Proper 15B (OT 20)

John 6:51-58

Initial Thoughts

  • First Reaction: Didn’t we just talk about this last week? 

    • “v. 48-50: “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.”

    • Now it picks up with more eating flesh and drinking blood.

  • The Common English Bible translation on “Human One” makes this passage sound gross.

    • A little more explicit than in the previous passage, but same general idea.

Bible Study

  • This is an issue of life and death - Those who eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood will live and those who do not have “no life in them”

  • Living Bread

    • Change from Bread of Life to Living bread is noteworthy due to its present participle tense. (also the same word used to describe God as “living” Father in v. 57).

    • Living notes an ongoing action, something which is happening now and continuing.

    • “The promise made to the woman at the well, living water, is now for those listening here, living water and living bread, and serves to underscore the truthfulness of Jesus’ words.” Karoline Lewis, John: Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries, p.94

  • What does it mean to eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood? 

  • What is Jesus talking about?

    • Eucharist - is this the institution of the Lord’s Supper in the Gospel of John?

      • Maybe not - “In John’s Gospel there are no Words of Institution, no Lord’s Supper per se that informs current liturgical practices of the Eucharist. With that in mind it is not fair to this Gospel...to import our theologies about or preferences for communion practices.” Lewis, p. 95

    • “The Gospel of John is written for insiders, for the beleaguered little group of believers whose allegiance to Jesus has brought them to the crisis of separation from their neighbors and families, "the Jews" who now hate them. When these believers hear this Gospel read to them, they know the story well. They have heard the echoes of the liturgy of the Lord's Supper from the beginning of chapter 6, echoes that are found in all four Gospels' accounts of the miraculous feeding.” Wayne Meeks, Feasting on the Word – Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16).

    • The question about Jesus' literal flesh and blood are as absurd as whether someone will crawl back into their mother’s womb to be born again (John 3). This passage uses the same rhetorical pattern, “How can this (anyone be born/man give us his flesh) be?”

    • Jesus will give himself, his body, his flesh and blood to the world, just as he gave bread to the multitude so that they might be fed and live.

    • “When Jesus offers himself as the Bread of Life...it is not limited to the offering of his life on the cross. That allusions to the Lord’s Supper are relocated from the events surrounding the death of Jesus to the middle of his earthly ministry suggests that the offer of his flesh is first and foremost connected with abundant life here and now and not just the resurrection, and certainly, not just the crucifixion.” Lewis, p. 95

  • Jesus’ Gift

    • The bread of life, Jesus’ life and body are given/sacrificed to reveal God’s way of abundant life for all people

    • When we life in that way of self-sacrificial, non-violent love and grace we receive Christ’s gift and partake in the body of Christ

    • When we live as Jesus lived, eat as Jesus ate, love as Jesus loved and are willing to die as Jesus died - we are participating in the body of Christ and Christ is truly present in our midst.

    • We celebrate communion to remember Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and to encourage us and give us strength to let Christ dwell within us

    • “One avenue of interpretation is to take the institution of the Lord's Supper as Jesus' gift to the church (and through the church to the whole cosmos) for life abundant now, and for life with God everlasting.” O Benjamin Sparks. Feasting on the Word – Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season After Pentecost  (Propers 3-16).

    • “Eternity keeps on dipping into our time. Our memorial feast of bread and wine joins us with the living Christ, who is forever—and thus joined to him, we are forever.” (Sparks)

  • Abide

    • New Revised Standard uses the language of “abide.” Those who eat also abide. This reveals a sense of living together - doing life together. 

    • “Jesus says that those who eat μενω ("abide", 6:56) in him.  This is a key theme in the Gospel of John, in fact, one of the opening questions -- where are you abiding? (John 1:38).  Eternal life is the same thing as staying with Jesus.  So what does eternal life look like?  Well, it looks/feels like that amazing feeling of knowing that we are in the presence of God.” Robert Myallis, LectionaryGreek.blogspot.com

  • Common confusion about early Christian - whether or not they were cannibals

  • Live forever & eternal life is not about immortality but about living in the WAY of Jesus

Thoughts and Questions

  • A great opportunity to discuss the Eucharist- what happens? Why do we do it? How is Jesus present? What does it mean? All important questions that too often go unanswered in the church.

  • What does it mean to separate Communion from the violence of crucifixion? How might communion be more life giving when centered in the middle of Jesus’ life?

  • You are what you eat

Ephesians 5:15-20

Initial Thoughts

  • Last week was 4:1-16, what the CEB calls “Living in Unity”

  • Skip 4:17-5:14, which CEB calls “Living transformed lives” and “Behaving as God’s children.”

  • This section, 5:15-20 (could have included v. 21) is “Living wisely.”

  • Stops just short of household codes

  • Next week we wrap up Ephesians with 6:10-20, “Living in God’s victory”

Bible Study

  • Steps to living wisely:

  1. Make good use of your time

    1. “The language of ‘making the most of the time’ is borrowed directly from the commercial vocabulary of the marketplace. The verb is exagorazomenoi, which means literally snapping up all chances of a bargain that are available. It refers here in part to the stewardship of time as God’s priceless commodity. There is a call to invest our energies in occupations that are worthwhile.” (Ralph Martin, Interpretation: Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, p. 66)

  2. Don’t be ignorant

  3. Understand the Lord’s will

    1. “Pertains not so much to the acquisition of intellectual knowledge as to the orientation of persons to the values approved by God.” (Beverly Gaventa, Texts for Preaching, Year B, p. 470)

    2. “In the first century philosophical tradition, the opposite of foolishness is self possession, discipline, independence of the spirit and will. For Christians, however, the wisdom that stands opposite of foolishness is not one’s own wisdom, but that which stems from understanding God’s will.” (Beverly Gaventa, Texts for Preaching, Year B, p. 470)

  4. Don’t get drunk on wine

  5. Be filled with the Spirit

    1. Speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs;

    2. Make music to the Lord in your heart

  6. Always give thanks to God.

  7. (Not included in lection) Submit to each other out of respect for Christ.

  • Paul presents opposites and pairs:

    • Ignorance // Understanding Lord’s will

    • Drunk on Wine // Filled with spirit

    • Speak to each other with music // Make music in your heart

    • Give Thanks to God // Submit to each other

Thoughts and Questions

  • How many of these things do we confine to worship? Making music, psalms, giving thanks - all feel like something we do ‘at church’ but maybe not other times.

    • Christian radio / podcasts / literature /  movies.

      • Unfortunately most of it is tripe.

      • What are some ways we can help fill our time/energy with things that are helpful in discerning God’s will?

        • Spiritual disciplines

  • Giving thanks at all times and for everything

    • Seems like an impossible task

    • “Gratitude” by Diana Butler Bass reveals that Gratitude is the undoing of “the system,” where everything was quid pro quo.

  • Gratitude as a lens can also shift all of life’s experiences. Even the bad things can be seen through lens of gratitude and can be transformed from crisis to opportunity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzNSRYP00uQ

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14

Initial Thoughts

  • Right after this (1 Kings 3:16-28) is perhaps the most famous scene in Solomon’s life - often alluded to culture

    • Many examples include: Cosby Show, Sesame Street, Seinfeld, ER, MASH, Drew Carey Show. Also discussed in Huckleberry Finn, wherein Huck decides Solomon must not have been very wise. 

  • It is worth noting, especially after last week, that Solomon is the son of Bathsheba, and she had a lot to do with getting him to be king. 1 Kings 1:15-31

  • This is another chance to stray from the lectionary to tell an adjacent story that is often left untold - the story of Bathsheba and Nathan working together to get Solomon the throne. 

    • “That Nathan emerges as a conversation partner for Bathsheba may be surprising for some readers. I believe that in the intervening thirty-plus years, Nathan became a friend, advisor, and perhaps a father figure to Bathsheba. The naming of one of her children after him may reflect her own relationship with him…. [Bathsheba] is not a puppet reciting a script. She is a partner, improvising as necessary.” (Wilda Gafney, Womanist Midrash, p. 219-220)

Bible Study

  • Deuteronomistic editing

    • Alter notes (“1 Kings”, Hebrew Bible a Translation with Commentary, p.441, 449-451)  the intervention of the Deuteronomistic writer in 1 Kings making both David and Solomon out to be far better and more faithful kings than they actually were - David (as we know from last week) was not a “righteous” king with a “true heart”

    • “This is the classic struggle of the Deuteronomistic History, which revels in the glory brought to ancient Israel by the monarchy, and yet also condemns the apostasies of the kings that ruled it.1 The narrative will demonstrate this ambivalence throughout its account of Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 3-11), praising the king’s wisdom, wealth, and work, yet lamenting his worship of the foreign gods of his many wives.” (Cameron Howard, Working Preacher)

  • What kind of King?

    • Now that Solomon’s kingship has been established 1 Kings 2:46b - what kind of King will Solomon be?

    • He begins his established reign with worship and sacrifice

    • He does not ask for the typical Kingly things that Samuel had predicted (and that his father David took): wealth, power, immortality

    • Solomon asks for Wisdom on behalf of the people

  • Wisdom and humility

    • Solomon focuses on the king as the servant of God (4 times in vv. 6-9) as opposed to many other cultures in the ancient near east in which the gods served the kings (i.e. when the kings when to war, the gods fought on their behalf)

    • The “wisdom” Solomon asks for is, ironically, the same thing Adam and Eve desire when they eat the forbidden fruit - so why is Solomon pleasing to God?

      • He asks, not in shame or in an effort to “be like God” but with the intent to serve others

      • Furthermore- Solomon asks (the word appears 4 times in this passage) and God gives (word used 6 times) as opposed to Adam and Eve taking in opposition to what God has commanded

    • V. 9 - “a hearing heart”, “an obedient heart” - “The heart is the organ of thought and will in the Old Testament. This expression implies a reason that understands, an instinct for the truth.” Richard D. Nelson,Interpretation: First and Second Kings, p. 32. - the heart is not the seat of emotion (that was the gut).

    • “How pleasing it must have been to God when Solomon asked not for wealth or fame, but for a discerning mind. A discerning mind distinguishes between right and wrong, appreciates the nuances of our world, and chooses the way of God’s justice and mercy. More than simply having the right answers, a discerning person can appreciate all sides of a complex situation and give a compassionate response…. Imagine if the standard we held out for our children was one of sound ethical judgment, compassion, and care for others, God is eager to grant these gifts to children who ask.” (Bonnie Scott, The CEB Women’s Bible, p. 418)

  • More details about Solomon’s wisdom:

    • Chapter 4 is about his administrative skills, creating a plan to build on the peace that and surplus that David had created. It is much less memorable than the story of the two women, but arguably more important.

    • 1 Kings 4:29-34 “God gave Solomon very great wisdom”

      • He wrote proverbs and songs, knew about plants and animals. He was well-rounded, knowledgeable leader

    • 1 Kings 5:13 Dark side of Solomon and the Temple - forced labor 

      • The people who once suffered under forced labor to build work projects of a king now do the same.

      • 1 Kings 3:1 Solomon is now the son-in-law of Pharaoh.

  • The “Split Baby” an example of Solomon’s wisdom (right after this passage 3:16-28)

    • Both women are prostitutes

    • Typically the judgment in such cases were left up to God by way of oath (Exodus 22:9-10), ordeal (Numbers 5:11-15), or casting of lots (Acts 1), but here God’s wisdom is revealed directly through Solomon

    • The text itself- the repetition or arguments by the women and by Solomon reveal a classic “she-said vs she-said”

    • Was Solomon correct? In truth we don’t know

      • “Solomon has not really proved that the compassionate woman is the biological mother, only that she is more fit to be a parent. His demonstration is psychologically reasonable but not logically watertight. Does her heart yearn (v. 26) for a son presently under the threat of a sword or for a son already dead?” Richard D. Nelson, Interpretation: First and Second Kings, p. 38–39.

      • In truth- we don’t care if Solomon was correct in discerning the mother, because he choose the better parent and the child is saved

      • However, like the wisdom Solomon asks for, the woman who is awarded the baby is the one who cares more for others (the baby in this case) than her own desires. She herself is revealed to be righteous.

Thoughts and Questions

  • Is Solomon being set up as the new Pharaoh? Married to Pharaoh’s daughter - will enslave people to build great monuments including Yahweh’s Temple

  • “Wisdom seeks to please God by applying what we know to benefit others. Solomon expressed a selfless spirit of commitment to govern God’s people with justice… Like Solomon, we should seek justice and peace. Solomon’s request for wisdom pleased God so much that God granted him not only wisdom but also more riches and fame than any other king. Focus on how you can serve God’s people in the position he has given you, and he will equip you with everything you need. (Africa Study Bible, 479)

  • Careful ground to tread - Sex workers, exploitation, and possibly loosening the criminality of sex workers. Prostitutes here are not shamed, they are not treated as criminals. They have rights and an audience with the king. In other places, prostitutes are lifted up as heroes - Rahab especially, who becomes a fore-mother of Jesus. Perhaps the criminalization of prostitution is not a Biblical value and does more harm than good in society.

  • “Wisdom has to do with whom we entrust ourselves to; who we know can fill our empty buckets; whom we most believe, trust, and confide in. If we do not know what resources we have, we cannot use them to make happen what we want to happen. If we do not know what we want to happen, then we will not even know what to wish for in the first place. Wisdom arrives when the soul discerns its destiny, when life aligns in sync with the soul. Wisdom pleases the Lord when it is not self serving, but other serving.” Blair, “Pastoral Perspective on 1 Kings 3:5–12,” in Feasting on the Word: Year A, vol. 3, p. 270. 

  • Solomon is a tricky character - while he is remembered for his Wisdom, his legacy is one of enslaving people to build the temple of Yahweh

  • “Many scholars believe Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings all share the same authorial and/or editorial perspective steeped in Deuteronomic theology. Looking back from exile at the history of the Israelite and Judean monarchies, the narrative blames the kings for breaking the covenant and causing Israel to be sent into exile, even as it celebrates some of their achievements. This ambivalence to the monarchy can be identified to a greater or lesser extent in all of those books.”  (Cameron Howard, Working Preacher)

Thanks to our Psalms correspondent, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com,@pomopsalmist). Thank you to Scott Fletcher for our voice bumpers, Dick Dale and the Del Tones for our Theme music (“Misirlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Sunday Morning”,"Real Ride"and“Summertime”) and Bryan Odeen for our closing music.

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