Pericope Study

Proper 8C

Presented by Richard M Burgess

Introduction

This is a pericope study presented an effort to assist in studying the lectionary for sermon preparation. Therefore, while I am responsible for the content, it does not necessarily directly reflect my opinions or theology, much less a desire to “be right”, though it might. My intention is to help you to hear God’s Word and to sense the Spirit’s movement.

Nb: The lessons for this week are properly known as “Proper 8C Sunday between 6/2 and 7/2 inclusive” in the ELCA version of the RCL. This Sunday is also known as “Ordinary Time 13" in the Episcopal and RC lectionaries. The day is known as “4^th Sunday after Pentecost” in the LBW church year, but the lessons are essentially those of the “6^th Sunday after Pentecost” in the LBW. FYI :)

Collect / Prayer of the Day

O God, you have prepared for those who love you joys beyond understanding. Pour into our hearts such love for you that, loving you above all things, we may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (83)

Lesson I: 1 Kings 19.15-16, 19-21 [NRSV]

[15] Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. [16] Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. [17] Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. [18] Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

[19] So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. [20] He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" [21] He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Outline / Structure:

12.15-16   Elijah told to anoint various kings; Elisha as successor

12.17-18          promises & threats re enemies of kings and Elisha

12.19        Elijah puts Mantle on Elisha 

12.20a       Elisha asks to be allowed to bid his parents farewell

12.20b      Elijah grants Elisha’s request

12.21        Elisha disposes of property, throws a party, and becomes “Elijah’s servant”

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

nb: The corresponding LBW (vs RCL) lection was 1Kg 19.14-21.

12.17-18 What do you make of the 2 omitted verses? Violent and non-diverse as they are, what is lost in their exclusion?

12.19 What does it mean that Elijah “passed by” Elisha? Is mantling him equivalent to anointing him as ordered by YHWH in 12.16.

12.20 Does Elijah grant Elisha’s request? Grudgingly?

12.21 What is the significance of Elisha’s disposition of property and farewell? Why didn’t he turn his farm over to someone else?

Psalm: Psalm 16 [NRSV]

A Miktam of David.

[1] Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

[2] I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you."

[3] As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,

in whom is all my delight.

[4] Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names upon my lips.

[5] The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

[6] The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

I have a goodly heritage.

[7] I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

[8] I keep the LORD always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;

my body also rests secure.

[10] For you do not give me up to Sheol,

or let your faithful one see the Pit.

[11] You show me the path of life.

In your presence there is fullness of joy;

in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Outline / Structure:

16.1-2       Psalmist’s request: protection & refuge

12.3-4             reward / plight of following YHWH / not

16.5-6             psalmist chooses to follow YHWH willingly

16.7-8             psalmist blesses / praises YHWH

16.9-10           therefore: psalmist’s heart glad, body secure, & will not die

16.11        conclusion: YHWH gives psalmist life, joy, & eternal pleasures

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

NRSV vs LBW/BCP: no differences this week

How literally can we take the psalmist’s claim to following God being better than following other gods?

16.10 For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. Obviously this isn’t true. How do you explain it? To further complicate matters, this Psalm is quite likely post-exilic, ie, after some Persian influence on the Hebrew concept of an afterlife.

Lesson II: Galatians 5.1, 13-25 [NRSV]

5 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

[2] Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. [3] Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. [4] You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. [5] For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. [6] For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

[7] You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? [8] Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. [9] A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. [10] I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. [11] But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. [12] I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!

[13] For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. [14] For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [15] If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

[16] Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, [21] envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

[22] By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Outline / Structure:

5.1            you are free => do not become enslaved again

5.2-12              circumcision not necessary; do not listen to those who say it is

5.13-15     use freedom not for self, but for others

5.16-24     life in Spirit contrasted to life in Flesh

5.16-18           life in Spirit mutually exclusive with life in law / gratification of flesh

5.19-21a          works of the flesh

5.21b                    do flesh then “will not inherit the kingdom of God”

5.22-23           fruit of Spirit

5.24                      belong to Christ Jesus => crucified flesh & its passions / desires

5.25          exhortation: live by Spirit; be guided by Spirit

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

5.13 to one another Does this refer to other Christians (the audience of Paul’s letter) or to people in general?

5.19-23 How mutually exclusive are these two lists? If there are any gray areas, then if you act out of the gray areas how can you explain that to other Christians if they confront you? To what extent might 5.13-15 be relevant or not? When do your rights take a legitimate precedence over those of others?

5.21b I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. How literally are we to take this? Who does this cut in / out?

contrast:

     5.19, 22    flesh vs Spirit

works vs fruit

are vs is

     5.21b, 23  Paul’s warning against doing such things vs no law against such things

How can this passage be used in discussions on sexuality? What are the dangers of using it in such discussions? How can this passage be discussed in our Church today without being about sexuality to the exclusion of other elements?

Gospel: Luke 9.51-62 [NRSV]

[51] When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. [52] And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; [53] but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. [54] When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" [55] But he turned and rebuked them. [56] Then they went on to another village.

[57] As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." [58] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." [59] To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." [60] But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." [61] Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." [62] Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Outline / Structure:

9.51-56     Samaritan village rejects Jesus’ disciples and Jesus prohibits them for wishing revenge

9.57-62     Jesus manages 3 disciple wannabes

9.57-58           “Foxes have holes, & birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

9.59-60           “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

9.61-62           “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

What connects the 2 major sections (9.51-56 & 9.57-62) of this pericope?

9.51, 53 he set his face to go to Jerusalem What is implied in the expression set his face? What about this caused the Samaritan village to reject Jesus’ disciples?

9.55 Why did Jesus rebuke the disciples for wanting revenge on the village?

9.58, 60, 62 How are these three sayings of Jesus similar? Different? Is there a progression?

9.58, 60, 62 How might 9.51-56 be a setup for a (3) pronouncement saying(s)?

What, if any, allusions to the first lesson are there in this Gospel lesson?

*I do not necessarily advocate using these as titles for real sermons, but rather present them in the hope that you might stumble over them and fall on some useful ideas. Actually, I rarely give my sermons titles, but I like to make up hypothetical titles for hypothetical sermons I might hypothetically give someday, or not. Enjoy.

Recommended Online Resources:

Proper 8C

     Burgess, Richard               Pericope Study for Sunday 6/27/4 (this document)

http://www.geocities.com/richardmburgess/GNHC-Pericope-04627.htm

     Woodard, Jenee                The Text This Week

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/properc8.htm

     Nelson, Dan                     Text Studies

http://sio.midco.net/danelson9/yearc/proper8c.htm

     Nuechterlein, Paul            Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary

http://home.earthlink.net/~paulnue/year_c/proper_8c.htm

Luke 9.51-62

     Stoffregen, Brian                Exegetical Notes

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke9x51.htm

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Copyright © 2004 by Richard M Burgess                                                 latest revision: December 31, 2004