September 14, 2003
Prayer of the Day
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing
mercy and pity. Grant us the fullness of your grace, that, pursuing
what you have promised, we may share your heavenly glory; through your
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Isaiah 50:4-9
{4} The Lord GOD has
given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the
weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens-- wakens my ear to
listen as those who are taught. {5} The Lord GOD has opened my
ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. {6} I
gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled
out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. {7}
The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not
be put to shame; {8} he who vindicates me is near. Who will
contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let
them confront me. {9} It is the Lord GOD who helps me; who will
declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment; the moth
will eat them up.
4. the tongue of a teacher: "Lit[erally] a
disciples’ (plu.) tongue…, perhaps a trained or practiced
tongue…. The stress laid on the divine education of the Servant is
connected with the fact that his ministry of consolation was almost a
new departure in prophecy. In the hands of the earlier prophets the
word of Jehovah had been like a hammer breaking the rock in pieces
(Jer. xxiii. 29) rather than a dew reviving the spirit of the humble."
[1]
the weary: The "anxious and despondent minds in Israel."
[2]
to listen as those who are taught: The prophet listens to
Yahweh’s word each day, and with it sustains the hopeless.
6. The prophet did not seek to avoid dishonor but willingly
accepted persecution and suffering at the hands of his enemies.
The picture of the patient, suffering of the servant of
the Lord is repeated both in Jesus’ sufferings at the hands of his
Roman guards, and Paul’s trials.
7. The vindication of the prophet is expressed in the terms of
a legal process. The prophet and those who contend with him stand
before the court. Yahweh helps the prophet, and he is vindicated and
not disgraced. He can not be declared not guilty because of Yahweh’s
help. His adversaries will be worn out and be destroyed.
Psalm 116:1-9
{1} I love the LORD,
because he has heard my voice and my supplications. {2} Because
he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I
live. {3} The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of
Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. {4}
Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, save my life!"
{5} Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.
{6} The LORD protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved
me. {7} Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the LORD has dealt
bountifully with you. {8} For you have delivered my soul from
death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. {9} I walk
before the LORD in the land of the living.
3-4: The singer was in peril and called on
Yahweh to save his/her life.
5-6a: The psalmist asserts those qualities upon which (s)he
depends. Indeed, Yahweh acted to save him/her.
7-9: The singer now enjoys life in the presence of Yahweh.
The Psalm is a song of thanksgiving, praising Yahweh
who heard the voice of the singer and saved him (her) from distress
and death. In the lectionary it is a response to the description of
the sufferings of the servant of God who is rejected by the people.
(S)he will be vindicated and his/her sufferings will be ended.
James 3:1-12
{1} Not many of you
should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we
who teach will be judged with greater strictness. {2} For all
of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is
perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. {3}
If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we
guide their whole bodies. {4} Or look at ships: though they are
so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided
by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. {5}
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great
exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! {6}
And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a
world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of
nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. {7} For every
species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed
and has been tamed by the human species, {8} but no one can
tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. {9}
With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who
are made in the likeness of God. {10} From the same mouth come
blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be
so. {11} Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both
fresh and brackish water? {12} Can a fig tree, my brothers and
sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water
yield fresh.
1-2. Not many…should become teachers…:
Teachers, like all, are liable to err. Because of their responsible
position they will be judged more strictly than others. Therefore,
only those who can avoid errors in their teaching should become
teachers.
Anyone who makes no mistakes …able to keep the whole body in check
with a bridle: Such a teacher is perfect and is able to control
himself, as with a bridle. It is the "bridle" that leads to the
treatise on control of the tongue. This takes up the metaphor already
mentioned in 1:26.
3-4: Big horses and big ships are guided and controlled by
small bits and small rudders.
5: A small fire can destroy a great forest. The tongue is a
small member, with the implication that it can cause great mischief.
6-10: The tongue is a small member of the body, but it cannot
be controlled. It is unruly and restless and is dangerous to human
society. It both blesses God and curses those created in his image; it
ought not to be.
11-12. Does a spring…both fresh and brackish water…. Can a fig
tree…olives, or a grapevine figs: Two metaphors to show the
incompatibility of blessing and cursing. The second metaphor is used
by Jesus in Matthew 7:16: "You will know them by their fruits. Are
grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?"
No more can salt water yield fresh: The spring and the fig
trees and grapevines cannot behave contrary to their nature any more
than salt water can become fresh.
The tongue is an unruly member of the body, it cannot
be controlled and acts on its own with poisonous results. The tongue
does not recognize the absurdity of blessing God and cursing those
created in his image. Salt water and fresh, figs and olives, blessing
and cursing are all contraries. Christians must control their tongues.
Mark 8:27-38
{27} Jesus went on with
his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he
asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" {28} And
they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still
others, one of the prophets." {29} He asked them, "But who do
you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." {30}
And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. {31}
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great
suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the
scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. {32}
He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to
rebuke him. {33} But turning and looking at his disciples, he
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting
your mind not on divine things but on human things." {34} He
called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to
become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross
and follow me. {35} For those who want to save their life will
lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake
of the gospel, will save it. {36} For what will it profit them
to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? {37} Indeed,
what can they give in return for their life? {38} Those who are
ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes
in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
27. Who do people say that I am: "…in antiquity
the question was not the modern one of the identity of an individual,
but of the position and power that derived from an ascribed or
acquired honor status…. Jesus wants to find out what his status is
both among the public and among his new (fictive) kin." [3]
29. You are the Messiah: "The final designation, ‘Messiah’ is a
clear status designation that focuses in unmistakable terms the
reassessment of Jesus that has been going on. It asserts that his
authority to proclaim the reign of God is divinely authorized. It also
identifies Jesus with his fictive rather than biological family."
[4]
30. he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him: "Lest
so audacious a claim (not among the proposals in 6:14-16) be made in
public, however, Jesus demands silence." [5]
31. he began to teach them: The keyword "teach" occurs in this
lesson, too. Here Jesus teaches his disciples that he will be the one
who will undergo suffering and dishonor. All that was true of the
prophet in Isaiah will be true of Jesus as well. Jesus will trust God
to protect his honor, and will refrain from curses and words of anger.
Those who follow him must be willing to accept that reality.
31-33: "In a society that assumed all goods, including honor,
were limited and that was deeply suspicious of all attempts to rise
above the level of one’s birth, the status now being accorded Jesus by
both the public and his own surrogate family would be explosive stuff
indeed. Peter, perhaps naively, thinks that the status claim can be
made to stick in public without trouble. Peter’s rebuke is interpreted
as a test of Jesus’ loyalty to God; hence Peter is a ‘Satan,’ a tester
of loyalties." [6]
34: Others may become a part of Jesus "family" by "denying
themselves," that is, their biological families, taking up the cross
of such a drastic action, and being willing to acknowledge his loyalty
to Jesus by following him.
34. If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me: Jesus invites others to
follow him, but he warns them as to the cost of their discipleship.
The disciple is to "follow" the master, imitating his behavior and
attitude. To do this they must "deny" themselves, that is, they must
put aside all their fondest hopes and dreams of comfort and success,
and commit themselves to following God’s will wherever it may lead
them. Implicit is the expectation that those who follow Jesus will
also suffer as he will. When the Son of man comes with power, he will
in like fashion be ashamed of ‘this generation.’"
37. ashamed of me: "To be ashamed of a person is to dissociate
oneself from that person, to not recognize that person’s claims to
honor, to distance oneself from that person’s honor rating."
[7]
38. this adulterous and sinful generation: "The phrase
"indicates that they are essentially of questionable parentage, hence
quite without honor" capable only of "consistently dishonorable
conduct, conduct unworthy of a human being—let alone God’s people."
[8]
Reflection
The common theme of the lessons is
the perseverance of the believer in the face of rejection and
dishonor. The word common to three of the lessons is "teach." Dishonor
and rejection are to be expected by those who serve the Lord. Jesus
warns his disciples, "those who want to save their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the
gospel, will save it." James warns against seeking to become teachers
for they will be judged strictly.
He warns against the malicious use of the tongue,
presumably by one who is being attacked. The true disciple will use
the tongue to bless, even under attack, not to curse. In the Prayer of
the Day God is addressed as one who declares his "almighty power
chiefly in showing mercy and pity" on those who want to be his
disciples, but who cannot survive the rigors of such discipleship.
Only because of the graciousness of the Father of Jesus can we hope to
share his heavenly glory. "Those who want to save their life will lose
it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the
gospel, will save it." To be a Christian is not for the faint hearted,
nor even for the strong, but only for the faithful, who dare to trust
the Lord.
Hymns [9]
With One Voice (e.g. 762v), Hymnal Supplement
1991 (e.g. 725s) and LBW (e.g. 32).
E=Entrance; D=Hymn of the Day; I=First Lesson, P=Psalm;
II=Second Lesson; G=Gospel
247 E Holy Majesty, before
398 D "Take Up Your"
532 P How Great Thou
561 P For the Beauty
757vP Creating God |
726vP Oh, Sing to
436 II All Who Love
406 G Take My Life,
837s, 455, 504, 810s/785v |
Prayers of
the People [10]
God of ultimate purpose, we praise
you for even summoning us to service. We want to follow but we are
chained in place by our fears. Send your Holy Spirit with courage to
free us. Give us strength beyond our weakness. Help us to learn from
our worship what it means to deny self and take up the cross and
follow Jesus. God who calls us to serve hear our prayer.
God of male and female alike, bless the journey of
all of our boards and committees that all your servants may have
opportunity to speak and be heard, to know and to act. Bless the
Evangelical Lutheran Women of our Church and their newly elected
board. Give them wisdom and vision. Build trust and a spirit of
mission that they may know your call and serve you fully. God who
calls us to serve hear our prayer.
Or
[11]
Presider or
deacon
With our tongues we bless the Lord and Father and beg for mercy on
all in need.
Deacon or other leader
For N our bishop and N our presbyter, for this holy
gathering, and for the people of God in every place.
For mercy, peace, and justice among all peoples.
For abundant fruits of the earth, and for safety from violent storms.
For the sick and the suffering, travelers by land, by water, and by
air, prisoners, captives, and their families, and all those in
desperate need.
For our city and those who live in it, and for our families,
companions, and all those we love.
For those who rest in Christ and for all the dead.
Lifting our voices with all creation, let us offer ourselves and one
another to the living God through Christ.
To you, O Lord.
Presider
God of infinite mercy, hear the prayers we offer this day and save our
lives through the good news of your Messiah, through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Notes
[1] A.F.
Kirkpatrick, The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapters XL-LXVI,
Cambridge: University Press, 1954, pp. 113f.
[2] Ibid.,
p. 114
[3] Bruce Malina &
Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social Science Commentary on the Synoptic
Gospels. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992, p. 229.
[4] Loc. cit.
[5] Loc. cit.
[6] Ibid.,
p. 232.
[7] Loc. cit.
[8] Loc. cit.
[9]
http://www.worship.on.ca/text/rclb9900.txt
[10]
http://www.worship.on.ca/text/pray_b2.txt
[11]
http://members.cox.net/oplater/prayer.htm |
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