November 21st, 2020

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.