·
5 Albrecht Dürer, 1528, Matthias Grünewald,
1529, and Lucas Cranach the
Elder, 1553, Artists
·
7 John Mason Neale, Priest, 1866. Catherine Winkworth,
Poet, 1878
·
8 Dominic, Priest and Friar, 1221
·
9 Herman of Alaska, Missionary to the Aleut,
1837
·
10 Lawrence, Deacon, and Martyr at Rome, 258 was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome, Italy, under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman Emperor Valerian ordered in 258.
·
11 Clare, Abbess at Assisi, 1253
OLD TESTAMENT: Hosea 11: 1 - 11 (RCL)
Hose 11:1 (NRSV)
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I
called my son.
2 The more I
called them,
the more they went
from me;
they kept
sacrificing to the Ba'als,
and offering
incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who
taught E'phraim to walk,
I took them up in
my arms;
but they did not
know that I healed them.
4 I led them with
cords of human kindness,
with bands of
love.
I was to them like
those
who lift infants
to their cheeks.
I bent down to
them and fed them.
5 They shall return
to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall
be their king,
because they have
refused to return to me.
6 The sword rages
in their cities,
it consumes their
oracle-priests,
and devours
because of their schemes.
7 My people are
bent on turning away from me.
To the Most High
they call,
but he does not
raise them up at all.
8 How can I give
you up, E'phraim?
How can I hand you
over, O Israel?
How can I make you
like Ad'mah?
How can I treat
you like Zeboi'im?
My heart recoils
within me;
my compassion
grows warm and tender.
9 I will not
execute my fierce anger;
I will not again
destroy E'phraim;
for I am God and
no mortal,
the Holy One in
your midst,
and I will not
come in wrath.
10 They shall go
after the LORD,
who roars like a
lion;
when he roars,
his children shall
come trembling from the west.
11 They shall come
trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves
from the land of Assyria;
and I will return
them to their homes, says the LORD.
Ecclesiastes 1: 2, 12 -
14, 2: 18 - 23 (alt. for RCL)
Ecclesiastes 1: 2, 2:
21 - 23 (Roman Catholic)
Eccl 1:2 (NRSV)
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
12 I, the Teacher,
when king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 applied my mind to seek and to search
out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God
has given to human beings to be busy with. 14 I saw all the deeds that are done
under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
2:18 I hated all
my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to
those who come after me 19 --and who knows whether they will be wise or
foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom
under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned and gave my heart up to
despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because
sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all
to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a
great evil. 22 What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they
toil under the sun? 23 For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a
vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
PSALM 107: 1 - 9,
43 (RCL)
Psal 107:1 (NRSV)
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast
love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed
of the LORD say so,
those he redeemed
from trouble
3 and gathered in
from the lands,
from the east and
from the west,
from the north and
from the south.
4 Some wandered in
desert wastes,
finding no way to
an inhabited town;
5 hungry and
thirsty,
their soul fainted
within them.
6 Then they cried
to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered
them from their distress;
7 he led them by a
straight way,
until they reached
an inhabited town.
8 Let them thank
the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful
works to humankind.
9 For he satisfies
the thirsty,
and the hungry he
fills with good things.
43 Let those who
are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the
steadfast love of the LORD.
107
Part I Confitemini
Domino (ECUSA
BCP)
1 Give
thanks to the Lord, for he is
good, *
and
his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let
all those whom the Lord has
redeemed proclaim *
that
he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
3 He
gathered them out of the lands; *
from
the east and from the west,
from
the north and from the south.
4 Some
wandered in desert wastes; *
they
found no way to a city where they might dwell.
5 They
were hungry and thirsty; *
their
spirits languished within them.
6 Then
they cried to the Lord in their
trouble, *
and
he delivered them from their distress.
7 He
put their feet on a straight path *
to go
to a city where they might dwell.
8 Let
them give thanks to the Lord for
his mercy *
and
the wonders he does for his children.
9 For
he satisfies the thirsty *
and
fills the hungry with good things.
43 Whoever
is wise will ponder these things, *
and
consider well the mercies of the Lord.
Psalm 49: 1 - 12 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 49:1 (NRSV)
Hear this, all you peoples;
give ear, all
inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and
high,
rich and poor
together.
3 My mouth shall
speak wisdom;
the meditation of
my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline
my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my
riddle to the music of the harp.
5 Why should I
fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity
of my persecutors surrounds me,
6 those who trust
in their wealth
and boast of the
abundance of their riches?
7 Truly, no ransom
avails for one's life,
there is no price
one can give to God for it.
8 For the ransom
of life is costly,
and can never
suffice
9 that one should
live on forever
and never see the
grave.
10 When we look at
the wise, they die;
fool and dolt
perish together
and leave their
wealth to others.
11 Their graves
are their homes forever,
their dwelling
places to all generations,
though they named
lands their own.
12 Mortals cannot
abide in their pomp;
they are like the
animals that perish.
49 Audite haec, omnes (ECUSA
BCP)
1 Hear
this, all you peoples;
hearken, all you
who dwell in the world, *
you
of high degree and low, rich and poor together.
2 My
mouth shall speak of wisdom, *
and
my heart shall meditate on understanding.
3 I will
incline my ear to a proverb *
and
set forth my riddle upon the harp.
4 Why
should I be afraid in evil days, *
when
the wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,
5 The
wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, *
and
boast of their great riches?
6 We can
never ransom ourselves, *
or
deliver to God the price of our life;
7 For the
ransom of our life is so great, *
that
we should never have enough to pay it,
8 In
order to live for ever and ever, *
and
never see the grave.
9 For we
see that the wise die also;
like the dull and
stupid they perish *
and
leave their wealth to those who come after them.
10 Their graves shall be their homes for ever,
their dwelling
places from generation to generation, *
though
they call the lands after their own names.
11 Even though honored, they cannot live for
ever; *
they
are like the beasts that perish.
Psalm 90: 3 - 6, 12 -
14, 17 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 90:3 (NRSV)
You turn us back to dust,
and say,
"Turn back, you mortals."
4 For a thousand
years in your sight
are like yesterday
when it is past,
or like a watch in
the night.
5 You sweep them
away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is
renewed in the morning;
6 in the morning
it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it
fades and withers.
12 So teach us to
count our days
that we may gain a
wise heart.
13 Turn, O LORD!
How long?
Have compassion on
your servants!
14 Satisfy us in
the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may
rejoice and be glad all our days.
17 Let the favor
of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us
the work of our hands-
O prosper the work
of our hands!
Note: The New American
Bible (the translation used for the US RC lectionary) partially reverses the
order of verses 3 & 4.
NEW TESTAMENT: Colossians 3: 1 - 11 (RCL)
Colossians 3: 1 - 5, 9 - 11
(Roman Catholic)
Colo 3:1 (NRSV) So
if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are
above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is
hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you
also will be revealed with him in glory.
5 Put to death,
therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil
desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6 On account of these the wrath of God
is coming on those who are disobedient. 7 These are the ways you also once
followed, when you were living that life. 8 But now you must get rid of all
such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your
mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old
self with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which
is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11 In that
renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scyth'ian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Being baptised, we are expected to conduct ourselves ethically
(vv. 5-17):
we are to cast aside both sins of the body (v. 5)
and of the mind (v. 8).
“Fornication” (v. 5), porneia in
Greek, means all forms of sexual immorality; the “impurity” is
sexual; “passion” is lust; evil desire is
self-centred covetousness; “greed” motivates a person to set up a god besides
God. Because people still commit these sins wilfully and without seeking
forgiveness, “the wrath of God is coming” (v. 6)
on them – at the end of time. (“Image of its creator”, v. 10,
recalls that God makes humans in his own image.) In the baptised community,
racial and social barriers no longer exist, for “Christ is all and in all”
(v. 11).
Verse 1: “So”: In Colossians, this word often marks the start of a new section. [ NJBC]
Verse 1:
“have been raised with Christ”: In 2:12,
the author writes: “when you were buried with him [Christ] in baptism, you were
also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the
dead”. In Ephesians 5:14,
an author quotes what may be a portion of an early baptismal hymn: “‘Sleeper,
awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you’”. [ CAB]
Verse 1:
“seated at the right hand of God”: Hebrews 1:3 says
“... When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high”. [ NOAB]
Verse 3:
“you have died”: i.e. to the world. [ NOAB]
Verse 4:
Perhaps this is a paraphrase of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
“For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and
with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be
with the Lord forever”. See also Mark 13:24-27 (the
Little Apocalypse); 1
John 2:28; 3:2.
[NOAB]
Verse 5:
Lists of sins are common in Hellenic literature
of the time, so there is no implication that the Christians at Colossae
indulged in any of these sins. Similar lists are found in the Qumran literature: see, for
example, 1QS (Rule of the Community) 4:3-5 and CD (Damascus Document) 4:17-19.
[ NJBC]
Verse 5:
“fornication”: The Greek word also occurs in Romans 1:29;
1 Corinthians 5:1 (“sexual
immorality ... a man is living with his father's wife”), 1 Corinthians 6:13;
7:2; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3;
Revelation 2:21. [CAB]
From time to time, Clippings points out that
words in the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament are found in particular
verses in the translation of the Old Testament in common use when the New
Testament was written. But, the Septuagint was
written some two to three centuries before the New Testament, so we sometimes
need to ask whether the meaning of these words had changed over the centuries.
In the case of v. 5 here,
we should ask: did the author know of older meanings for some of the words in
his list of vices? Consider porneia (“fornication”). In
Classical Greek (the language of five to six centuries before Christ), porneia seems
to have primarily referred to prostitution. If the author of Colossians was
aware of this earlier meaning (which might have still been current when Hosea
was translated into Greek), perhaps he tied this passage with Hosea 1:2:
“... Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom”.
In the Septuagint translation,
“whoredom” is porneia and “the land commits great whoredom “
(Septuagint: ekporneuousa) . He was probably also aware of
Proverbs 5,
where good and bad women, representing wisdom and foolishness, and
faithfulness and faithlessness, are mentioned. (In the Septuagint translation
of Proverbs 5:3,
“loose woman” is gynaikos pornes.) So it seems that more is at
stake than sexual misbehaviour; indeed, the author of Colossians calls on his
readers to be faithful (as Hosea called on his to be faithful to the covenant
with God). Prostituting oneself in either (and both) senses is the “earthly”
part. [Abbott Conway]
In case the reader thinks that suggesting that the author might
know earlier meanings of words is reading too much into the text, I point out
that he was sufficiently learned to write of the cosmic nature of Christ. That
he used this notion in his argument shows that his readers also had a certain
background in the history of ideas. In Colossians 2:8,
he writes “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty
deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the
universe [kosmos], and not according to Christ” On the other hand, these
older meanings hung on much longer than into New Testament Greek than scholars
sometimes give credit. [Abbott Conway]
Verse 5:
“impurity”: The word in the Greek is akatharsian . In
Classical Greek, this word means want of cleansing, and hence filth ,
and metaphorically moral filthiness. There is also the sense of
something that is akatharsos being unpurified, or unatoned. So
the author may mean, within the general sense of morality, something more
specific about behaviour that is consonant with the cleansing and atoning work
of Christ. [Abbott Conway]
Verse 5:
“passion”: The Greek word, pathos, may specifically relate to
sexual passion, but generally it refers to any kind of suffering. In Classical
Greek, the primary meaning is pain or distress,
and spiritually it refers to any kind of violent feeling, whether of love or of
hate. In Plato’s writings, the
family of words refers to that which is accidental or changing (as distinct
from that which is substantial and immutable). So, again, there may well be two
meanings here: one sexual, and one to do with faith. [Abbott Conway]
Verse 5:
“evil desire”: The Greek literally means bad (or evil) longings. [Abbott
Conway]
Verse 5:
“greed (which is idolatry)”: Ephesians 5:5 speaks
of “one who is greedy (that is, an idolater)”. [ NOAB] The word translated “greed”
also occurs in today’s gospel passage (Luke 12:15).
The equating of this greed with idolatry helps fit the whole set of readings
together, for the harlotry to which Hosea refers is none other than the
abandonment of the covenant for local idols, as Ezekiel 3:6-11 exemplifies.
In a sense, then, this little passage offers a hinge between the
general argument of Hosea that the holy people should avoid the faithlessness
of idolatry, and the specific injunction of Jesus to avoid greed of any kind
(which is a kind of idolatry, and thus is faithlessness to God). [Abbott
Conway]
Verse 8:
“anger, wrath”: The Greek word translated “anger”, orge, came to
mean, by New Testament times, any violent passion, but
especially wrath. Thymon (“wrath”) came to
mean the seat of feelings, and then specifically the seat
of anger. This may explain why the author uses two terms here, rather than
just one: orge refers to the action of puffing oneself up with
rage, and thymos refers to the residence of anger. [Abbott
Conway]
Verse 8:
“anger”: Ephesians 4:26-27 advises:
“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not
make room for the devil”. [ CAB]
Verse 8:
“malice”: The Greek word has a range of meanings from vice, malice,
and depravity to ill-repute and dishonour.
[Abbott Conway]
Verse 8:
“slander”: The Greek word, blasphemian, means slander when
it is directed to humans, and blasphemy when it is directed to
God. [Abbott Conway]
Verse 8:
“abusive language”: See also Ephesians 5:4 and
James 3:5-12.
[ CAB] The Greek means
literally foul language. The stem of the word means both shame / disgrace,
and ugliness / deformity. [Abbott Conway]
Verses 9-10: Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed
away; see, everything has become new!”. [ CAB]
Verse 10: “according to the image of its creator”: Genesis 1:26-27 begins:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness
...’”. See also 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (“...
the first Adam ... the last Adam”); Ephesians 2:10; 4:24.
[ NOAB]
Verse 11: In Galatians 3:28,
Paul writes: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or
free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ
Jesus”. [ CAB]
Verse 11: “Scythian”: The Scythians were a nomadic people from the
Caucasus who threatened the Assyrian and Persian empires from the north. In the
Old Testament they are called “Ashkenaz” (see Genesis 10:3;
1 Chronicles 1:6;
Jeremiah 51:27).
The Scythians’ cruelty was proverbial in later antiquity (see 2 Maccabees 4:47;
3 Maccabees 7:5;
4 Maccabees 10:7).
Verse 11: “Christ is all and in all”: The Greek is alla [ta] panta
kai en pasin Christos. This clause expresses both the universality of
Christ (following from the descriptions of the cosmic Christ in earlier
passages), and his presence in everything. The two Greek words (panta and pasin )
make absolutely clear a distinction that is not always evident in modem
translations. [Abbott Conway]
Verses 12-17: V. 12 tells
us the qualities which the baptised are expected to possess, i.e. be “clothed”
with. “Compassion” is sympathy for the needs of others. We should be meek in
the sense of gentle and considerate towards others. We should be forgiving as
God has forgiven us. The primary Christian virtue is “love” (v. 14);
it is born out of God’s love. May our thinking and actions be motivated by “the
peace of Christ” (v. 15).
May we teach each other in the light of the ultimate truth, i.e. God, and be
joyful in the Lord. All we do should be done as though Jesus himself is doing
it.
Verse 12: In Galatians 5:22-23,
Paul says: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no
law against such things”. See also 1 Timothy 6:11 and
2 Peter 1:5-7.
[ CAB]
Verse 12: “humility”: In 2:18,
the author counsels: “Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on
self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without
cause by a human way of thinking”. See also 2:23.
[ CAB]
Verse 12: “meekness”: It is also mentioned in Galatians 6:1 (“gentleness”)
and 2 Timothy 2:25.
[ CAB]
Verse 13: See also 2 Corinthians 11:19;
Galatians 6:6;
Romans 9:19; 15:7;
Hebrews 8:8;
Matthew 6:14-15;
Ephesians 4:32.
[ CAB]
Verse 15: “the peace of Christ”: In John 14:27,
Jesus tells his disciples (and perhaps other followers): “Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not
let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid”. Ephesians 2:14 says
that “... he [Christ Jesus] is our peace ...”. See also 2 Thessalonians 3:16.
[CAB]
Verse 15: “rule”: Literally, be umpire.
Verse 17: In 1 Corinthians 10:31,
Paul advises something similar: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you
do, do everything for the glory of God”. [ CAB]
GOSPEL: Luke 12: 13 - 21 (all)
Luke 12:13 (NRSV)
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the
family inheritance with me." 14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set
me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 And he said to them, "Take
care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not
consist in the abundance of possessions." 16 Then he told them a parable:
"The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself,
"What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then he
said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones,
and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul,
"Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be
merry.' 20 But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is
being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich
toward God."
Jesus’ story of the farmer is particularly apt for a rural crowd.
The farmer’s land “yielded a good harvest” (v. 16,
Revised English Bible). As the frequent use of “I” in vv. 17-19 shows,
he thinks only of himself, of his material well-being. He fools himself into
thinking that materiality satisfies his inner being (“soul”, v. 19).
This example story (unusual because God is a character) does not attack
wealth per se, but rather amassing wealth solely for one’s own
enjoyment. Purely selfish accumulation of wealth is incompatible with
discipleship. God calls the farmer a “fool” (v. 20)
for ignoring his relationship with him. Earthly riches are transient, but a time
of reckoning is coming, when we will all be judged by God. This time may
be when we die or at the end of time, or both. We must trust in God, leaving
the future in his hands. Jesus makes his point by providing an absurd example:
materialism can get in the way of godliness. (The crowd would recall that, in
the Old Testament and in the Apocrypha, foolishness often has overtones of
immorality, of deviating from God’s ways.)
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
This parable is found only in Luke. It exemplifies the meaning of the Cross: in 9:23-25, Jesus tells his disciples: “ ... ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?’” . The highly systematic way in which the farmer goes about protecting his harvest shows how absurd such selfishness is. See also Galatians 6:8-9.
Avoid the fate of the fool, whose reliance is on his possessions
rather than on God!
This reading is the start of a long section on the deleterious
effect possessions can have on discipleship. It ends at 12:34.
[ NJBC]
It’s too bad that some modern translations miss what is
undoubtedly some of the story-telling technique in the parable: So I’ll
say to my soul, ‘Soul!...’. For that is what is in the Greek:
the REB (for example) seems
rather tame by comparison. The next part of the narrative, in which God
shouts ‘Hey, dummy!...’ (NRSV: “‘You fool’”, v. 20)
(which is actually what the Greek aphrón can carry, since it
means senseless, and was used to refer to statues) ... statues,
idols, the idolatry of greed: somehow it all fits in very nicely! But Our Lord,
in packing in crowds of thousands ( 12:1)
certainly knew how to tell a good story. Following from the encounter with the
man in the crowd, this tale must have had them rolling on the grass. Can you
imagine Our Lord acting out the story as he went? I can. One of my teachers
always presented Jesus as a rollicking good story-teller. He used to say that
one of the phrases probably missing from the Gospels is and the people
fell about laughing ! [Abbott Conway]
Verse 13: “inheritance”: For the eldest son receiving a “double portion”,
see Deuteronomy 21:17.
For inheritance laws, see Numbers 27:1-11.
[ JBC]
Verse 14: “Friend”: The Greek word is anthrope, the generic
for human being. (Andros means a male.) Interestingly,
Jesus uses the word again in the parable (v. 16);
one would expect him to use andros. [Abbott Conway]
Verse 14: “who set me”: Jesus explicitly rejects the position of a second
Moses, which the man’s request seems to imply. In Exodus 2:13-14,
Moses sees two Israelites fighting. He asks “‘Why do you strike your fellow
Hebrew?”, and the man replies “Who made you a ruler and judge over us? ...”. [ BlkLk]
Verse 15: “one’s life ...”: See also 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (“there
is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing
into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it ...”). The Greek carries
the sense that real and meaningful life cannot come from abundance of
possessions. [ JBC]
Verses 16-19: The farmer is so egotistical that he eliminates both God and his
neighbour from his sight.
Verse 18: Jesus’ audience would probably have known Sirach 11:18-19:
“One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial, and the reward allotted to
him is this: when he says, ‘I have found rest, and now I shall feast on my
goods!’ he does not know how long it will be until he leaves them to others and
dies”. [ BlkLk]
Verse 20: Jeremiah 17:11 says:
“Like the partridge hatching what it did not lay, so are all who amass wealth
unjustly; in mid-life it will leave them, and at their end they will prove to
be fools”. See also Job 27:8;
Psalm 39:6;
Luke 12:33-34.
[ CAB]
Verse 20: “fool”: Foolishness often has overtones of immorality in the Old
Testament and intertestamental
literature. It is not just an epithet for stupidity. See Job 31:24-28;
Psalms 14:1; 49;
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11.
The word Jesus uses for “fool” is not the same as the one he forbids us to use
with reference to our fellow human beings in Matthew 5:22.
[Blomberg]
Verse 20: “life”: BlkLk offers soul.
He also uses this word in vv. 22 and 23.
However, he says that the Greek word, psyche, combines both life
(as animating principle in a living creature, i.e. very being)
and soul as contrasted with body. Psyche also
occurs in v. 19,
where it is translated as “soul”.
Verse 20: “is being demanded”: The Greek literally means they
demand. This is a rabbinic circumlocution for God demands. This
construction also occurs in v. 48 and 6:38.
Verse 20: “‘whose will they be?’”: This is the punch line of the example
story, and forces readers to ask the basic question: What is life all about? [ NJBC]
Verse 21: Luke gives his own answer to the question in v. 20:
find the meaning of life by acknowledging God and giving alms to the needy. [ NJBC]
Verse 21: “not rich”: The REB translates
these words as a pauper.
Verses 22-31: God’s providential care of his people makes unnecessary anxiety
about appearance or daily needs, since a share in the life of God’s kingdom
cannot be gained by human merit, but only as the Father’s gift.
Verse 24: “ravens”: They were considered unclean: see Leviticus 11:13-15 and
Deuteronomy 14:11-14.
They were known in antiquity as careless creatures who even fail to return to
their nests. [ NJBC]
Verse 25: See also 10:41 (Martha
and Mary); 12:11 (“When
they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not
worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say”);
Philippians 4:6.
[ NOAB]
Verses 27-28: Jesus draws the attention of members of his audience to
situations in which their existence seems as helpless and as short-lived as
that of ravens and lilies. One such situation is that of opposition to the good
news which they preach. See 8:11-15 (the
Parable of the Sower). In such situations, Jesus authoritatively assures his
disciples with “little faith” of God’s gracious care for them. [ NJBC]
Verse 28: “you of little faith”: NJBC offers “little flock”. Jesus’
followers are few in number, struggling, and opposed.
Verse 29: “do not keep worrying”: BlkLk offers do not be in
suspense. While the Greek word appears only here in the New Testament,
contemporary usage suggests the meaning: to swing between heaven and earth,
thus to have no sure footing, and so be anxious.
Verse 30: “nations of the world”: BlkLk offers all the
nations of the world. He says that this is one of the most common rabbinic
designations of the non-Israelite section of humankind. The words are those of
a Jew to Jews whom he is recalling to their divine mission. Hence the
emphatic And do not you search ... (NRSV: “And do not keep
striving”) at the beginning of v. 29,
and the beginning of v. 30b in
the genitive but you have a Father who (NRSV: “and your
Father”) See also Matthew 6:8:
“... your Father knows what you need before you ask him”. [ NOAB]
© 1996-2019
Chris Haslam
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