Lectionary Discussion Group

Week of Sunday, October 28, 2007, Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost

Jeremiah 14:(1-6)7-10, 19-22

[The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: Judah mourns and her gates languish; they lie in gloom on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up. Her nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns, they find no water, they return with their vessels empty. They are ashamed and dismayed and cover their heads, because the ground is cracked. Because there has been no rain on the land the farmers are dismayed; they cover their heads. Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn because there is no grass. The wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail because there is no herbage.] Although our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name's sake; our apostasies indeed are many, and we have sinned against you. O hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night?

Why should you be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give help? Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us! Thus says the LORD concerning this people: Truly they have loved to wander, they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them, now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. Have you completely rejected Judah? Does your heart loathe Zion? Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us? We look for peace, but find no good; for a time of healing, but there is terror instead. We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD, the iniquity of our ancestors, for we have sinned against you. Do not spurn us, for your name's sake; do not dishonor your glorious throne; remember and do not break your covenant with us. Can any idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not you, O LORD our God? We set our hope on you, for it is you who do all this.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Luke 18:9-14

Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Historical Tidbit:

Second Timothy fits into a turbulent period in Roman history. Paul was imprisoned for at least two years, and finally executed in a.d. 66 or 67. The Emperor at the time was Nero, who was probably insane, or at least sociopathic. Nero and his mother Agrippina—with whom it was rumored he had an affair—had his older half-brother Britannicus, who was the most likely heir to the Empire, murdered. He then had his ministers Burrus and Seneca, who were both philosophers and able administrators, commit forced suicide (Seneca was also a well-known Stoic philosopher who had likely talked philosophy with Paul). He then murdered his wife in a rage. Finally, he murdered his mother Agrippina, who had helped him rise to his position. When the famous fire during which he fiddled happened, Nero blamed the fire on the Christians, who had grown numerous in Rome around this time and were universally disliked in the city. With reference to this, the first Roman persecution of Christians, the Roman historian Tacitus gives a gory description of the execution of the Christians through gladiatorial combat.

As Paul neared execution, he was deserted by the Christian community. However, he took satisfaction in his having kept the faith. Moreover, he makes reference elsewhere to having converted members of the Praetorian Guard (i.e., the Emperor’s personal guard) and the Emperor’s household. (See Phil. 1:13; Phil. 4:22.) Although all seemed lost, his ministry in Rome was not in vain.

Theological Tidbits:

- This passage from Jeremiah takes place while God is getting ready to destroy Israel and take its people into captivity to the Chaldaeans (i.e., Babylonians).

- Jeremiah is known for his pessimism. Unfortunately, he was absolutely right in his pessimism. Today, someone who is extremely pessimistic is called “a Jeremiah,” and a pessimistic speech or writing is sometimes called “a jeremiad.”

- This passage from Second Timothy is, in effect, Paul’s last words. It recites many of the common themes of Paul’s writings:

o “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” This common quotation shows both something about Paul and something about the world he lived in:

§ For Paul, it shows that, for all his earlier Pharisaism and later Christianity, he was at heart a Greek gentile. He had taken part in athletics as a child as all Greek-speaking Romans did. This was not a part of Jewish culture, where competitive athletics were frowned upon.

§ In this passage, he does something worthy of Christ: he turns the expectations of Greek culture on their head. The Greeks did not give crowns of laurels to the losers of races. But Christ got his laurels—the crown of thorns (Matt. 27:29)—by being crucified among the worst common criminals. Paul takes note of this and shows the Greeks that what really matters—to wear the crown of laurels—all one must do is keep the faith.

o Paul also spends a lot of time giving praise in this passage, and forgiving his persecutors. Again, Paul perceives himself to be in a Christ-like position, and takes rhetorical advantage of it.

o Paul came to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles—all of the non-Jewish nations of the world. Although he lost his life, he was successful in that (or we wouldn’t be Christians, after all!)

- This parable from Luke illustrates well the points that both Jeremiah and Paul make. It’s about faith—not about how much you tithe. (Cf. Luke 21:2.)

- Note that Jesus does not cast doubt on the Pharisee’s works. His works were good. But he turns them in toward himself, rather than giving them in praise of God, as the tax collector did.

- The Pharisee never asked to be justified, because he thought he already was. Meanwhile, the tax collector asked, and God granted him justification. Ask, and thou shalt receive; both the Pharisee and the tax collector took the time to pray, but one said, like Little Jack Horner, “what a good boy am I!” while the other asked for forgiveness. The importance of opening ourselves through prayer cannot be overestimated.

- Our word “gentile” comes from the Greek gene and the Latin gentes (sing. gens, gentis). Both mean “nations.” So when we sing, “omnes, gentes, alleluia,” we sing “all the nations, give praise!”

Questions:

1. Have you ever been in a circumstance where you thought that you were an abject failure, but it turned out that you had planted the seeds for future success?

2. What is the fundamental difference, in our readings, between the pride Paul feels and the pride the Pharisee feels? Is there any difference? What is it?

3. Where is the parallel between the passage from Jeremiah and the passage from Luke? Is the nation of Israel anything like the tax collector?

4. What degree of control does God actually exercise over the elements? What similarities, if any, are there between our current drought in Virginia, and the droughts and famines that afflicted Israel in Jeremiah’s time?