For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

Transcription

1 THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Jeffrey Nelson For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 Theme Bible Text Ephesians 2:8 Commentary According to the creation account in Genesis, God s original creation was good (Genesis 1), but because of the disobedience of humanity (Genesis 3), sin disrupted God s good creation, thereby tainting the relationship between Creator and creation. The brokenness of creation was so pervasive that humanity could not, by itself, repair the breach between God and creation. Only God could repair this breach so that God s original will and desire for the creation could be realized. But how? Martin Luther, in his explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles Creed, asserts that in the cross and resurrection of Christ, God has delivered a broken and sinful humanity from sin, death, and the power of evil. This redemption, as it is called in theological language, was completed once and for all in Christ. Further, and most important, this act of God in Christ was one of sheer grace. Grace can be defined as the unconditional love of God in Christ for the creation. Before God s gracious action in Christ, all of creation, and particularly humanity, was held captive by those powers opposed to the will and desire of God for the creation dead through the trespasses and sins in which [they] once lived,... following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient (Ephesians 2:1 2). The power of sin is so insidious in the world that it not only attacks from within, the desires of flesh and senses (Ephesians 2:3) particular to each individual that cause us to act in ways God does not intend for us but it also attacks from without, from forces beyond our control, such as physical or psychological damage from childhood that holds one captive, or unjust social or institutional realities that also bind and hinder. Sin is so powerful in the world, and humanity so captive to it, that humans are rendered little more than animals acting out of base instinct the walking dead who have wandered far from God s will and desire for the creation. But that was then, and this is now. A common theme of Ephesians is the before and after lives of Jesus s followers as a result of God s dramatic intervention in Christ. God s original will and desire for the creation is embodied in such virtues as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control the fruits of the Spirit of which the apostle Paul speaks in his letter to the Galatians (5:22 23). Sin may well have gained a foothold, thwarting God s will and desire, but nonetheless, God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4). Through grace, the unconditional love of God in Christ, sin and death that once held humanity captive have

2 Biblical Interpretation 2 been defeated, and humanity has been made alive again and is called to reflect the will and desire of God into the world. Through the grace of God, human beings receive a new identity as followers of Jesus. Through the grace of God, as followers of Jesus, human beings are given a new purpose to reflect the will and desire of God in the world so that it, too, may be transformed into what God originally intended. Through the grace of God, the followers of Jesus fulfill the call to love one another, to create a new community by providing for those on society s margins and embracing the diversity of God s creative activity in their own communities, thereby reflecting into the world the desire of God for the world. All this is done as a gift of sheer grace that converts hearts and minds to the way of Jesus and radically transforms the world into the reflection of God s loving will and desire. Indeed, God s grace changes everything. Jeffrey Nelson is the priest at Episcopal Church of Our Savior in North Platte, Nebraska.

3 Biblical Interpretation 3 DAY 1 OUR HEARTS Bible Text Luke 24:13 35, the walk to Emmaus Commentary The cross of Jesus changes everything. This is a surprising statement, for crucifixion in Jesus s day was a means of capital punishment in the Roman empire, reserved for especially dangerous criminals. While crucifixion was not forbidden in Jewish law, it was considered a particularly heinous and accursed form of punishment that generally was not practiced in Judaism (Deuteronomy 21:22 23). Not surprising, then, Luke writes that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus look sad as Jesus approached. They had pinned their hopes on Jesus, expecting that he would be the one to redeem Israel (Luke 24:21), a longing expressed by Zechariah, Simeon, and Anna early in the Gospel of Luke. All signs pointed to Jesus as the Israelites promised Messiah, whom the two disciples describe as a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people (v. 19). In Luke s theology, the moniker prophet is a mark of Jesus s redemptive work. His public ministry begins with his own announcement of his prophetic mission (Luke 4:16 21). Quoting from Isaiah 61:1 4, Jesus describes his ministry as that of liberation from the brokenness that diminishes the creation: to bring good news, to proclaim release, to recover sight, to free the oppressed, to proclaim God s favor. In the Bible, the work of liberation is the work and desire of God for the creation to restore the goodness originally intended. By connecting his ministry to this work, Jesus wishes to manifest God s desire in deed and word. Indeed, throughout the Gospel of Luke and its companion, the book of Acts, Jesus is acclaimed a prophet, as the work he describes in his inaugural sermon is fulfilled in his ministry. (See, for example, Luke 7:16; 13:31 35; and Acts 3:22; 7:37.) The death of Jesus at the hands of both the civil and religious authorities has shattered the hopes and longings of the two disciples on the Emmaus road. This is the point of the Emmaus story. While the two disciples give their traveling companion a summary of Jesus s mission and passion, they do so without full understanding, symbolized by their lack of recognition of Jesus. Walking with them, the risen Christ himself must provide the true meaning of his sufferings. Appealing to Moses and all the prophets (v. 27), Jesus declares that death is not defeat but the necessary path toward liberation and new life. Indeed, the scriptures are filled with stories of life and liberation arising out of death: creation out of chaos, freedom after the bonds of slavery, hope after the devastation of exile. Death is not the end. Rather, in light of the resurrection of Jesus, death itself has been transformed into an instrument to achieve God s ultimate desire of liberation for the creation. Jesus s exchange with the two disciples takes place in the context of a journey from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus. Journeys are central to Lucan theology. Jesus s ministry can be read as a journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, where God s liberating action in the cross of Jesus takes place. After the resurrection of Jesus, the journey reverses itself, beginning in Jerusalem and reaching to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) so that God s liberating work and desire will touch the whole world. This liberating work takes on flesh

4 Biblical Interpretation 4 and blood as the Spirit of Jesus sets hearts afire to be witnesses to the risen Christ in the world. Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? (v. 32) say the two disciples after they recognize in Jesus God s desire for the creation. Such recognition prompts action as they return to their community in Jerusalem to proclaim what they have seen and heard.

5 Biblical Interpretation 5 DAY 2 OUR IDENTITY Bible Text Acts 9:1 18, the conversion of Saul Commentary While conversion, a change in identity to become a follower of Jesus, may be a sudden and even dramatic event, as it is for Saul on the Damascus road, learning to live into that identity is a long, slow process that unfolds gradually as new insights are revealed and passions ignited on life s journey. For followers of Jesus, this process happens as, by the grace of God, the spirit of Jesus ignites hearts to recognize in him the work and desire of God for the creation and oppose the ways of the world. With hearts afire, followers of Jesus seek to reflect God s desire in word and deed in the world. Seeking liberation from the brokenness that diminishes the creation is God s desire for that creation. Jesus s work to redeem the world in favor of God s desire is an indication that the way of the world does not reflect God s way. If God s way is liberation, then it follows that the way of the world is to bind and oppress. In the Luke-Acts literature, it is particularly the religious leaders who have misunderstood or misrepresented God s desire in their opposition to Jesus. This is the context of Saul s story in Acts 9. The good news of God s action in Jesus has spread like wildfire in the postresurrection church, beginning in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The spirit of Jesus is setting hearts afire by the thousands and setting them on a new path to reflect God s way in the world (Acts 2:41 42), but with the growth of the Way, as the followers of Jesus came to be called (Acts 9:2), come increased attempts to suppress the movement. (See, for example, Acts 4:1 22; 5:27 41; 7:1 60.) Saul is a religious leader who, breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, has obtained permission from the high priest in Jerusalem to travel to Damascus, a city with a significant Jewish community, to root out followers of Jesus in the synagogues (vv. 1 3). On Saul s journey to Damascus, as on the road to Emmaus, Jesus intervenes. In a blinding flash of light, a heavenly voice booms, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (v. 4). Saul, like the two disciples on the Emmaus road, does not recognize Jesus at first, but by falling to the ground and calling him Lord, he does recognize the vision to be of divine origin. Who are you, Lord? Saul asks. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, comes the answer (v. 5). Notice that Jesus is the target of the persecution. When Saul persecuted the followers of Jesus, he was persecuting Jesus, God s prophet, and thereby God and God s desire for the creation. God has other plans for Saul. A disciple named Ananias is instructed to go to Saul and lay his hands on him so he can regain his sight. Ananias balks at the task, but God s plan is not merely to stop Saul s persecution of Jesus s followers but to enlist Saul as an instrument chosen to witness to Jesus among many people, and to suffer for his witness (vv ). His sight restored, Saul is baptized and begins to witness to the risen Jesus in the very synagogues he was to cleanse. Thereby, Saul is given a new identity as a follower of Jesus. Once a part of the religious establishment that set itself against Jesus and God s desire for the creation, Saul is converted by God s graceful intervention to God s way and

6 Biblical Interpretation 6 thereafter he seeks the liberation of those diminished by the brokenness of the creation, bringing them into the community of Jesus s followers.

7 Biblical Interpretation 7 DAY 3 OUR PURPOSE Bible Text Matthew 25:31 46, the parable of the king, the sheep, and the goats Commentary The journey a person takes as a follower of Jesus tends to unfold gradually. At some point, like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the heart catches fire as one comes to recognize in Jesus God s liberating desire for the whole creation. Increasingly, a burning heart leads to a changed identity as one is drawn by the Holy Spirit to become a follower of Jesus, as Saul was, and begins the process of living life reflecting God s desire into the world through words and actions rather than following the ways of the world. As the journey lengthens, one s understanding of God s desire for the creation deepens, and formation into the way of Jesus becomes more complete. The Luke-Acts literature describes God s desire for the creation as liberation from the brokenness that diminishes the creation. Today s Bible text from Matthew s Gospel speaks of servanthood and compassion as God s desire for the creation, both of which deepen and enrich Luke s theme of liberation. This text for Day 3 is from Jesus s teaching concerning the end times (Matthew 24:1 25:46). Matthew s Gospel was likely written between 80 and 90 CE, approximately fifty to sixty years after the crucifixion of Jesus (HarperCollins Bible Commentary, 2000, p. 868). The earliest followers of Jesus expected his imminent return to establish God s kingdom on earth, but as time went by and Jesus didn t return as expected, the church needed to learn how to live in the end time the time between the resurrection and Jesus s return. How were the followers of Jesus to act? Matthew attempts to answer that question in the series of parables, sayings, and exhortations that lead up to and include the Day 3 text. In today s text, the Son of Man (a title for Jesus in Matthew s Gospel) comes in glory as a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. In ancient times this was a common shepherding practice. Because of the warmth of their woolen coats, sheep could graze in the open pastures at night while goats needed protection from the cold. Later in this parable from Matthew 25, the image of Son of Man as shepherd becomes the image of Jesus as king or messiah, who has God s power to act as judge. Therefore, the shepherding act of separation becomes an act of judgment, the sheep separated on Jesus s right from the goats on his left. In this judgment, the sheep are invited to inherit the kingdom prepared for you (v. 34) because they gave food and drink to Jesus when he was in need, welcomed him, clothed him, tended him in illness, and visited him in prison (vv ). Similarly, the goats are thrown into the eternal fire (v. 41) because they did not do these things. Both sheep and goats are surprised and ask when it was that they did or did not do these things. Jesus answers in turn, Just as you did it [did not do it] to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it [did not do it] to me (vv. 40, 45). In Matthew s Gospel, Jesus is Emmanuel, meaning God is with us, God in human flesh and blood (Matthew 1:23). Jesus understands the joys and sorrows of human life. He particularly identifies with and has empathy for those on the margins and lives in unity

8 Biblical Interpretation 8 with them, such as those listed in his parable, so much so that Jesus is those on the margins, and serving them is serving him. According to Matthew s Gospel, Jesus values above all else compassion (Matthew 9:36) and a desire to serve others, rather than be served (Matthew 20:24 28). He expects that his followers will do the same as they await his return in glory. In the kitchen of a small, midwestern parish that feeds more than one hundred hungry people weekly, this sign hangs in a prominent position: In this place, we believe guests should be treated as if they were Jesus, because in this place we believe they are. The sign is a reminder to those who serve the hungry that in so doing, they are serving Jesus, who identifies with and has empathy for those on the margins and lives in unity with them. Those who identify as followers of Jesus are called to adopt God s desire for the creation liberation, compassion, and a spirit of servanthood as their own, and embody and reflect that desire into the world, as did their shepherd and servant king.

9 Biblical Interpretation 9 DAY 4 OUR COMMUNITY Bible Text Matthew 15:21 28, the Canaanite woman Commentary The challenge in the call to embody and reflect the desire of God liberation, compassion, service into the world is not to see those on the margins as objects of one s charity but as human beings loved and cherished by God, and therefore loved and cherished by God s people. In so doing, one discovers a collection of people whose diversity is the vision of the creator God. Interacting in this way is to open oneself to the other, thereby creating a new and broader community. Today s focus text represents this struggle of Jesus s first followers as they moved from a collection of insiders (Jewish people, already considered a part of the people of God) to embrace outsiders (Gentiles, or non-jews, moved by the Spirit to embrace the way of Jesus and live in a new way in the world). The story of the Canaanite woman deals with the scope of God s love, mercy, and grace. Descended from those who occupied the land before the Hebrews settled there, the Canaanite woman (a Gentile) is considered an unacceptable outsider, which is embodied in many forms: her gender, her ethnicity, her religion, the demon possession of her daughter, and her loud and insistent public behavior. In response to the woman s plea to heal her daughter, Jesus insists that his mission was only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (vv ). But then the woman softens her approach and kneels before him, saying simply, Help me (v. 25). Still Jesus rebuffs her, this time with an insult: It is not fair to take the children s food and throw it to the dogs (v. 26). Without hesitation the Canaanite woman embraces the insult hurled at her daughter and her and forces Jesus to see them as human beings worthy of God s mercy: Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters table (v. 27). Astonished, Jesus holds up this socially unacceptable woman and her socially unacceptable behavior as an example of great faith. In so doing, Jesus changes the way he responds to her and gains new insight into the scope of God s desire for the world and his mission to reflect that desire. God s liberation, compassion, service, and love are for all, and all are included in a community that is radically different from commonly acceptable norms. Some may wrestle with the way Jesus treats this woman; however, in Matthew s Gospel, Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us. As such, Jesus not only understands and identifies with the joys and sorrows of human life but also is bound by the human limitations of culture, religion, ethnicity, and gender. Thus, in this account, Jesus is simply acting in ways considered acceptable in his day. But there is another point to make. As Godin the-flesh, Jesus is also growing into a deeper understanding of God s will and desire for the world as his particular messianic journey of faith progresses. In this interaction with a socially unacceptable woman, who understands that God s mercy extends to her and her daughter, Jesus is changed and given new insight and direction in his ministry. By the end of Matthew s Gospel, the risen Christ declares that the scope of the witness of his followers is to all nations (Matthew 28:19). In this light, Jesus s change of heart and insight is not a stumbling block but an example to his followers of how not only to be attentive to the

10 Biblical Interpretation 10 needs and requests of those on the margins, but of how to be open to and humbled by the leading of God in new and unexpected directions.

11 Biblical Interpretation 11 DAY 5 OUR PERSPECTIVE Bible Text Luke 15:11 32, the parable of the prodigal father and the wayward son Commentary The traditional title of the Bible text for today is The Prodigal Son ; however, a better title for this familiar parable is The Prodigal Father and the Wayward Son. The word prodigal means wastefully or recklessly extravagant and lavishly abundant. While the younger son in the parable does indeed spend his money, or rather his father s money, on wasteful extravagance, it is the father s actions toward not only the younger son but both sons that are recklessly extravagant and lavishly abundant, and are the central point in the story. Grace, the unconditional love of God for the creation, is at the center of this story, grace that is lavish and abundant, but grace that is also scandalous and resists all commonly acceptable earthly norms. Consider all the conventional rules that are broken in this story. The demand of the younger son for his inheritance before his father s death is a great insult to the father (v. 12). To give the younger son the inheritance, the father would have to sell a portion of his land, which Jews considered to be God s gift to their families. Selling the land would be to renounce God s gift. The younger son turns his back on his family, his homeland, and his religion by traveling to a foreign country and squandering his inheritance (v. 13). When a famine hits and he no longer has means to support himself, the younger son hires himself out to care for pigs, considered an unclean animal in Judaism and an assault on his religious heritage (v. 15). Because of the shame the younger son brings upon his father, when the son returns the father, by rights, could and perhaps should disown him. At this point in the story the biggest surprise arises, for the actions of the father toward the younger son are just as reckless, lavish, and unconventional as the younger son s behavior has been, perhaps even more so. Hungry, desperate, and realizing his shameful actions, the younger son returns to his father, though only as a hired hand (vv ). The father, who has been waiting for the son s return, rushes to meet him on the way something the dignified patriarch of a family never would have done. Further, the gifts lavished on the son the kisses, the ring, the robe, the banquet are surprising, considering the public shame and humiliation the son has brought upon the father and his household (vv ). The elder son is livid because of his father s treatment of his wayward brother. Here too the father s reaction is surprising. He leaves his guests unattended at the banquet (v. 28), which is a breach of etiquette in a culture that regards hospitality highly, as is his pleading with the elder son, a humiliating action for the patriarch of a Jewish family. This story is filled with actions contrary to all commonly acceptable social norms in first-century Jewish life, but at the same time it is filled with a parent s unconditional and

12 Biblical Interpretation 12 prodigal love for a wayward child a love that trumps all else and turns the world upside down, thereby changing our perspective too. Such is the love of God for a wayward humanity, a love so lavish and complete that it could turn a shameful instrument of death and destruction the cross into the means whereby God defeated sin, death, and the power of evil and its hold on the creation. And such is the love of God for humanity that it seeks out lost human beings, rejoices at their return, and lavishes gifts upon them, enlisting them to seek out the lost in God s name and to invite them into the prodigal love of God. In so doing, the will and desire of God for the creation slowly unfolds and is realized. This, truly, changes everything!