Bible Tuesday for Epiphany 4, 2018

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

15The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. 16This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” 17Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.19Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.”

A challenge that we, modern Americans, have in interpreting the Bible is that we do not understand the role of prophets or the definition of prophecy. We tend to equate prophecy with future telling, even fortune telling. Ancient Israelites held our same understanding. However, the 18th chapter of Deuteronomy makes a clear distinction between the Word of the Lord as delivered by the prophets and future telling.

In the first verses of chapter 18, God condemns future telling and all manner of divination as “abhorrent to the Lord, your God.” So, if the Israelites cannot consult mediums, witches, or diviners to determine where the best place is to plant crops and when the rains will come and where they should graze their flocks and when they should breed them, to whom should they go for this information?

The answer is Torah, God’s Law/God’s Word. Well, the Israelites answered, that is all fine and good but we don’t understand most of the blither blather that Moses brought down the mountain which was summarized on those stone tablets. AND, to go to God directly is terrifying! HIS fire column and smoke columns are outside camp every day and night and all we do is irritate HIM once and he has us being bitten by snakes or eating so much quail we vomit it out our noses! Someone needs to be a buffer between God and us! Moses has done an okay job at that so far but he is really old. When he dies, what then?!

The above passage addresses the Israelite concerns. God will find and appoint God’s own prophets through whom God will speak to the Israelites, and the rest of the peoples of the world. When those prophets speak the true word of God, the people had damned well better listen! If the prophet lies and speaks “words of honey” to gain popularity or graft, God will deal with them harshly.

Psalm 111

1Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

2Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

3Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.

4He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.

5He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.

6He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.

7The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.

8They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

9He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.

10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

This psalm is an acrostic, though it begins with the word, “Hallelujah” which is curiously translated in the NRSV. It is correctly translated as “Praise the Lord!” but I find the translation curious since the Hebrew “Hallelujah” and the Greek “Alleluia” have both made it into the American and British English lexicons. We use them and we know what they mean, or at least we are accustomed to them in “church talk” so there is no need to translate them.

This psalm is comprised of popular wisdom sayings, each of which starts with a subsequent letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As a result, the psalm is rather disjointed and reads like a Hebrew “Poor Richard’s Almanac”.

Note that “Wisdom” is defined as beginning with a healthy respect and awe of God. Wisdom comes from relationship with God, and is different from knowledge or intelligence.

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him.

4Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

7It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

In the cities of Rome, the meat for sale in the markets had all been sacrificed to the gods of the Romans when it was slaughtered. Then it was butchered and made its way to the markets for general purchase and consumption. One can imagine how this might be a problem for city dwelling Jews. It is against the Torah to eat meat of animals slaughtered and butchered improperly, much less offered to any god except Yahweh/God.

Paul writes to the Christian congregation in Corinth about this issue. Some of the congregants were Jews who believed Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. Other congregants were converts from various Roman cults. Some of them refused to eat meat since the only meat in town was idol sacrifice. Others said that since idols aren’t real, what difference does it make if the meat were sacrificed or not, and lord their seemingly informed attitude over those who refused the meat.

What is the point of a Christian Community if not to worship God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, and build up each other as the body of Christ? Paul asks. Okay, so if it is destructive to the faith of some to see you eat meat from the markets, don’t eat it in front of them, maybe don’t eat it at all. It is not the eating or not eating of meat that is important, it is mutual conversation and consolation of sisters and brothers in Christ, all done in the name of Jesus. If meat eating is getting in the way of that, then don’t eat meat! “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven blind in one eye than not at all,” says Jesus.

Mark 1:21-28

1They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Mark, the gospel writer, is introducing Jesus to his hearers/readers. We are only 21 verses into Mark’s gospel. We know that Jesus went to John the Baptist to be baptized and saw the heavens ripped open and heard God choose him as God’s son. We know that Jesus acted like a traditional itinerate rabbi, gathering disciples to himself, those Jesus’ take on the metaphor of “fishing for people” was different than it has been used in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the above passage, we get some new, and alarming, information about Jesus.

Jesus seems to be acting normally enough, entering the nearest synagogue on the sabbath where he was invited to give the sermon. But his sermon isn’t just about the finer points of perfectly following Jewish Law and tradition. No, Jesus taught as if he had some authority, like to forgive sin, or to declare the definitive meaning of Holy Scriptures. Jesus really does have authority, not from rabbinical schools, but from GOD! Remember, God said that Jesus is His son, therefore, Jesus has complete authority to act as God’s agent, as per the rights of firstborn adult sons ascribed to them in the Torah/God’s Law.

How strange it is that the Jews in the synagogue don’t recognize Jesus as Messiah, but the evil spirits tormenting a worshiper do. By casting the evil spirits out of the tormented man, Jesus proves what the worshipers suspect, Jesus does have authority, not only to teach and preach, but over the powers of evil.