is earlier in time than Zechariah—Zephaniah is before the exile, whereas Zechariah is after it—and in the placement of the Old Testament books, Zephaniah is also before Zechariah. This short book of three chapters is hidden in between Habakkuk and Haggai. In fact, Zephaniah’s name means ‘Yahweh hides’. In the very first verse of the book, Zephaniah makes a ‘great reveal’, and his bloodline is connected to King Hezekiah.

More important than that is the word of Yahweh that Zephaniah has to share. And it is a significant one.

This Sunday’s text is a significant one. It speaks of ‘the great day of the LORD’ (see verse 14). But I would like to suggest looking at the verses which come immediately after Zephaniah 1:1 and are right before this Sunday’s text. Looking over them would help to get an idea of the context and the bigger picture.

In one way, the following is NOT a literal translation of Zephaniah 1:2-6; most of the parts of this text were translated literally, but some words were translated in a way that would fit with their unique context and their placement within this text:

To gather things close, I will bring to a close everything from upon the face of the ground, declares Yahweh. I will bring to a close man and beast, I will bring to a close birds of the air and fish of the sea, and the building blocks with the wicked ones, and I will cut off the man from upon the face of the ground, declares Yahweh.

And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah and upon all the ones dwelling of Jerusalem, and I will cut off from this, the place, the remnant of the Baal, the name of the idolaters with the priests—and with ones bowing down upon the roofs, to the host of the heavens, and with the ones bowing down, the ones swearing to Yahweh, and the ones swearing by Molech—and with the ones turning back from after Yahweh, and who neither seek Yahweh nor do they ask of him.

The first paragraph of the above text is especially difficult to translate. In Hebrew, these two verbs are similar in sound but have a very different meaning: ‘to gather together’ and ‘to put to an end’. The word ‘close’ was used in two different ways (and is pronounced in two different ways) to reflect this unusual combination. I do NOT understand the Hebrew text to have a mistake.

The parts of creation mentioned in the first paragraph seem to be listed in the opposite order in which they were created. It is in the first chapter of Genesis that God created birds and fish, then beasts, and then man. The order in Zephaniah goes in the opposite direction, and during this part, it seems that the Hebrew text avoids the use of the definite article (‘the’), but then, when there is the phrase, ‘the building blocks with the wicked ones’, this definitely starts the use of the definite article.

What does a building block have to do with a wicked one? This is one of those verses that has the following footnote in the NIV (See the Concordia Self-Study Bible): ‘The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.’ The ESV translates ‘building blocks’ as ‘rubble’ and has this footnote (See The Lutheran Study Bible): ‘Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols).’ The basic meaning of the word is to stumble or overthrow.

I did not choose to translate the phrase literally as ‘stumbling blocks’ because that does not fit well with the progression made with the list of created things. I used the words ‘building blocks’ to bring more prominence to the wicked and to fit with something that would still cause a significant amount of trouble, something that, in this case, would make a person stumble. This phrase is also something that would fit at the head of a list of things that were created. This is NOT to say that God did not create ex nihilo. But this IS to say that what is evil in this world is significant; we see that literally every day.

It is a good thing to remember that some things will not last forever … and that the good stuff will.

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November 7th, 2020

11/7/2020

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We are back to having Old Testament readings on this Sunday, the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost. And the text for this Sunday is from the so-called ‘minor’ prophet of Amos [5:18-24]. But you might say that he brings up a ‘major’ issue.

In the middle of this Sunday’s text is the following significant statement of Yahweh (verse 21): ‘I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies [English Standard Version—hereafter ESV; copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles; used by permission].’

What is meant by that? The times that Israel gathered together for a religious festival were Yahweh’s idea in the first place. If his people were doing those feasts and those solemn assemblies, how could he hate AND despise them?

Yahweh is against those feasts and solemn assemblies because he calls them ‘yours’ and not ‘his’. In the verses which follow, Yahweh speaks out against Israel’s burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, the noise of songs and the melodies of harps, and every one of those things is described as ‘yours’ (Israel’s) in some way.

Then there is verse twenty-four, the last verse of our appointed text: ‘But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream [ESV].’ The point of this verse is to compare the justice and the righteousness that people have to the justice and righteousness of Yahweh. He has perfect justice and righteousness, and he has those things in a much fuller supply.

The verses which follow the text help to clarify this distinction between what is Israel’s and what is God’s. Here are the verses which follow verse twenty-four and which go to the end of the chapter and section:

Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts [ESV].

The simple action of sacrificing animals and giving offerings is not the important thing; the children of Israel did not do that for forty years when they were in the wilderness. The problem is much bigger than that. Yahweh says that they will ‘take up’ other gods which they made for themselves. That goes to the heart of the problem—idolatry.
The true God lifts us up and carries us, as he does for all creation. False gods are made up and then lifted up and carried around by people.

Please do not get distracted by the names of the gods that are used in the above text. The important thing to note is that people make gods for themselves. Here, again, the focus is on ‘you’. The multiple references to ‘you’ in the following sentence are amazing, given its short length: ‘But YOU shall take up Sikkuth YOUR king, and Kiyyun YOUR star-god—YOUR images that YOU made for YOURSELVES.’

A point could be made that the stars and sun do rule, in a way. They are above us, in a sense. There needs to be some order in the universe, or there is chaos. If everything is equal, then there is mass confusion. Does that sound something like the year 2020?
In the first creation account, God begins to create things, and on the fourth day, God set the greater light to rule during the day and the lesser lights to rule at night. Then man was set to rule over the animals—although this is a different word for ‘rule’.

It should not be thought of as a coincidence that the thrones of those kings in that area of the world had symbols that were similar to some of the constellations that were in the heavens. A king in that part of the world could have sat down on his throne, and he could have seen the images of a man (Aquarius), a lion (Leo), an ox (Taurus), and an eagle, and he could have thought of the constellations in the heavens and the One who put them there in the first place. Or that king could start thinking about how great a person HE was. There is a huge difference between the ending places of those two lines of thought.

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A Sabbath Day's Journey

November 28th, 2020

November 21st, 2020

November 14th, 2020

November 7th, 2020

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