Remembering our spiritual roots
Commentary
The Second Sunday in Lent was typically devoted to the theme of “remembering” [Remiscere]. The texts for this Sunday would have us remember the spiritual roots of our faith – especially the grace of God and its nurturing, surprising character.
The First Lesson (Genesis 17:1-7,15-16) is the account of the everlasting covenant of God with Abraham and his offspring. The Book as a whole is the product of several distinct literary traditions – J (a ninth/tenth-century BC source so named for its use of the Name Jahweh or Yahweh), E (an eighth-century BC source so named for its use of the divine name Elohim),and P (the Priestly source dated from the sixth century BC). This Lesson seems narrated by the P source.
God is identified in this Lesson as El Shaddai (v.1), the one of the mountains. This was the divine name current in the pre-Mosaic period (Exodus 6:2-3). The covenant with Abraham (the establishment of a bond with God), it is said, will make him an ancestor of many nations and the covenant will be forever (vv.2,6-7). God selects Abram for no particular reason. He is to be blameless, but all he does is to do homage before God (vv.1,3). God gives Abram a new name (v.5). The new name means “ancestor.” His original name meant “Ab [the divine name] is lofty.” His wife, it is promised, will have a son, giving rise to great nations and peoples (v.16). Her name is changed from Sarai to Sarah (meaning “princess”) (v.15).
A 2010 Fetzer Institute study indicated that nearly half of us (48%) felt we need more meaningful love relationships in our lives. We are a nation yearning for something we have still not found in life. Consequently this Lesson is just right for sermons to the audience we will be addressing. For thousands of years, our Jewish friends have remembered this story, reminded themselves of God’s nurturing love for Abraham, his sons and daughters. Like lovers soothe each other and strengthen their love with consistent announcements of their love for each other, so the Jewish faithful have continued to be reminded of a God Who cares. Such reminders strengthen faith.
But not just the Jewish people. Taking seriously Abraham’s new name (meaning “ancestor”) reminds us that he is the spiritual ancestor of Christians and Muslims as well. Thus in face of all the Islamic terrorism and anti-Muslim or anti-Semitic attitudes which have surfaced anew in the past two-three years, another fruitful direction for this sermon might be to remind the flock that Abraham is the ancestor for all three of these faiths, that God’s nurturing love is not just for Christians but for members of these other faiths. Sermons on how God loves us all might open doors to reflections on Christian benevolence towards Judaism and Islam.
The Second Lesson (Romans 4:13-25) is part of the letter of introduction written by Paul between 54 AD and 58 AD to a church which to date he had never visited. The Lesson is the Apostle’s discourse on the true descendants of Abraham. He begins by noting that the promise made to Abraham and his descendants is not made through the Law but through the righteousness of faith (v.13). Reference to Abraham inheriting the world is a Jewish interpretation of Genesis 12:6 (see Sirach 44:19-21). The Law is said to bring wrath. As such it renders faith and the promise null and void (vv.14-15). The promise to Abraham and his people must depend on faith in order that grace be guaranteed (v.16). Abraham is deemed a model here, hoping against hope. This is in line with the God Who gives life to the dead and calls into existent things that do not exist (vv.17-18) Reference is made to Genesis 17:5 and to Abraham’s status as the father of many nations. Abraham’s faith is counted/reckoned as righteousness, as will be the case for those who believe that God raised Jesus (vv.22-25; cf. Genesis 15:6). In the Hebraic thinking which shaped Paul, the righteousness of faith to which Paul here refers alludes to the righteousness of God which has to do with God’s loyalty to His Covenant in saving us and even at times later in the Old Testament era it is construed as something bestowed on the faithful, like it is in this text (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, p.373). Through faith God bestows on us loyalty to the covenant established with Abraham, at least considers us loyal.
A 2016 Gallup poll found that only 1 in 2 of us are very satisfied with life. Sermons on this text offer an opportunity for preachers to remind the members of their flocks not happy with life that we are affirmed and saved by God, given lives that are counted loyal to God and His expectations. This point can be made by an exposition of the Pauline and Old Testament conception of the righteousness of God described above. To see life in terms of a life lived loyally to God cannot but make the ordinary things of life a lot more satisfying (especially when we know that even when we fail in these endeavors God still loves us). For then ordinary events in life have meaning; they are occasions for living loyally to God.
The first Gospel alternative (Mark 8:31-38) reports Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah, a story that appears in the other Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 16:21-26; Luke 9:22-26). We note again the general scholarly consensus about Mark being the source of the other Gospels. The Gospel was probably written, based on oral traditions, prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There is no hard evidence that it is the work of Paul’s associate John Mark (Acts 12:12-25; 15:37; Colossians 4:10). Some speculate that the original audience was the church in Rome (especially Gentiles), as it presumes readers unfamiliar with Jewish customs and Palestinian geography (see 7:2-4,31), but it also could have been written for Palestinian Christians.
The account begins with Jesus teaching that the Son of Man must suffer and be rejected by the elders [Sanhedrin], chief priest, and scribes (v.31). The title functions at this point to refer to Jesus’ Passion. As used by Mark’s version of Jesus it is a way of affirming that He is just a typical human being. But the title could also connote the prophesied figure of Daniel 7:13-14, whom many Jews of the era regarded as the coming Messiah. Preachers can decide which option to develop in the sermon.
Peter proceeds to rebuke Jesus for His teaching about suffering (v.32), an account not appearing in Luke’s version) and was in turn sternly rebuked for seeing his mind on human beings (v.33). He calls Peter “Satan,” referring to him as an adversary of God. Jesus then continues with a discourse on discipleship, calling on followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him (v.34). We save our lives, it seems, by losing them (v.35). Those ashamed of Jesus in His words in their adulterous, sinful generation will find the Son of Man (understood as referring the Jesus’ role in judgment, as per the Daniel text noted above) ashamed of them when He comes in the glory of the Father (v.38).
Cross-bearing does not seem very popular in America these days. It goes against the grain of our desire for instant gratification and the concern for prosperity and church growth which have come to be so embedded in church life. Psychologist Jean Twenge supported this in psychological testing of high school and college students between 1970 through the 1990s, identifying 3 in 4 students in the 1970s who had a personality that seeks dominance and self-promotes, but that each year the percentage of young people embodying such personal traits had risen (Generation Me, pp.72ff.). It is not making us happy, as Twenge found in the same sample that the average college student of the 1990s was more anxious than 85% of students in the 1950s and more anxious than 71% of students in the 1970s (Ibid., p.107). Nothing much had changed by 2016. A poll conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 32% of Americans characterized themselves as sad or depressed.
Since doing your own thing does not give happiness, here is how bearing the cross saves your life, like Jesus says. Cross bearing is a denial of the things of the world. It is just a matter of getting your priorities right. And since we must say good-bye someday to the things of the world, dying to them now, putting them in second place to God, is good preparation for the Kingdom. This way of living also is likely to make you happier, cutting-edge research on the brain indicates. Concentration on activities which activate the frontal lobes of the brain, activities which get us away from our immediate impulses (and self-denial through bearing crosses does that) leads to the secretion of more pleasurable brain chemicals (Andrew Newberg, Why We Believe What We Believe, pp.187-188).
The alternative Gospel (Mark 9:2-9) is an account of The Transfiguration. See the preceding analysis for the background on Mark’s Gospel, an account appearing in all the Synoptic Gospels. The event transpires on a high mountain with Peter, James, and John present. It is said to have transpired six days after Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah (v.2; c. 8:29). Jesus’ clothes reportedly became dazzling white (v.3). White clothes are associated in Judaism with the apocalypse (Daniel 7:9; 12:3). Elijah and Moses appear to talk with Jesus (v.4). (Elijah’s reappearance was expected as a sign of the appearance of the Messiah [Malachi 4:5-6]. Moses’ appearance probably relates to his parallel experience reported in Exodus 24.) Peter asks to be excused or to build temporary shelters/tents. (Tents were regarded as dwellings for divine beings due to their association with the Festival of Booths [Exodus 25:1-9; Leviticus 23:39-43].) The Disciples’ misunderstanding transpiring here and elsewhere in Jesus’ Ministry, as a reaction to divine manifestations, is a characteristic Markan theme (4:41; 6:51).
A cloud (associated with Old Testament Theophanies [see Exodus 24:15-18; Isaiah 4:5]) overshadows all and a voice is heard identifying Jesus as God’s beloved Son. Then all the visitors, save Jesus and His Disciples, vanish (vv.7-8). Jesus orders His Disciples to tell no one of the event until the Son of Man risen from the dead (v.9). This is another example of the Messianic Secret in Mark. It also links His Transfiguration to the Resurrection as well as to the End of Time.
A 2013 Barna Research poll found that 4 in 10 Americans think we are living in the End Times. Except for the “live for today” mindset of Americans who do not believe in saving (71% of us according to a 2016 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report), we sure don’t act like we believe the End is on the horizon. This Lesson affords an opportunity to connect the belief that we are in the End Time with eschatological ways of living. Sermons emphasizing how The Transfiguration points us toward Easter and the End Times might start with the appearance of Elijah and Moses (v.4). They represent how God relates to us according to the commandments of the Law. The fact that they are overshadowed by the voice proclaiming that Jesus is Son of God and then vanish so that only Jesus and His Disciples remain (vv.7-8) testifies to the fact that Christ and the Gospel are the End of the Law, that now we are under His Ministry of love and resurrection. Likewise, the white clothes of Jesus suggesting the End Times (v.4) testify that
He and we who live after Him belong to the End Times. This attire also reminds us that He still shines in heaven, that His love continues to shine on us and so as we go about our business in the coming week He is observing us. How can we fail to want to live faithfully knowing that He is ever keeping His eye on us, not to judge us but powerfully to love us?
All the Lessons for this Lenten Sunday direct us to the spiritual roots of our faith, to reminders of God’s loving care for us in all stages of life.
The First Lesson (Genesis 17:1-7,15-16) is the account of the everlasting covenant of God with Abraham and his offspring. The Book as a whole is the product of several distinct literary traditions – J (a ninth/tenth-century BC source so named for its use of the Name Jahweh or Yahweh), E (an eighth-century BC source so named for its use of the divine name Elohim),and P (the Priestly source dated from the sixth century BC). This Lesson seems narrated by the P source.
God is identified in this Lesson as El Shaddai (v.1), the one of the mountains. This was the divine name current in the pre-Mosaic period (Exodus 6:2-3). The covenant with Abraham (the establishment of a bond with God), it is said, will make him an ancestor of many nations and the covenant will be forever (vv.2,6-7). God selects Abram for no particular reason. He is to be blameless, but all he does is to do homage before God (vv.1,3). God gives Abram a new name (v.5). The new name means “ancestor.” His original name meant “Ab [the divine name] is lofty.” His wife, it is promised, will have a son, giving rise to great nations and peoples (v.16). Her name is changed from Sarai to Sarah (meaning “princess”) (v.15).
A 2010 Fetzer Institute study indicated that nearly half of us (48%) felt we need more meaningful love relationships in our lives. We are a nation yearning for something we have still not found in life. Consequently this Lesson is just right for sermons to the audience we will be addressing. For thousands of years, our Jewish friends have remembered this story, reminded themselves of God’s nurturing love for Abraham, his sons and daughters. Like lovers soothe each other and strengthen their love with consistent announcements of their love for each other, so the Jewish faithful have continued to be reminded of a God Who cares. Such reminders strengthen faith.
But not just the Jewish people. Taking seriously Abraham’s new name (meaning “ancestor”) reminds us that he is the spiritual ancestor of Christians and Muslims as well. Thus in face of all the Islamic terrorism and anti-Muslim or anti-Semitic attitudes which have surfaced anew in the past two-three years, another fruitful direction for this sermon might be to remind the flock that Abraham is the ancestor for all three of these faiths, that God’s nurturing love is not just for Christians but for members of these other faiths. Sermons on how God loves us all might open doors to reflections on Christian benevolence towards Judaism and Islam.
The Second Lesson (Romans 4:13-25) is part of the letter of introduction written by Paul between 54 AD and 58 AD to a church which to date he had never visited. The Lesson is the Apostle’s discourse on the true descendants of Abraham. He begins by noting that the promise made to Abraham and his descendants is not made through the Law but through the righteousness of faith (v.13). Reference to Abraham inheriting the world is a Jewish interpretation of Genesis 12:6 (see Sirach 44:19-21). The Law is said to bring wrath. As such it renders faith and the promise null and void (vv.14-15). The promise to Abraham and his people must depend on faith in order that grace be guaranteed (v.16). Abraham is deemed a model here, hoping against hope. This is in line with the God Who gives life to the dead and calls into existent things that do not exist (vv.17-18) Reference is made to Genesis 17:5 and to Abraham’s status as the father of many nations. Abraham’s faith is counted/reckoned as righteousness, as will be the case for those who believe that God raised Jesus (vv.22-25; cf. Genesis 15:6). In the Hebraic thinking which shaped Paul, the righteousness of faith to which Paul here refers alludes to the righteousness of God which has to do with God’s loyalty to His Covenant in saving us and even at times later in the Old Testament era it is construed as something bestowed on the faithful, like it is in this text (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, p.373). Through faith God bestows on us loyalty to the covenant established with Abraham, at least considers us loyal.
A 2016 Gallup poll found that only 1 in 2 of us are very satisfied with life. Sermons on this text offer an opportunity for preachers to remind the members of their flocks not happy with life that we are affirmed and saved by God, given lives that are counted loyal to God and His expectations. This point can be made by an exposition of the Pauline and Old Testament conception of the righteousness of God described above. To see life in terms of a life lived loyally to God cannot but make the ordinary things of life a lot more satisfying (especially when we know that even when we fail in these endeavors God still loves us). For then ordinary events in life have meaning; they are occasions for living loyally to God.
The first Gospel alternative (Mark 8:31-38) reports Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah, a story that appears in the other Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 16:21-26; Luke 9:22-26). We note again the general scholarly consensus about Mark being the source of the other Gospels. The Gospel was probably written, based on oral traditions, prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There is no hard evidence that it is the work of Paul’s associate John Mark (Acts 12:12-25; 15:37; Colossians 4:10). Some speculate that the original audience was the church in Rome (especially Gentiles), as it presumes readers unfamiliar with Jewish customs and Palestinian geography (see 7:2-4,31), but it also could have been written for Palestinian Christians.
The account begins with Jesus teaching that the Son of Man must suffer and be rejected by the elders [Sanhedrin], chief priest, and scribes (v.31). The title functions at this point to refer to Jesus’ Passion. As used by Mark’s version of Jesus it is a way of affirming that He is just a typical human being. But the title could also connote the prophesied figure of Daniel 7:13-14, whom many Jews of the era regarded as the coming Messiah. Preachers can decide which option to develop in the sermon.
Peter proceeds to rebuke Jesus for His teaching about suffering (v.32), an account not appearing in Luke’s version) and was in turn sternly rebuked for seeing his mind on human beings (v.33). He calls Peter “Satan,” referring to him as an adversary of God. Jesus then continues with a discourse on discipleship, calling on followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him (v.34). We save our lives, it seems, by losing them (v.35). Those ashamed of Jesus in His words in their adulterous, sinful generation will find the Son of Man (understood as referring the Jesus’ role in judgment, as per the Daniel text noted above) ashamed of them when He comes in the glory of the Father (v.38).
Cross-bearing does not seem very popular in America these days. It goes against the grain of our desire for instant gratification and the concern for prosperity and church growth which have come to be so embedded in church life. Psychologist Jean Twenge supported this in psychological testing of high school and college students between 1970 through the 1990s, identifying 3 in 4 students in the 1970s who had a personality that seeks dominance and self-promotes, but that each year the percentage of young people embodying such personal traits had risen (Generation Me, pp.72ff.). It is not making us happy, as Twenge found in the same sample that the average college student of the 1990s was more anxious than 85% of students in the 1950s and more anxious than 71% of students in the 1970s (Ibid., p.107). Nothing much had changed by 2016. A poll conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 32% of Americans characterized themselves as sad or depressed.
Since doing your own thing does not give happiness, here is how bearing the cross saves your life, like Jesus says. Cross bearing is a denial of the things of the world. It is just a matter of getting your priorities right. And since we must say good-bye someday to the things of the world, dying to them now, putting them in second place to God, is good preparation for the Kingdom. This way of living also is likely to make you happier, cutting-edge research on the brain indicates. Concentration on activities which activate the frontal lobes of the brain, activities which get us away from our immediate impulses (and self-denial through bearing crosses does that) leads to the secretion of more pleasurable brain chemicals (Andrew Newberg, Why We Believe What We Believe, pp.187-188).
The alternative Gospel (Mark 9:2-9) is an account of The Transfiguration. See the preceding analysis for the background on Mark’s Gospel, an account appearing in all the Synoptic Gospels. The event transpires on a high mountain with Peter, James, and John present. It is said to have transpired six days after Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah (v.2; c. 8:29). Jesus’ clothes reportedly became dazzling white (v.3). White clothes are associated in Judaism with the apocalypse (Daniel 7:9; 12:3). Elijah and Moses appear to talk with Jesus (v.4). (Elijah’s reappearance was expected as a sign of the appearance of the Messiah [Malachi 4:5-6]. Moses’ appearance probably relates to his parallel experience reported in Exodus 24.) Peter asks to be excused or to build temporary shelters/tents. (Tents were regarded as dwellings for divine beings due to their association with the Festival of Booths [Exodus 25:1-9; Leviticus 23:39-43].) The Disciples’ misunderstanding transpiring here and elsewhere in Jesus’ Ministry, as a reaction to divine manifestations, is a characteristic Markan theme (4:41; 6:51).
A cloud (associated with Old Testament Theophanies [see Exodus 24:15-18; Isaiah 4:5]) overshadows all and a voice is heard identifying Jesus as God’s beloved Son. Then all the visitors, save Jesus and His Disciples, vanish (vv.7-8). Jesus orders His Disciples to tell no one of the event until the Son of Man risen from the dead (v.9). This is another example of the Messianic Secret in Mark. It also links His Transfiguration to the Resurrection as well as to the End of Time.
A 2013 Barna Research poll found that 4 in 10 Americans think we are living in the End Times. Except for the “live for today” mindset of Americans who do not believe in saving (71% of us according to a 2016 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report), we sure don’t act like we believe the End is on the horizon. This Lesson affords an opportunity to connect the belief that we are in the End Time with eschatological ways of living. Sermons emphasizing how The Transfiguration points us toward Easter and the End Times might start with the appearance of Elijah and Moses (v.4). They represent how God relates to us according to the commandments of the Law. The fact that they are overshadowed by the voice proclaiming that Jesus is Son of God and then vanish so that only Jesus and His Disciples remain (vv.7-8) testifies to the fact that Christ and the Gospel are the End of the Law, that now we are under His Ministry of love and resurrection. Likewise, the white clothes of Jesus suggesting the End Times (v.4) testify that
He and we who live after Him belong to the End Times. This attire also reminds us that He still shines in heaven, that His love continues to shine on us and so as we go about our business in the coming week He is observing us. How can we fail to want to live faithfully knowing that He is ever keeping His eye on us, not to judge us but powerfully to love us?
All the Lessons for this Lenten Sunday direct us to the spiritual roots of our faith, to reminders of God’s loving care for us in all stages of life.
