The Massacre of the Innocents

First Sunday after Christmas (A)

(The Feast of the Holy Innocents/Feast of the Holy Family)
December 29, 2013
Matthew 2:13-23

The Flight into Egypt, Coptic Orthodox icon (Image via Pravmir.Org)

 Introduction

Christmas is not the end of the Christmas season. Just as Easter is not the end of the Lenten season, but the center and the beginning of a new season, Christmas is the center of what is called the Christmas Cycle and the beginning of a new season—the Christmas Season (or Christmastide). In our Church, we have two great “cycles”—the Christmas Cycle and the Easter Cycle. These two great feasts—Christmas and Easter—are preceded by seasons of preparation—Advent and Lent, respectively. These preparatory seasons climax in the two great feast days of the Church—Christmas and Easter—which in turn are the beginning of seasons of celebration: the Twelve Days of Christmas and the Great Fifty Days of Easter. Both celebratory seasons are concluded by festival days: Epiphany is the end of the Christmas Cycle while Pentecost is the end of the Easter Cycle.

Christmas is followed by three feast days: the Feast of St. Stephen the Protodeacon and Protomartyr (among the first seven deacons of the Church and also her first martyr—Acts 6:1-7 and 7:54-8:1) on December 26; the Feast of St. John the Theologian, Apostle and Evangelist (the writer of the Gospel of John,  the First, Second, and Third Epistles of John, and Revelation) on December 28; and the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28. The first Sunday after Christmas is also observed in the Roman Catholic Church as the Feast of the Holy Family; and this year being Year A in the liturgical calendar, we have a reading from the Gospel of Matthew—the only place in this Gospel that mentions the “Holy Family”: Matthew 2:13-23.

(In The United Methodist Church, at least here in the Philippines, December is usually celebrated as “Family Month” and one Sunday as “Family Sunday”, perhaps for sentimental reasons: “Christmas is for family”. Might I suggest that “Family Sunday” be observed on the Feast of the Holy Family, the Sunday after Christmas?)

Matthew 2:13-23 tells of the story of the Massacre of the Innocents. King Herod the Great, in his murderous rage, ordered the killing of all boys two years old and below in and around Bethlehem. Is this an untimely message during this season of joy?

I. The Visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12).

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judah, Magi from the East arrived came to Bethlehem to look for the newborn King. The liturgical calendar currently celebrates the visit of the Magi on a separate date—January 6—to show that some time had already passed since Jesus was born.  When Jesus was born, the Magi saw the Star over Bethlehem. It took some time for them to travel from the East (most probably Persia, now modern-day Iran) to Judea. By the time they arrived, Jesus was probably in Jerusalem, for his presentation at the Temple, forty days after his birth (Luke 2:21-40), so the Magi followed the Star there. After conferring with Herod and the chief priests and the scribes regarding the prophecy of Micah the Prophet, the Holy Family must have returned to Bethlehem. They saw the Star over Bethlehem which led them “over where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9). After presenting him their valuable gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the Magi were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod but instead returned to their country by another way.

II. The Flight into Egypt (vv. 13-15).

Just as the Magi were warned in a dream, so was Joseph warned by an angel of the Lord of the impending danger: “Arise and take the young child, and flee into Egypt, and continue there till I shall tell thee; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” (v. 12). Egypt is the traditional place of refuge for Israel:  In I Kings 11:40, Jeroboam, who would be king of the northern kingdom of Israel, fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon; while in Jeremiah 26:21, King Jehoiakim and his court fled to Egypt to escape the invading Babylonian army.

The Church views Jesus’ flight into Egypt as a means to reenact the Exodus from Egypt. St. Matthew quotes Hosea the Prophet: “Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Hosea 11:1). In the prophecy of Hosea, it is Israel who was the “son” which God called out from Egypt. In the Gospel, this prophecy was fulfilled when an angel of the Lord bade Joseph to bring Jesus and his mother out of Egypt after the death of Herod.

 

 
III. The Massacre of the Innocents (vv. 16-18).

When Herod released that he had been “deluded” by the Magi, he became exceedingly mad (both in the sense of ‘angry’ and ‘crazy’) and ordered the killing of all male children in and around Bethlehem two years old and younger.  (Which leads us to believe that the visit of the Magi and the massacre of the innocents occurred around two years after the birth of Jesus.)

The massacre of the innocents is a fulfillment of a prophecy of Jeremiah the Prophet (v. 18):

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

According to the Torah, Rachel the wife of Jacob died giving birth to her second child, Benjamin, and she was buried in Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16-20). In the book of Jeremiah the Prophet, Rachel is depicted as weeping over her children, the Jewish people, as they passed through Rama before going to exile in Babylon. Rama was five miles north of Jerusalem while Bethlehem was five miles south. Thus the wailing of the mothers whose sons were murdered by Herod ten miles away!



The tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem today. (Image via RachelsTomb.Org)

IV. The Return from Egypt (vv. 19-23).

“But when Herod was dead…” (v. 19). How did Herod die? According to the Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his War of the Jews (Book I, Chapter 33). Herod had “intolerable itching over all the surface of his body, and continual pains in the colon, and dropsical turnabouts turnout about his feet, and an inflammation of the abdomen, and a putrefaction of his privy member, that produced worms.” He died at the age of seventy and his kingdom was divided among three of his sons (Archelaus in Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Herod Antipas in Galilee; and Philip in Transjordan; all mentioned in the New Testament).

Achelaus was said to be so cruel that in 6 AD he was banished him into Gaul (modern-day France) because the Jews protested to Augustus Caesar. This explains why Joseph was “afraid to go dither” and return to Bethlehem but instead went to back to Nazareth. “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene” (v. 23).

There is no prophecy in the Old Testament that contains those exact words. It could be a reference to a prophecy of Isaiah the Prophet that the Messiah would come as a “Branch” (Hebrew, נֵצֶר, netser) from the family of Jesse, father of King David (Isaiah 11:1). There may also be an allusion to the Nazirite (Hebrew, נָזִיר, nazir).

Conclusion

There are still “Holy Innocents” that are suffering and dying today. Consider the following statistics: 

• In 2000, it was estimated that there were 470,000 induced abortions performed in the Philippines; meaning that one out of three woman are getting an abortion. In 2010, there were an estimated 560,000 abortions and about 90,000 women were hospitalized due to complications. (Rappler.com)
• In 2011, there are an estimated 5.492 million working children aged five to 17 years old. (National Statistics Office)
• UNICEF estimates that there are over 246,000 street children working or living in the Philippines in 2012. (Philippine Star)
• In 2010, 4,749 cases of child abuse were reported to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). One fourth of these are children below five years old. One half of these children have been neglected or abandoned. Furthermore, 27.3% have been sexually abused through rape, incest, prostitution, or cyber pornography. (National Statistical Coordination Board)
• UNICEF airlifted $ 1.3 million worth of relief goods like water purification tablets, soap, and medical kits to help an estimated four million children who were victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Why does God allow such evil to exist? And why do we preach this during this “season of joy”? In his sermon on the Holy Innocents, St. Quodvultdues said,

The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs…. They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.

Thus the Church regards the Holy Innocents as martyrs of Christ.

John Wesley writes,

The preservation of Jesus from this destruction may be considered as a figure of God's care over his children in their greatest danger. God does not often, as he easily could, cut off their persecutors at a stroke. But he provides a hiding place for his people, and by methods not less effectual, though less pompous, preserves them from being swept away, even when the enemy comes in like a flood. (Notes Upon the New Testament)

 



Rachel weeping for her children.

"No Stone Upon Another"

26^th Sunday after Pentecost (Ordinary Time/UM Kingdomtide), C
November 17, 2013
Luke 21:5-19

Stones from the Temple in Jerusalem which were thrown down by Roman soldiers in 70 AD. (Photo from FreyerDrew.Blogspot.Com)

In today’s Gospel reading, we read that Jesus and his disciples were at the Temple in Jerusalem. His disciples had been admiring the “goodly stones and gifts” that adorned the Temple (v. 5). But Jesus said, “As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (v. 6).

I usually do not make references to current events in my sermons. After all, as a pastor it is my job to preach the Word of God, not to interpret current events. That’s the job of “talking heads” or commentators on television or on radio. I’m sorry, but I do not find anything uniquely “Christian” about giving current events commentaries. You don’t need to be a believer in order to give your comment about the news. Perhaps those who preach on current events do so in order to appear “contemporary”, “relevant”, and “up-to-date”.

But today’s Gospel reading mentions “there shall not be left one stone upon another”. It brings into mind the recent earthquake in Bohol. (I would have been blind and insensitive if I ignored this.) Last October 15 a killer earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Bohol and Cebu; which was also felt throughout the Visayas and northern Mindanao. In this tragedy, more than two hundred people lost their lives. One of the things that made rounds in the news and in social media is the destruction centuries-old Roman Catholic churches in Bohol and in Cebu.

 

 

This is the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in Cebu City, one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It houses the statue of the Sto. Niño (Christ Child) which Ferdinand Magellen, “discoverer” of the Philippines, gave to one of the first Filipino converts to Catholicism, the wife of Rajah Humabon (baptized as Isabel after the queen of Spain), in 1521. (Image by Jose Farrugia via Rappler.)

This is the famous Church of San Pedro Apostol in Loboc, Bohol, said to be the second-oldest church in Bohol.

 

 

Its intricate façade was completely crumbled and its belfry, made from crushed coral, was reduced to a mere stump. (Images by Robert Michael Poole via Rappler.)

Some misguided people wrote on social media that the destruction of these churches was God’s judgment on Roman Catholicism. I do not have news of other churches—like United Methodist local churches, etc.—in Bohol or Cebu that may have been destroyed or damaged. I guess that the destruction of these Roman churches made the headlines is simply because the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country. Also, no one can deny the historical and artistic value of these centuries-old churches. I feel that saying that the destruction of these churches is a judgment from God is irresponsible and callous.

Then, barely two weeks after the earthquake, the Visayas faces a “supertyphoon” named “Yolanda” (international code name: Haiyan), which had wind speeds from 230 kilometers per hour and gustiness up to 315 km/h. The typhoon left towns and cities devastated with storm surges more than five meters high, reaching kilometers inland. As of this writing, more than 1,700 have been confirmed dead.

I asked my friends on Facebook to join in the praying an oratio imperata. In the Roman church, an oratio impeata (Latin, ‘obligatory prayer’) is prayed when a bishop asks the people in his diocese to pray for a special concern. The Archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle asked Catholics in the Archdiocese of Manila to pray an oratio imperata:

ORATIO IMPERATA PARA SA PAGHINTO NG ULAN AT BAHA

Panginoon, sa hudyat ng iyong salita

sumusunod ang hangin at dagat.

Iunat mo ang iyong mapagpalang kamay

upang huminto na ang ulan at pagbaha. 

Lingapin mo ang aming mga kapatid

na ngayo’y giniginaw, nagugutom at lubog sa baha.

Pawiin mo ang lahat ng aming mga takot at pangamba.

Imulat mo ang aming mga mata

at buksan ang aming mga puso

upang makatugon kami sa pangangailangan ng bawa’t isa.

Amen.

 

ORATIO IMPERATA FOR DELIVERANCE FROM CALAMITIES

 Almighty Father, we raise our hearts to You

 in gratitude for the wonders of creation of which we are part,

 for Your providence in sustaining us in our needs,

 and for Your wisdom that guides the course of the universe.

 We acknowledge our sins against You and the rest of creation.

 We have not been good stewards of Nature.

 We have confused Your command to subdue the earth.

 The environment is made to suffer our wrongdoing,

 and now we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference.

 Typhoons, heavy rains and floods occur in increasing number and intensity.

 We turn to You, our loving Father, and beg forgiveness for our sins.

 We ask that we, our loved ones and our hard earned possessions

 be spared from the threat of calamities, natural and man-made.

 We beseech You to inspire us all to grow

 into responsible stewards of Your creation,

 and generous neighbors to those in need.

 Amen.

 

Meanwhile, I was quite overwhelmed by the messages from my brothers and sisters in the Order of St. Luke in the US:

We in the Order of Saint Luke join you in this prayer. --Abbot Daniel Benedict, OSL, on the oratio imperata

Indeed we do, as Br. Abbot says, Br. Gil. Your OSL sisters and brothers hold the Phiippines in our hearts and prayers. --Sr. Cynthia Astle, OSL

Br. Gil, Joining with the rest of the order in prayers for your country, its people and those rushing aid. The pictures are devastating, but I assume you escaped most of the storms effects. --Br. Gary Smith, OSL (former US serviceman who served in Clark AFB in the 1960’s)

Abbot Daniel was anxious to hear of news from members of the Order in the Philippines:

Br. Gil, we'd appreciate hearing news from you vantage point as you have time and energy to share it, especially as you hear from other sisters and brothers in the Order and their churches.

I responded,

Dear Abbot Daniel, Most of the members of our Order live in Luzon in the north and in Mindanao in the south. Hardest hit were the Visayas islands in the middle. The devastation as seen in the news is beyond words. I personally have no news of UM's and churches in the area. Thank you for holding the Philippines in your prayers.

In today’s Gospel reading we read Jesus giving the signs of his coming: “Many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ” (v. 8); “ye shall hear of wars, and commotions… Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (vv. 9-10); there shall be “great earthquakes in divers places, and famines and pestilences” (v. 11); there shall be “fearful sights and great signs from heaven” (v. 11). There shall also be persecution, when “they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake (v. 12).

But at the end of today’s pericope, Jesus said, “In your patience possess ye your souls” (v. 19). Patience (Greek υπομονη hupomonē) here has the sense of ‘to remain’ or ‘to abide’ (hupomonē comes from the word μενω, meno, which means ‘to abide’; the same word used by Jesus in the Parable of the Vine and the Branches (John 15:1-8). Thayer’s definition says, that this is “the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.”

John Wesley (Notes Upon the New Testament) wrote:

Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions, By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against all dangers.

The message of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading resonates with what our nation is going through right now. Typhoons, earthquake, destruction of property, loss of lives—and we have not even discussed the corruption in the government! In all of these, the Lord Jesus Christ tells us: Though “there shall not be left one stone upon another”, though there shall be “great earthquakes in divers places” or whatever else, we should patiently endure, for “In patience possess ye your souls”.

 

The Filipino spirit is waterproof and unshakable...but only by the grace of God. (Image via Facebook)

Comparison and Contrast II – The Publican and the Pharisee

23rd Sunday after Pentecost (Ordinary Time/UM Kingdomtide), C
Reformation Sunday
October 27, 2013
Luke 18:9-14

Introduction

Last Sunday, did a comparison and contrast on the Parable of the Unjust Judge and the Persistent (or Tenacious) Widow (Luke 18:1-8) which teaches us about persistence or tenacity in prayer. Today we will compare and contrast two people who went up to the Temple to pray: the Publican and the Pharisee. One was considered righteous while the other was considered a sinner; both of them prayed but only one went home justified.

Among the Eastern Orthodox Churches, three Sundays before Lent, the tenth Sunday before Easter (also called Septuagesima Sunday, from the Greek word for ‘seventy’ because 10 weeks x 7 days = 70 days), is known as the “Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee”. Since the theme of this parable is on repentance, this text is read on that day to serve as a door to the observance of the Lenten season, which is called by the Orthodox as “Great Lent”.

After the Parable of the Persistent Widow which teaches perseverance in prayer, Jesus went on to teacher the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee in order to teach sincerity or truthfulness in prayer. The reason why Jesus told this parable is clear: it was a warning against those who “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (v. 9, John Wesley New Testament).

I. The Pharisee (Luke 18:11-12)

The Pharisees was a group within Judaism during the time of Jesus. According to Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil,

While the derivation of the word “Pharisee” is obscure, there is some measure of agreement among scholars that it comes from the Hebrew word parash, which means “one who is separate”…. To be separate means to be holy. The root meaning has a double sense. On the one hand, there is the sense of being separate from what corrupts. While this originally meant resisting the Hellenization of the Jewish faith by keeping away from it at a safe distance it eventually took on the meaning of separating from all that was regarded as “unclean” in the light of the Law….

On the other hand, there is the sense of sticking adhesively and rigorously to what makes for sanctity and purity, for holiness. This meant in practice a strict interpretation of the Law and scrupulous adherence to it…. This led to the development to an elaborate system of a legal and ritual tradition which the Pharisees observed with fanatical rigor. (Jesus’ Strategy for Social Transformation, 1998, p. 61)

A. “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed…” (v. 11). Various translations of the Bible render as “prayed thus with himself” (New King James Version); “prayed about himself” (New International Version); and “took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself” (New American Bible). The Greek text says, ο φαρισαιος σταθεις προς εαυτον ταυτα προσηυχετο, ho farisaios statheis pros eauton tauta prosēucheto, ‘The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed thus…’ But the expression “pros eauton” can mean “about himself” or “to himself”. The point is, the Pharisee prayed about himself or to himself instead of praying to God!

B. “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, rapactous [“extortioners”—NKJV], unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week: I give tithes of all that I possess” (vv. 11-12). This is the prayer of the self-righteous: they trust in their own righteousness (“I fast twice in the week: I give tithes of all that I possess”) and they despise others (“I am not as other men are… or even this publican”).

There is no indication that the Pharisee here was a hypocrite—that he was lying in his prayer. It is true that devout Jews fast twice a week (every Monday and Thursday, according to Notes Upon The New Testament) and tithe their income. The problem with this Pharisee is that he was self-righteous, i.e., he thinks that he is justified by his own works. Not only was he obedient to the Law, he even goes beyond the Law. For example, not all income is subject to tithing, like spices (cf. Matthew 23:23). These are called in our Articles of Religion as “works of supererogation” (super ‘above, beyond’ + rogare ‘to ask’ = ‘more than what is asked for’):

Article XI—Of Works of Supererogation

Voluntary works—besides, over and above God's commandments—which they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake than of bounden duty is required; whereas Christ saith plainly: When you have done all that is commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.

It is easy to be like this Pharisee. In Jewish society during the time of Jesus, Pharisees were looked up upon (albeit perhaps grudgingly) while publicans were looked down upon. To the first-century hearers of Jesus, casting the publican in an unfavorable light must have been shocking. To reproduce the “shock value” of this parable, consider this modern retelling:

Two men went up to an ecumenical chapel to pray. One was a born-again Christian and the other a Roman Catholic. The born-again Christian stood by himself and prayed: “O God, I thank you that I am not a believer in the Rosary, or in Purgatory, or in Mary and the saints…not like that Roman Catholic over there. All of my beliefs are Bible-based and give all of my tithes to the church!” Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic, standing afar off and could not even raise his eyes to heaven, could only pray one of the prayers he knew by heart: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

It’s easy to point fingers at others and say that so-and-so as a “sinner”…until we look into a mirror and see ourselves!

 

II. The Publican (Luke 18:12)

Publicans were called “tax farmers” by the Romans in the sense that they “harvest” taxes from conquered peoples for them. Thus they are viewed as ‘traitors’ by their fellow Jews. Doubly so are priests and Levites who become publicans: the Apostle Matthew is also called Levi (Luke 5:27-32; thus his Hebrew name may have been Mati haLevi) which means that he is a Levite! Meanwhile the name of Zaccheus (a “chief publican”, Luke 19:1-10) is a form of Zechariah, which is only used in priestly families. (Both Zechariah the Prophet and Zechariah the father of St. John the Baptist are priests, descendants of Aaron the Priest. Zaccheus’ Hebrew name may have been Zacharyahu haKohēn, Zaccheus the Priest.) Thus they are doubly guilty: they are traitors against the own people and traitors against God!

We are not told of the identity of the Publican here, whether he is (as it is asked to newcomers in a synagogue) a “kohēn, Levi, or Israel” (a priest, a Levite, or an ordinary Israelite). He may have been an "extortionist" or "unjust" as the Pharisee alleges.

The Publican recognized his spiritual poverty. He knows that he has not done anything according to the Torah that would account him as righteous. On the contrary, he knows that what he has broken the Law. Thus he could only stand “afar off, “would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven” (Wesley: “Touched with shame, which is more ingenuous than fear”—Notes Upon The NT), smite his own breast (a gesture of repentance, cf. Luke 24:48), and say, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (v. 13).

Jesus pronounced a beatitude upon those who recognize their spiritual poverty: “Happy are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). And thus Jesus said: “I tell you this man [the Publican] went down to his house justified rather than the other” (v. 14).

Conclusion: “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

Battle Meditation

Moses, Aaron, and Hur; with the name of Israel in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. (Image from USHMM.org)

  
The topic of last Sunday’s lectionary readings was on prayer; centered on the Gospel reading on the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8). In Roman Catholic churches, the first reading was Exodus 17:8-13, the story of the battle between the Israelites and Amalek.

According to the Torah, after the incident at Meribah and Massah (Exodus 17:1-7), the Amalekites, descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12), “fought with Israel at Rephidim”. Joshua ben-Nun was chosen to lead the men of Israel into battle. Meanwhile, Moses ascended a hill taking with him “the rod of God.” Whenever his hands were raised, Israel “prevailed” in the battle; but when his hands became weary, the Amalekites got the better of the battle. Finally, a stone was taken for Moses to sit on; and Aaron and Hur helped Moses lift up his hands until sunset. “And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”

I do not think that the winning of Israel because of Moses’ uplifted hands is superstition. In at least 13 instances in the Bible, the lifting up of hands is a symbol of prayer. Meanwhile, the rod of God is a symbol of God’s power. Thus, the act of Moses lifting up his hands is an act of prayer, or, as I would like to think of it, battle meditation.

In the Star Wars universe, “battle meditation” is an ability of the Jedi (and the Sith) to use the Force to strengthen their allies in battle (and at the same time, demoralize the enemy). According to Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki:

Battle meditation was a Force ability which considerably boosted the morale, stamina, and overall battle prowess of an individual's allies while simultaneously reducing the opposition's combat-effectiveness by eroding their will to fight. With the Force, one could coordinate entire fleets of ships, allowing them to perform at maximum efficiency, acting as a single entity with the ability to counter every enemy move quickly and effectively. Though ideal for meditating large-scale conflicts, battle meditation was equally effective when employed for the benefit of one's comrades in small skirmishes, attacks, and duels.

For example, Master Yoda used battle meditation to help rally the Wookiees during the Battle of Kashyyk against the Droid army of the Trade Federation during the Clone Wars (as seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith).

 

Yoda using Battle Meditation during the Battle of Kashyyk.

What Star Wars calls “battle meditation”, we Christians call “prayer”.

In the passage on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17), after Paul describes the various parts of the armor, he goes on to talk about prayer:

Praying always by the Spirit with all prayer and supplication, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, And for me, that utterance may be given me, by the opening of my mouth to make known boldly the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds, that I may speak boldly therein, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:18-20, John Wesley New Testament).

Prayer is related to warfare because wars are not just fought on earth, but ultimately in “the heavenly places”. Therefore, a battle in the heavenly places can only be fought with prayer. 

Comparison & Contrast I - The Unjust Judge and the Tenacious Widow

22nd Sunday after Pentecost (Ordinary Time/UM Kingdomtide), C

United Methodist Laity Sunday

Luke 18:1-8

October 20, 2013

(Image courtesy of Misioneros del Sagrada Corazon en el Peru)

Introduction

For two Sundays, we will be having two comparison-and-contrast texts. Today we have the Parable of the Unjust Judge and the Widow (Luke 18:1-8); next Sunday we will have the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14).

As an English teacher, I cannot help but notice that the rhetorical pattern used in these patterns is comparison and contrast. According to Patterns of College Writing (8th ed.) by Laurie G. Kirzner and Stephen R. Mandell (2001), comparison “shows how two or more things are similar” while contrast “shows how they are different”. However, these related processes are often used together in writing situations.

In today’s Gospel reading, we compare the persistent widow with the “elect” (v. 7) and the unjust judge with God (v. 7).

The Parable. Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples (cf. 17:22, on one of Jesus’ sayings on the end times) “that they ought always to pray, and not faint” (v. 1, John Wesley New Testament). The two characters are “a judge which feared not God nor reverenced man” (v. 2) and a widow who is asking him to do her justice against her adversary (v. 3). The judge, though he admits that he does not fear God nor reverence man (v. 4) eventually did the widow justice because her continual coming will weary him out. (v. 5). Jesus goes on the compare the widow with the “elect” and contrast the unjust judge with God.

I. The Unjust Judge and God.

The unjust judge is described as one who “feared not God nor reverenced man” (v. 2)—and he himself admits that he is such (v. 4). Jesus used an unjust judge as a character in his parable not that God would be compared to him but so that God would be contrasted with him. This makes the contrast between the two even clearer.

Meanwhile, the Father is described to be good. In another passage on prayer in Luke, Jesus compares and contrasts “evil” fathers who are kind enough to provide for the food of their children to the heavenly Father:

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, for fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:11-13)

Another thing about the unjust just is that while the widow was asking for justice, “he would not for a while” (v. 4) (i.e., he would not give justice to the widow for a certain length of time). However, he finally relented because the widow “giveth me trouble” and he was worried that she would “by continual coming…weary me out”.

Meanwhile, Jesus said that God “will vindicate his own elect” (v. 7) and vindicate them “speedily” (v. 8). But does this mean that God gives the answer of prayers immediately? We will discuss this below.

II. The Persistent Widow and the Elect.

According to Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil (1998), in his book Jesus’ Strategy for Social Transformation, the widow, along with the orphan and the stranger, are symbols of poverty in the Bible.

The “widow” is one who through the death of her husband has been deprived of her means of support and protection. She has been rendered poor, and no one would provide for her. And so the widow symbolizes the deprived one, the one who has been made poor through no fault of her own, and for whose care, provisions, and protection no one is under any obligation to render. She is also completely dependent on the goodwill of others who would voluntarily help. (p. 42)

Since widows have been deprived of a husband who will protect and provide for her, we can imagine that they are often the victim of others. In the parable, the widow is asking the judge to “do justice” for her (Greek εκδικεω, ekdikeō, which means ‘to vindicate one’s right’ or ‘to avenge’) because of her adversary (αντιδικος, antidikos, ‘an opponent in a suit of law’). Her “adversary” may be someone who has hurt her in some way, or someone who is her opponent in court (or perhaps trying to defraud her in court?).

The widow needed to be persistent in this case because the unjust judge has been denying her justice for some time. And judge finally yielded because she was “troubling” and “wearing him out”. But God is not like the unjust judge. In the Apocrypha we read,

But offer no bribes [to God], these he does not accept!

Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion,

For he is a God of justice, who knows no favorites.

Though not duly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cries of the oppressed.

He is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint.

(Sirach 36:11-14, New American Bible, 1987)

The elect does not need to “trouble” or “wear out” God because he not an unjust judge. Jesus promised that God “shall…vindicate his own elect” because they “cry to him day and night” (v. 7).

Does Jesus promise that God will immediately answer all prayer? Because he said, “I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily” (v. 8). This would contradict the tenor of the whole passage, and the “whole tenor of Scripture” because immediately preceding Jesus said that the elect “cry to him day and night though he bear long (μακροθυμεω, makrothumeō; makro ‘large’ + thumeō ‘heat’ = ‘to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart’) with them” (v. 7).

Conclusion: Will he find faith upon earth?

“Yet when the Son of man cometh, will he find faith upon earth?” (v. 8) These words of Jesus may seem cryptic at first, but we can see how this fits to the whole passage. Jesus told this parable so that the disciples—and we—ought always to pray, and not faint. Jesus gave us the parable of the persistent widow as an example of crying out to God day and night, though the answer may take long. It may take so long that perhaps some of us may lose heart. So when Jesus returns, will he still find us persistent in prayer and not faint? Will he still find faith upon the earth?”

Yet notwithstanding all the instances both of his long suffering and of his justice, whenever he shall remarkably appear, against their enemies in this age or in after ages, how few true believers will be found upon earth! (Notes Upon the New Testament)

* * *

Two of today’s lectionary readings in quoted in John Wesley’s sermon “The Means of Grace” (Sermon 16). Here we have the second reading, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, which is on Scripture, and the Gospel reading, Luke 18:1-8, which is on prayer. What does Wesley mean by “the means of grace”?

By “means of grace” I understand outward signs, words, or actions, ordained of God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby he might convey to men, preventing [now called “prevenient”], justifying, or sanctifying grace.

 These “means of grace” include public and private prayer, searching the Scriptures, and receiving the Lord’s Supper.

He goes on to say that these outward means of grace are meaningless without the Spirit of God. On prayer, Wesley says, “[A]ll who desire the grace of God are to wait for it in the way of prayer. This is the express direction of our Lord himself.” One of the scriptures he uses on prayer is parable of the persistent widow.

The application of this our Lord himself hath made: “Hear what the unjust judge saith!” Because she continues to ask, because she will take no denial, therefore I will avenge her. “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? I tell you he will avenge them speedily,” if they pray and faint not.

On Scripture, Wesley says,

All who desire the grace of God are to wait for it in searching the Scriptures. Our Lord’s direction, with regard to the use of this means, is likewise plain and clear. “Search the Scriptures,” saith he to the unbelieving Jews, “for they testify of me.” (John 5:39.) And for this very end did he direct them to search the Scriptures, that they might believe in him.

And one of the scriptures Wesley uses in this section is 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5:

And that this is a means whereby God not only gives, but also confirms and increases, true wisdom, we learn from the words of St. Paul to Timothy: “From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 3:15.) The same truth (namely, that this is the great means God has ordained for conveying his manifold grace to man) is delivered, in the fullest manner that can be conceived, in the words which immediately follow: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God;” consequently, all Scripture is infallibly true; “and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;” to the end “that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17.)

"Your Faith Has Made You Well"

21st Sunday after Pentecost (Ordinary Time/UM Kingdomtide), C
October 13, 2013
Luke 17:11-19

Introduction


Today’s Gospel reading is the Healing of the Ten Lepers. It has the characteristics of a typical miracle story. It begins with showing us a particular human need: There were ten lepers who are in need of healing. It also shows us the act of Jesus: Jesus hears their prayer and heals the lepers. The usual miracle story concludes with the person healed or the people around expressing their amazement (or fear) of the power of Jesus. But in this miracle story, one of the lepers who had been healed returned to Jesus and gave glory to God. This tells us the one of the fittest responses when one experiences the miracle of God is thanksgiving.

I. The human need: Leprosy. (Luke 17:11-12)

While Jesus was on his went to Jerusalem, “he passed thro’ the confines of Samaria and Galilee” (John Wesley New Testament) and as he was entering into a certain village, he met ten lepers “who stood afar off”.

In the Torah, the way lepers were treated was very severe. Leviticus 13 and 14 contains the laws regarding leprosy (or “infectious skin disease” as the New International Version translates the Hebrew phrase נגע צרעת  nega’ tsara’at, ‘the plague of leprosy’).

He is a leprous man, he is unclean; the priest shall surely pronounce him unclean: his plague is in his head. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry: 'Unclean, unclean.' All the days wherein the plague is in him he shall be unclean; he is unclean; he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his dwelling be. (Leviticus 13:44-46, Jewish Publication Society, 1917)

There is a whole book in the Talmud on the laws concerning leprosy, called Tractate Nega'im.

This explains why the ten lepers were outside of the village (“without”—or outside—“the camp” as the Torah says) that Jesus was about to enter and that they had to stand “afar off”.

It is in this condition that the lepers “lifted up their voice” and cried out to Jesus: “Jesus, master, have mercy on us.” (v. 13)

II. The act of Jesus: The cleansing of leprosy. (Luke 17:13-14)

The lepers said, ιεσους επιστατα ελεησον ημας, Iesous, epistata, eleison imas. The word epistata (translated as ‘master’, in the sense of ‘one who stands over’) is a word only used in the Gospel of Luke. (It is used six times: 5:5, 8:24, 8:45; 9:33, 9:49, and here in 17:13). Meanwhile, the other words translated (the most common) as “master” is διδασκλος, didaskalos, ‘teacher’ and κυριος, kurios, ‘lord’. While Luke also uses didaskalos, he alone uses the title epistatēs. This means that the lepers recognize Jesus as “master” who alone can heal them of their leprosy. They use a formula that has since been used as a prayer: eleison imas, ‘have mercy on us’. In the Greek Orthodox Church, there is a prayer called the Trisagion (the ‘Thrice-Holy’):

Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος Ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος Ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.
Agios ho Theos, agios eschuros, agios athanatos, eleison imas.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.

--They did not directly ask to be healed or to be cleansed, but they asked for him to have mercy on them.

Jesus hears their prayer and gives them an instruction: “Go, shew yourselves to the priests.” In the Torah, a person who has been healed of their leprosy to go and show themselves to the priests, who examine them and declare that they have been healed. Leviticus 14 contains the regulations regarding those who have been healed of leprosy:

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought unto the priest. And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper… (Leviticus 14:1-3)

…the priest will now prescribe rituals for the healed lepers to undergo in order to be finally declared “clean”. This includes animal sacrifices and the setting free of a dove (probably to symbolize that the leper has finally been ‘set free’).

Jesus did not instantly heal the ten lepers and tell them, “Go, you are now healed”; he said “Go, shew yourselves to the priests.” And as they were walking, the Bible says, “they were cleansed” (v. 14). Here, once more, Jesus is seen to have power over disease, even over one as terrifying as leprosy.

III. The human response: Giving glory to God (Luke 17:15-19)

A. Giving glory to God. As human beings, one of our responses when we experience the power of God is giving him glory. As the lepers were going to show themselves to the priests, one of them, when he saw that he was healed (or more precisely, ‘cleansed’; Greek καθαριζω katharidzō) he turned back and “with a loud voice glorified God” (v. 15, 18). The word used here is δοξαζω, doxazō, which is where we get the word “Doxology” (literally, ‘word of praise’). Among us Protestants, the Doxology is the Trinitarian stanza sung after the offering. There are actually two Doxologies: The “lesser” Doxology is the Gloria Patri:

Greek:
Δόξα Πατρὶ καί Υιώ καί Αγίω Πνεύματι,
Καὶ νῦν καί αεί καί εις τους αιώνας των αιώνων. Αμην.
Doxa Patri kai Huiō kai Pneumati,
kai nun kai aei kai eis touc aiōnas aiōnōn. Amēn.

Latin:
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be;
world without end, Amen. Amen.

...and the “greater” Doxology, which is called the "Glory to God in the Highest". It based on the angels' song at the birth of Christ, is often used as the opening hymn in Roman Catholic masses:

Latin:
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis.
Laudamus te; benedicimus te; adoramus te; glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dextram Patris, O miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus,
tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.

English:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.
We praise You, we bless You, we adore You, we glorify You,
We give thanks to You for your great glory,
Lord God, Heavenly King, God the Almighty Father. Lord Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
You Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
You Who take away the sins of the world, hear our prayer.
You Who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For You alone are holy, you alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
With the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Among Protestants, the stanza sung to “Old Hundredth” is commonly called "the" Doxology.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
praise him all creatures he below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts,
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

The reason that we sing the (greater) Doxology after the offering is that we are praising God “from whom all blessings flow”, from which we get our offerings. We are offering only what God himself has given us.

B. Giving thanks to God. Another response that we can give when we experience the power of God is thanksgiving. One of the lepers, when he noticed that he was healed, returned to Jesus, “fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks” (v. 16). And this one was a Samaritan. The word used here is ευχαριστεω, eucharisteō, where we get the word “Eucharist”. During the liturgical renewal in The United Methodist Church in the late 80’s and 90’s (as expressed in our denomination’s official rituals, The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989 and The United Methodist Book of Worship, 1992), it was recognized that Holy Communion should be an integral part of worship. It is encouraging that more and more United Methodist local churches are now practicing weekly Eucharist. (Here in the Philippines, the practice is spreading in the Ilocos region after pastors there have studied This Holy Mystery.) I pray that this practice spreads to more and more of our local churches. Above all acts of worship, I believe that Holy Communion is the grandest way we can show our thanksgiving to God.

Conclusion

One of the ten lepers who cried out to Jesus for healing, only one returned to give thanks to Jesus: and he was a “stranger”, a Samaritan. (We can presume that the other lepers were Jews.) He receives and additional blessing: “Arise and go, thy faith hath saved thee”. In other translations, “thy faith hath made thee whole (KJV)” or “your faith has you well (NIV)” or “your faith has healed you (Recovery Version, 1985). The Greek word used here is σωζω, sōzō, which is can be translated as ‘to be saved’ is also the same word for ‘to be healed’. Not only has the Samaritan recognized Jesus as “Master”, in fall down before him, he recognizes Jesus as God. So in this story, all ten were “healed” but only one was “saved”.