LECTIONARY DISCUSSION GROUP
Week of Sunday, January 6, 2008, Feast of the Epiphany, Year A
Isaiah 60:1-6
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.
Ephesians 3:1-12
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.
Matthew 2:1-12
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.
Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
THEOLOGICAL TIDBITS:
- Three broad themes run through the readings this week. The first is the Epiphany as the time of the baptism of Jesus. The second is the coming of the Three Wise Men, as the coming of the nations (= gentiles) to Jerusalem, both figuratively and literally. The third is the missionary efforts of the Church.
- This passage from Isaiah, in its original context, had to do with the return of the Jews to Israel following their exile in Babylon. It went further, however, in also saying that all nations would eventually come to Jerusalem. This is often seen in the Jewish tradition as prefiguring the coming of the messiah.
- This passage, in its references to gentiles coming to Jerusalem with gold and frankincense, clearly foretells the coming of the Magi that is discussed in the Gospel this week.
- This passage from Isaiah also explains the idea of epiphany not as a sudden “Eureka!” moment, but as the growing that will eventually burst forth. It begins with the coming, and the slow growing of the light, then finally the gentiles catching on to the amazing things God is doing in Israel.
- The most recent and best Bible scholarship tends to show that Paul did not write the letter to the Ephesians, but instead one of his followers wrote it. Whether this was independent of Paul, inspired by Paul, or at his dictation, is unclear. However, it does fairly represent the thought of Paul consistently with his other writings.
- This passage must be read within the context of the earlier passage of Ephesians 2:12, in which the pseudo-Paul talks about the “commonwealth of Israel.” Ephesians is clearly presenting Paul’s mission as bringing the Good News to all of the nations that we are all, not just the Jews, children and heirs of God through Jesus.
- Traditionally, there have been two views of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, known as inclusionism and supersessionism. Supersessionism claims that the old covenant is completely replaced by the new, and that therefore Jews cannot be saved. This view was held by Martin Luther and John Calvin, and by many Protestant theologians over the years. The Roman Catholic Church continues to hold that all people who are not practicing members of the visible Roman church on earth, including Jews (and Protestants) are hell-bound. Today, this view is generally held to be anti-semitic, and largely theologically unsupportable. The other, and in my opinion better, view, which is supported by this passage from Ephesians, is that although membership in the Christian church is open to Jews, it is primarily a religion for gentiles, where we come into communion with the God of the Jews, who sent Jesus to proclaim the message and Paul to spread it to all the peoples.
- Herod the Great was a man whose heart turned malignant with age. In his youth, he really was great, and did great things for Palestine, including producing public works and improving the economy and general well-being of the people. However, as he got older, he became more and more paranoid that he would be overthrown, eventually executing many of his courtiers and best administrators and soldiers. The story of the Magi shows us Herod during this paranoid and homicidal period late in his life.
- The Magi are generally thought to be “wise men from the east.” This makes some sense, because the Persians and their predecessors had kept detailed and accurate astronomical records for astrological purposes for thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Furthermore, in their astrological system, strange astronomical events always foretold important earthly events. It therefore would be consistent with the story for them to have come to Bethlehem following a star. It is also interesting to note that there were a number of unusual astronomical events in the period of 7-3 B.C., any one of which could have been the one the Magi followed.
- One thing to note here is that the Magi were not generally considered to be good people by Jews at that time. Jews frowned on astrology, and on foreigners from the East. It is also unlikely that the Magi were “kings”—they were perhaps Zoroastrian priests, but certainly not kings. Furthermore, far from being wise, they tipped off Herod of the birth of a “king” in Bethlehem, thereby touching off the slaughter of the innocents, when it was already an open secret in Palestine that Herod was a homicidal paranoiac. What this story shows, if anything, is that even a broken clock is right twice a day; the Magi did for once see the unmistakable sign that Isaiah foretold and got it right that something very special was going on in Bethlehem.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is your understanding of inclusionism and supersessionism? Do you have one? Is the whole idea of these ideas in some way offensive, do you think? Does it offend your sense of a personal relationship with God?
2. What is the mission of the church to the gentiles? Who exactly are the gentiles? Are they us? Are they those in the world who have not heard the word—or at least have not heard the word in a way that makes sense to them? More importantly, in our Anglican Communion, to what extent should the Christian church be willing to compromise with more primitive ways of life such as are practiced in some African branches of our church, which often feature social and family customs very different from anything that we would be willing to countenance?
`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
THEOLOGICAL TIDBITS:
- Three broad themes run through the readings this week. The first is the Epiphany as the time of the baptism of Jesus. The second is the coming of the Three Wise Men, as the coming of the nations (= gentiles) to Jerusalem, both figuratively and literally. The third is the missionary efforts of the Church.
- This passage from Isaiah, in its original context, had to do with the return of the Jews to Israel following their exile in Babylon. It went further, however, in also saying that all nations would eventually come to Jerusalem. This is often seen in the Jewish tradition as prefiguring the coming of the messiah.
- This passage, in its references to gentiles coming to Jerusalem with gold and frankincense, clearly foretells the coming of the Magi that is discussed in the Gospel this week.
- This passage from Isaiah also explains the idea of epiphany not as a sudden “Eureka!” moment, but as the growing that will eventually burst forth. It begins with the coming, and the slow growing of the light, then finally the gentiles catching on to the amazing things God is doing in Israel.
- The most recent and best Bible scholarship tends to show that Paul did not write the letter to the Ephesians, but instead one of his followers wrote it. Whether this was independent of Paul, inspired by Paul, or at his dictation, is unclear. However, it does fairly represent the thought of Paul consistently with his other writings.
- This passage must be read within the context of the earlier passage of Ephesians 2:12, in which the pseudo-Paul talks about the “commonwealth of Israel.” Ephesians is clearly presenting Paul’s mission as bringing the Good News to all of the nations that we are all, not just the Jews, children and heirs of God through Jesus.
- Traditionally, there have been two views of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, known as inclusionism and supersessionism. Supersessionism claims that the old covenant is completely replaced by the new, and that therefore Jews cannot be saved. This view was held by Martin Luther and John Calvin, and by many Protestant theologians over the years. The Roman Catholic Church continues to hold that all people who are not practicing members of the visible Roman church on earth, including Jews (and Protestants) are hell-bound. Today, this view is generally held to be anti-semitic, and largely theologically unsupportable. The other, and in my opinion better, view, which is supported by this passage from Ephesians, is that although membership in the Christian church is open to Jews, it is primarily a religion for gentiles, where we come into communion with the God of the Jews, who sent Jesus to proclaim the message and Paul to spread it to all the peoples.
- Herod the Great was a man whose heart turned malignant with age. In his youth, he really was great, and did great things for Palestine, including producing public works and improving the economy and general well-being of the people. However, as he got older, he became more and more paranoid that he would be overthrown, eventually executing many of his courtiers and best administrators and soldiers. The story of the Magi shows us Herod during this paranoid and homicidal period late in his life.
- The Magi are generally thought to be “wise men from the east.” This makes some sense, because the Persians and their predecessors had kept detailed and accurate astronomical records for astrological purposes for thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Furthermore, in their astrological system, strange astronomical events always foretold important earthly events. It therefore would be consistent with the story for them to have come to Bethlehem following a star. It is also interesting to note that there were a number of unusual astronomical events in the period of 7-3 B.C., any one of which could have been the one the Magi followed.
- One thing to note here is that the Magi were not generally considered to be good people by Jews at that time. Jews frowned on astrology, and on foreigners from the East. It is also unlikely that the Magi were “kings”—they were perhaps Zoroastrian priests, but certainly not kings. Furthermore, far from being wise, they tipped off Herod of the birth of a “king” in Bethlehem, thereby touching off the slaughter of the innocents, when it was already an open secret in Palestine that Herod was a homicidal paranoiac. What this story shows, if anything, is that even a broken clock is right twice a day; the Magi did for once see the unmistakable sign that Isaiah foretold and got it right that something very special was going on in Bethlehem.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is your understanding of inclusionism and supersessionism? Do you have one? Is the whole idea of these ideas in some way offensive, do you think? Does it offend your sense of a personal relationship with God?
2. What is the mission of the church to the gentiles? Who exactly are the gentiles? Are they us? Are they those in the world who have not heard the word—or at least have not heard the word in a way that makes sense to them? More importantly, in our Anglican Communion, to what extent should the Christian church be willing to compromise with more primitive ways of life such as are practiced in some African branches of our church, which often feature social and family customs very different from anything that we would be willing to countenance?
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