1st Corinthians Chapter 7
 
Paul begins with the phrase, “Now concerning matters about which you wrote…”
 
Paul received written communication from Corinth.  We can assume they asked him several questions.  The word ‘matters’ is plural, and we also see the recurring phrase, ‘now concerning.’  Paul took one topic at a time and moving down the list, gave his answers. 
 
Keep two verses in mind.  Paul called verse 10 a command from the Lord.  Marriage calls for utmost devotion.  (A thorough treatment of divorce is beyond the scope of this blog, but I will say a huge burden of misery, coercion, shame, and sorrow has been laid on the divorced and the unhappily married by over-zealous defense of this command.  To all believers: remember to be humane about our shared humanity!!  All have sinned.  Don’t tell someone else their suffering is God’s will.)  In verse 12 Paul made it clear that much of the rest of the chapter is his own advice- not a command from the Lord.  Bear that distinction firmly in mind.  Paul did not consider the remainder of this chapter as God’s immutable law.
 
Paul made a strong case that marriage can divide a person’s attention.  Earthly obligations compete with single-minded devotion to serving the Lord.  That may be, but remember we are dealing with Paul’s opinion.  To be a good and caring spouse is also a godly vocation.  If Paul has not spelled that out, he at least alluded to it in verse 4.  Remember to be astonished that Paul put men and women on equal footing in this vision of marriage.  That was a radical stance for the time. 
 
Verse 26 is another key verse for reading this chapter.  Paul says, “…in view of the coming crisis…”  Paul’s assumption is the Day of Judgment was imminent.  Christ would soon re-appear in glory at any moment.  His advice in this chapter is all based in this assumption.  Modern scholars have asked whether Paul would have written differently if he understood that twenty centuries later, Christians would still be reading his advice to the church in Corinth.  Would he modify the advice “…remain in the condition in which you were called.” (vs. 20) if he knew how long the centuries would continue to unroll?  Paul advocated putting all major changes on hold because he truly believed that earthly arrangements would soon become moot.  It is reasonable advice based on the huge assumption that time was coming to an end. 
Paul thought it would happen in his own lifetime. 
 
It looks quite different after twenty centuries.  Consider this; the premier evangelist and theologian possessed only limited understanding. 
 
Nevertheless there is one enduring gem embedded in Paul’s opinions about marriage, sexuality, and human vows.  In Verse 9, even after telling people to remain unmarried, Paul also says “…it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.” 
 
This is a critical point, especially in the context of Paul’s opinions about remaining single and celibate.  In chapter 5 Paul commented on a scandalous relationship between a man and a stepmother.  Someone apparently concluded it must be better to abstain entirely from sex, thus the phrase, “It is well for a man not to touch a woman.” (verse 1)  Paul did choose abstinence, but did not insist on it for all Christians. 
 
“…it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.”  Marriage has always served societies as an agreed upon social structure for sexual expression.  Marriage both allows and protects.  People can fulfill sexual desires in a context where no one is getting used and thrown aside.  Paul is crystal clear that having this sanctioned avenue for expressing sexual desire is better than trying and failing at celibacy with all the frustration that often entails. 
 
Paul’s recognition of the power of human desire lends strong support to the institution of marriage.  Paul’s standard- that it is better to marry than burn with desire- has broad implications when applied equally to those of varying sexual orientation.  Everyone benefits from clear boundaries, the social support of publicly affirmed relationships, and the agreement that strong desires can be allowed expression within a truly safe social space. 
 
God wills us to have community support, love, companionship, equality, and respect for boundaries. 
 

1st Corinthians Chapter 6                                                   (please read the chapter first)
 
In chapter 6 Paul begins with a discourse on lawsuits between church members.  Was there such a lawsuit?  Paul’s tone of astonishment (see 6:6) appears to assume such a case is in progress.  Then in verse 7 Paul opined, “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you.”  The ‘you’ in that sentence is plural in the Greek.  All members together have been defeated by the existence of lawsuits within the church. 
 
Lawsuits are about defending rights, and receiving compensation.  Lawsuits are about winning and losing.  Each party seeks to have their point of view validated by a governing authority.  Paul is keen to say such competition, and the winning and losing have no place in the church.  If winning is a way to put oneself above others, Paul says it is better to lose and maintain unity- and humility- in the church.  (This unity theme runs all through the letter.  Example: 1st Cor. 12:26)
 
Returning to his concern about the Corinthians taking freedom too far, Paul wrote, “…wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God…”  Taken out of context, this is a daunting message.  Anyone who does an honest self-examination will find sin and wrongdoing in their life.  If this verse is taken as Paul’s only pronouncement about inheriting the kingdom of God, we are all toast.  Paul himself recognizes that sin is pervasive.  “…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift…” (Romans 3:23-24a)
 
In the current context Paul is arguing against a rather libertine interpretation of God’s mercy.  This is supported by his quotation in verse 12: “All things are lawful for me.”  Paul is here understood to be quoting something that represents the attitude of the Corinthians.  Then Paul quickly refutes it with “…but not all things are beneficial.”
 
Freedom in Christ is real, but not for the sake of lawless living.  He does indicate that sin incurs wrath.  Paul sets out a list of rogues; fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers.  Apparently everyone makes the list of the ineligible. 
 
CAUTION: To focus on one particular part of this list as a way of pointing your own supposedly righteous fingers at others is a complete misapprehension of Paul’s intent.  Don’t use this list to figure out whom you may condemn.  Everyone stands convicted in this laundry list.  Anyone who thinks God’s forgiveness is a ticket to live a selfish, undisciplined life has misunderstood the gospel.  To live careless of others, keen on your own position and advantage (lawsuits) is to miss the call to unity, humility, service, and compassion.

For many readers, the elephant in the room of this passage is homosexuality.  A diversity of opinion will surely obtain in teachings about this chapter, but I will here offer mine.  I will not duck the issue, but I will plead that a full treatment of this subject is beyond my expertise and far beyond the intent of this little Bible blog.  Here goes.
 
Don’t read this (or any) passage assuming your thoughts match those of the writer.  Paul had very different mental and psychological furniture than people today.  Paul, a product of his time, would tell you, if asked, that the earth was flat, stood on legs like a giant table, and that the sky was a rigid dome with water above it.
 
In like fashion he did not and could not have a modern sense of what we think of as sexual orientation.  No one in Paul’s time would imagine a same sex relationship between equals for the sake of companionship.  In fact no one thought of any kind of sex as occurring between equals. 
 
I caution all readers to remember the huge differences between the first century culture and ours.  In Paul’s time, ALL human interaction carried with it a win/lose dimension.  The whole Mediterranean basin shared an honor/shame culture in which establishing and maintaining dominance was the equivalent of maintaining honor.  Honor was not equated with being noble.  It was closely aligned with power.  Homosexual acts between males were not mutual expressions of affection.  They took place as an expression of dominance and humiliation. 
 
Men of high position could affirm their status by ‘using’ younger, lesser men.  Men of position could assert their status by grooming and using younger men and boys.  Having a kept boy was a status symbol.  The sex act enhanced the status of the more powerful party, and eroded or destroyed the status of the less powerful party.  Enid Bloch, a professor of Political Philosophy has said, “The most shameful thing that could happen to any Greek male was penetration by another male.”  (-Enid Bloch article: “Sex between Men and Boys in Classical Greece” Page 186 Sage Journals: The Journal of Men’s Studies http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3149/jms.0902.183
 
I believe Paul was railing against all exploitation.  Exploitation takes many forms.  It might exist in the form of a lawsuit.  In that day and age, exploitation included older men abusing younger men.  (and women in general) In the larger context of Paul’s belief that Christ was re-making all of society, it makes sense to assume his indignation as aimed at anything that got in the way of a vision of unity in Christ.  That vision of unity was directly counter-cultural in a time and place where everyone constantly thought about the social pecking order.  Paul was calling believers to break out of some very deeply worn social ruts. 
 
On the flip side of domination for its own sake is the reality of being dominated.  Christians are to renounce their own desire to dominate.  But Christians also renounce the desires and compulsions by which they themselves might be dominated.  Whatever enslaves us- like compulsions about food, or sex – are also excluded.  This is discussed in verses 12 – 19.
 
Finally Paul arrives at the reason we are equal in Christ.  All belong to Christ.  He borrows from the familiar cultural condition of slavery.  Notice how he does not talk of believers’ emancipation.  “You were bought with a price…”
 
When misconstrued- freedom might mean we get to do whatever we want.  Properly understood, Christian freedom consists in knowing all belong to God.  Jesus died for ALL so all are under the same Lord and in the same family.  Try to imagine Paul shouting “Get that through your heads!”
 
This was a long entry.  Thanks for hanging in there.  Peace be with you. 

 First Corinthians chapter 5.          Please read the scripture text first.

Forgive, then Forget…  …the Rules?
 
There has always been a tug of war between two religious impulses.  One impulse is the need to uphold moral standards.  The other impulse is to obey God’s call to forgive sins.  There is an everlasting tug of war between these two impulses.  We see an example in chapter 5 of First Corinthians.
 
The Apostle Paul wrestled with a real-world case of the tricky interplay between forgiveness and morality.  A man has been living with his father’s wife.  Paul did not use the word ‘mother’ so we might presume a step-mother.  A new woman came into a family and the son wooed her away from the father.  It appears the community decided to allow this relationship to continue. 
 
The Corinthian church knew their community was founded on love and forgiveness.  But is tolerance, or immediate forgiveness the proper response to this arrangement?  It may not be biologically incestuous, but it is socially and emotionally incestuous.  Paul is concerned that forgiveness and love have been misinterpreted. 
 
Paul notes that even the pagans would look down on this arrangement.  That means these new Christians have the idea that in Christ, believers are free to ignore accepted social structures.  God will forgive, right?
 
They are even proud of their newfound liberality.  Paul is outraged that they are arrogant about it.  The Greek word means ‘puffed up’.  There is freedom in Christ, but that can be twisted into an arrogant disregard.  Paul wades into the swamp to straighten things out. 
 
Paul makes it clear the offending party must leave the church.  BE CAREFUL!  Yes, this is a judgment.  Yes, the history of the church is sadly littered with over-zealous judgment.  All too often those judgments appear to say “We who are getting it right will have nothing to do with you who are doing it all wrong.”  But Paul is not pretending that everybody else is pure and blameless!
 
That’s why he used the analogy of yeast.  See in verse 6 he quotes the proverb “a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.” 
 
Yeast acts on the whole loaf.  Paul is saying that the church does not endorse moral relativism.  The body of Christ is not a club for anything-goes libertines.  By use of the leaven analogy he is saying the whole loaf- the whole body- will be affected by this out-of-bounds relationship.  Keeping the body healthy means neutralizing a threat to health.  Separation is necessary to guard against more boundary violations.  Not letting the leaven “puff things up” is another way of saying “Let’s be honest.”
 
Paul said separation from the offending party was called for.  Paul was quick to add he did not want Christians to retreat from the bad, bad world. 
 
For the sake of upholding standards of purity the church has often erred by too much separation from the world.  The desire to be holy- to live right, to uphold high standards can be seen in everything from closed monasteries, to Christian communes, to those subcultures such as Amish or Mennonite groups that remain aloof from the customs and people around them.
 
Sometimes these groups can offer a powerful witness of goodness to the world.  An Amish group made a public statement of forgiveness when a mass shooter attacked Amish school children.  Perhaps this kind of solidarity is only possible because those groups maintain strict discipline inside their communities. 
 
Then again, they can seem so distant and disdaining that they don’t set a good example of God’s loving embrace of the whole troubled world.  The tug of war will always be with us.  Paul’s goal is the health of the church for the sake of the world, and for the hope of repentance and renewal for every offender.  You and me, too. 
 
“Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

First Corinthians Chapter 4
 
Have you ever seen competition escalate from rivalry to hostility?  League official for children’s sports regularly remind parents “It’s just a game.” in hopes of warding off angry confrontations between overheated parents.  Our political campaigns have veered further and further away from reasoned debate about policy into venomous personal attacks.  Even competition for an open parking space can spark a nasty confrontation. 
 
Paul has something to say to us about all that. 
 
In chapter four Paul made a move that was probably more surprising to the Corinthians than it is to us.  Watch closely or you might miss it.  Paul begins this chapter by using the word ‘steward’ to describe both he and the other missionary, “Apollos.”  Paul accorded to another leader a rank equal to himself.  No one in Corinth was expecting that.  It’s different for us, so the passage hits us differently.  We love talk of equality.  We are so used to it we forget to be shocked.  A modern American might blow right past that sentence about the two leaders both being stewards, but I think it must have stopped the Corinthians in their tracks. 
 
The move toward equal footing was counter cultural.  Remember, the problem being addressed is the existence of factions, some loyal to Paul, others loyal to Apollos.  The Corinthians shared the bedrock beliefs of the time, that personal honor must be maximized and personal shame minimized.  Boasts such as, “I belong to Paul” Or “I belong to Apollos” are the proof that those early Christians were simply dragging their cultural baggage into the church.  The need to prove you were above others was insatiable. It was habit.  It was the water everyone swam in. 
 
They were at risk of making faith in Christ a kind of competition.  Does that sound familiar?  The time honored phrase “Holier than thou.” became common coin because there are so many instances of spiritual competition and snobbery. 
 
Paul refused to make Apollos into an adversary.  The people of Corinth might have expected Paul to try to grind Apollos under his heel.  They expected Paul to achieve honor by winning more followers to the ‘Paul’ side away from the ‘Apollos’ side. He used an idiomatic phrase, “nothing beyond what is written” as a way of reminding them not to make too much of any human leader. 
 
Paul was counter-cultural in a second sense.  By using the word ‘steward’ he not only makes Apollos equal to himself, but he puts both himself and Apollos in the position of servant, or subordinate.  The steward is not the owner.  That too went against the grain of how people thought about leaders. 
 
At verse 8 Paul shows the depth of his passion and annoyance by launching into some thick sarcasm.  He is being ironic when he says of the Corinthians, “Already you have become rich…   …you have become kings!” 
 
Following the logic of people trying to collect honor and avoid shame, it appears the Corinthians thought of their baptismal identity as something that made them better than others.  They might have been taking the identity ‘child of God’ to mean ‘better than everyone else.’  Perhaps they thought their faith journey was complete.  It’s not too much of a stretch, since they had been taught their righteousness was completed by Christ.  They thought they had arrived in a cosmic sense.  Cool, right?
 
Paul says, “Not so fast.”  He then calls to mind the sufferings he has endured because of his preaching and teaching.  Paul’s tribulations echoed the suffering of Jesus, who took the cross for the sake of the world.  Jesus anticipated his followers might suffer for the gospel.  Jesus even said, 

“If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!” (Matthew 10:25)

So Paul calls them to think more about service and less about honor.  He calls them to follow his own example by claiming his place as their spiritual father.  Paul was clever.  While fighting against one deeply held cultural value (a negative one) he employs an equally deep cultural value- the imitation of the father- to call his fellow Christians to lives of service and humility. 
 
Our own culture has its strengths and weaknesses.  If honor/shame was the water the Corinthians swam in, what does our water look like?  We swim in materialism and the pursuit of wealth, comfort and novelty.  We may not think in terms of honor/shame, but I think we are not so different.  Does it say something about our values when we see we  are more willing to talk about sex than we are about money?  We may not pursue honor in the same vein as the Corinthians, but pursue we do.  Our competitions, small and large are surely about trying to be better than others.  The squabbles on the soccer sidelines suggest we all need a reminder of Paul’s teachings for the Christians at Corinth.
 

               1st Corinthians Chapter 3        “Y’all are God’s temple.”  (See verse 16)
 
Are there factions at your church? Divisions?  If so, chapter 3 of 1st Corinthians might seem familiar. Please read the text.
 
Paul was deeply concerned about factions in the Corinth congregation.  “I belong to Paul.”  “I belong to Apollos.” (Verse 4) These statements reveal division, pride of place and competition.  Paul stressed a message of unity in Christ. 
 
To explain this chapter we need to borrow from the world of professional sports.  For any given team, there is a team owner in a posh sky box with a tiny, close knit group of friends and family.  A healthy sized bunch of fans have season tickets.  A much larger number of fans can’t afford that, but will splurge on a single game ticket.  Many, many more fans settle for T-shirts and watching at home on TV.  Within this structure, a select few people have lots of money and influence. A lot more people have a lot less of both, but from top to bottom everyone is loyal to that one team, and opposed to every other team.  The social structure is shaped like a pyramid.
 
The opposing team is owned by someone else, and a separate fan base forms a separate pyramid.
 
Something like that was how society worked in Paul’s day.  Naturally, the early church showed signs of following familiar social patterns.  People fell into ‘pyramids’ because that was the social habit.  They were used to different teams with separate coaches.  Competition and separation were assumed.
 
Paul concentrated his preaching in Corinth on Christ crucified.  Now in chapter three, he uses the metaphor of a master builder.  Paul laid the foundation- Christ crucified- and upon that foundation rests the whole life of the congregation at Corinth.  If there was going to be a pyramid it would be one single pyramid.  That one building belongs to Christ.  Not one for Paul and another that belonged to Apollos. 
 
Then Paul makes a crucial move: “Y’all are God’s temple.”  (Verse 16)
 
Paul did not have a southern drawl.  But in Greek, the word ‘you’ has different forms for singular and plural.  Here the ‘you’ is plural: it’s ‘you-all,’ not one particular individual ‘you.’  (Singular ‘you’ and plural ‘you’ look alike in English. It means we miss a few things when reading the Bible in English.)
 
Most of us reading English would assume an individual interpretation of Paul’s assertion.  (“You are God’s temple.”  “I am?")  Paul’s emphasis is on community.
God calls us into community.  In the assembly, in the small group, even if only two or three are gathered- God dwells in that assembly. 
 
Stick with this letter from Paul and you will see how this affects everything.
 
Pray for unity in God’s church.  Remember that we all tend to fall into comfortable groups.  Let your prayer for unity be accompanied by conscious decisions to reach out to those members who are outside your usual circles.

Paul concludes this portion with a ringing proclamation that is true for you. (all)
 
                      You (all) belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
 
 
 

Read chapter two of 1st Corinthians.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.


The cross of Christ is Good News.  And yes, that seems contradictory at the very least. (See chapter 1:18)

The big question addressed in this letter is how to be the church.  In this chapter Paul begins with the foundation.
 
Verses 1-5:
Paul brought the message of Jesus to the people of Corinth, and here he describes his approach- no frills, no hype.  We all say we like straight-shooters, but what if the no-nonsense message is about a crucifixion?
 
We are surrounded by media messages.  Which ones hold your attention?  The happy ones?  The well-crafted ones?  Do you ever block messages about the ugly parts of reality?  Paul kept a laser focus on the cross of Christ. 
 
Verses 6-16:
Then Paul pivots in a way that might lose us in the turn.  He says (verse 14) “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s spirit… …they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
 
This sounds like a recipe for elitism.  The church of Christ has always had some element of a ‘holier than thou’ amongst its leaders or members, and this sounds like Paul assumes there is a spiritual hierarchy.  Be careful! 
 
This text comes from a time of the earliest beginnings of the church outside of Israel.  The word ‘Christian’ had not yet been coined.  Paul’s distinction here is not between ‘advanced’ Christians and ‘dullard’ Christians.  He is using language that indicates that the Holy Spirit is at work revealing the gospel to people with ears to hear.  This does not mean the gospel of Jesus is meant for some and not for others.  (Paul is not pitting spiritual people versus unspiritual!)  He is simply talking about the way the Holy Spirit is building up the church, and that work is far from over. 

Jesus Christ is for all.  But not very many people knew what that meant- not even the Christians.  The implications are huge, so Paul starts off slowly.  
 
If you have several different Bible translations available, compare the wording of verse 1 Corinthians 2:2 between versions.  It’s the theme verse for this part of Paul’s message.

 
Some Assembly Required
 
Bible Study, Together and Apart.  Seek out someone who will read 1st Corinthians with you and discuss.  Look for study notes online at http://hawkmohawk.weebly.com/
 
 
Read Chapter 1 of First Corinthians
 
Paul sends a blessing of peace to “…all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…”  (verses 2-3)
 
When you read, YOU receive a greeting of peace from the Apostle Paul.  Scripture is a living word and that living greeting of God’s peace is for you, the reader. 
 
Paul says the Corinthians, “…are not lacking in any spiritual gift…”  (vs. 7)
God invests gifts in every believer.  This word is for you!  What questions arise?
 
Paul speaks of factions in the church.  What are the church ‘factions’ today?
 
 
 
Paul says “Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom…”  What do you see around you that looks like people wanting a sign for their religious/ spiritual experience?  What in our world looks like people who desire wisdom?
 
 
Prayer:  To receive the grace and peace of God, and to pass that gift on to others.  Pray for unity in God’s church.  Understand this prayer may lead to the unexpected.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                         FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION
 
Ask yourself what it means when the Living Word says to you personally, “You are not lacking in any spiritual gift.”  Stop and consider that declaration.  Does it surprise you?  Write or discuss  your thoughts about what it means. 
 
Jews and Greeks
In our world there are still ‘Jews and Greeks.’  For our purposes, let us include not just people who follow Judaism, but people of any established religious practice.  As for Greeks- let this mean any of the myriad philosophical world views that originate in human thought rather than in divine revelation.
 
Paul says “Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom…”  What do you see around you that looks like people wanting a sign for their religious/ spiritual experience?  What in our world looks like people who desire wisdom?
 
Paul counters both signs and wisdom with this: “we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
 
Please notice Paul assumes “those who are the called” includes both Jews and Greeks.  This is a hint at one of the main themes of this letter- that people from different walks of life are untied in Christ.  This was a radical idea for that time and place.  Is it still radical?
 
                                                       FIRST CORINTHIANS
                                                            (New Testament)
 
The context of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Corinth is important for better understanding.  Paul knew the people of Corinth.  He certainly preached and taught in Corinth, and may have been the founder of the Corinthian church.  But Paul was a traveling preacher.  That means he was not a long-term pastor in a congregation such as we know today.  He generally stayed in a city anywhere from several weeks, to several months, and then moved on.  (In some cases, he stayed for a few years.)
 
This means there were significant time periods when he did not see members of a church he founded or taught.  He kept in touch via letters, which travelled rather slowly in the ancient world. 
 
Corinth was a port city and an important trade center which means there were people -and religious influences- from all over the Mediterranean world.  This is exactly the sort of place a new religion might have a ready audience.  It was also a place where lots of ideas and ideologies got mixed up, mixed in, and that led to confusion, mistakes, factions, and in some cases, bad theology, and worse practices.
 
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Dear Friends in Christ,

Welcome to a new format for studying the Bible.  This is a first attempt for me to lead interested members in studying and learning about the Bible in an online format. 

I'll post reading assignments, ask some questions, suggest an interpretation or two, and look for your ideas and responses. 

I encourage you to share this with a friend or small group of friends- not just online, but in person.  Talking together and praying together builds us up spiritually, and keeps us from assuming our own ideas are all there is to say. 

1 Corinthians is a letter, written by the Apostle Paul to the christian church in a city called Corinth.  As with all of Paul's letters, we, the readers, only get one side of the conversation, so we have to deduce what we can from the letter about the people of the Corinthian church.

Let's start with the first two chapters for the first week of October 2016.  I look forward to sharing this experience with you.

God's Peace,
Pastor Glenn

July 23 is day #204.  We read Jeremiah chapters 30-33. 

As I write the world is in crisis.  An airliner was shot down over Ukraine by madmen with missiles.  Israel and Hamas are exchanging death-dealing blows in the Gaza strip.  Syria continues to smolder in civil war, and many other troubles offer their political plagues.  Is this a good time to buy a house in the Gaza strip?  Jeremiah might say yes.

How do we maintain hope?  When will peace be real?  How long, O Lord?

Jeremiah was speaking to a discouraged people, and his message was a mixed bag- criticism, scolding, but also promises of hope. 

There is a lot of meat to digest here.  God has commissioned Jeremiah to deliver a scary and negative message to Israel and Judah.  A foreign king, Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem, and it was becoming obvious the Babylonians would win the city, and destroy it.  What made this worse was the message from Jeremiah that this disaster was God's will.  God was wreaking revenge and delivering punishment  because so many in Israel and Judah had worshiped false gods.  In spite of this vengeful message, God also declares a message of hope.

Portions of this passage are very familiar because they are read at some important times in our worship calendar. 

In 31:15 we read words that are quoted in Matthew 2:18; "...A voice is heard in Ramah... Rachel is weeping for her children... because they are no more."  In Matthew this refers to the death of the innocents- children butchered by Harod's troops in an effort to eliminate the one born to be king- as told to Herod by the Magi.  In Jeremiah's time, people, even children, were dying as a result of the siege.  Helpless parents wept for the loss of their children.  Against all evidence, Jeremiah continues:

"Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, says the LORD... there is hope for your future..." (31 vss. 16-17)  And further on, another familiar passage- Lutherans know this one because it is read as a text for Reformation Sunday.

"The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..."

In chapter 32 we have a long description of Jeremiah purchasing land in the soon-to-be-obliterated city.  God commanded Jeremiah to make the purchase, and Jeremiah goes through with the deal, paying good money for land at a time when the city was about to fall. 

Jeremiah's action spoke louder than words.  Who knows how much impact a defiant act of hope can have?  God was making a promise that even amidst destruction and despair, there would later come a time of healing and restoration.

Bonhoeffer's comments on this passage direct us to a faith that does not flee the world, but embraces a broken world in radical hope.  He said "I fear that Christians who stand with only one leg upon earth also stand with only one leg in heaven." 

What acts of defiant hope are we called to do?

It's over a month since my last post, which means a lot of stories have come and gone.  I won't try to review all, by any means.  In the broad sweep of the Old Testament, we have been reading about a people forming an identity.  We have seen the conquest of Canaan, when the wandering Israelites stopped wandering and started occupying land.  We have seen the period of the judges, when Gideon winnowed his troops by watching which ones lapped up their water like dogs.  Only 300 remained, and that tiny number of warriors prove that God gave the victory. (Judges 7:5-7)

Sampson roared his way through his world flaunting his muscle and squeezing the juice of life with his bare hands.  The Sampson stories are as close to Paul Bunyan tales as the Bible ever gets.  His exploits celebrate the presence of a God who raises up heroes when they are needed.  He is a likeable lug even if he did tie torches to fox tails.
(Judges 15)

After the loosey-goosey era of charismatic judges, the people begged for a king.  God said the people would probably get what they deserved.  The same thing has been said of democracy.  Saul was that first king of Israel, and Saul won victories but lost his way.  Young David did what he could to placate the bi-polar rages of Saul.  Sometimes his music worked, and sometimes not. 

David went from plucky pencil-necked shepherd to national hero, to outlaw, to anointed king, to lusty corrupted politician.  The episode with Bathsheba shows us that the best can fall prey to their own ego, and coveting leads to cover-up.  (2nd Samuel 11:1-12:23)  Uriah was murdered because he was too loyal to his battle buddies to enjoy the comforts of home.  Bathsheba became the King's consort, but I bet she would trade a lifetime of honor and luxury for more time with her decent, grounded Hittite husband.

God forgave David, but left him with the curse that the sword would never leave David alone.  He had to fight his own son Absalom to retain the throne, and winning that fight only brought him abject grief. 

This long section of the Bible tells a long string of battle stories.  In one war after another the blood flows freely and God commands ruthless destruction.  It is disturbing.  These are some of the passages people cite when talking about the seeming split personality of the Supreme Being; the Old Testament one pitching wrath, and the New Testament one pitching love.  To the contrary, the long arc of biblical witness insists there only ever was -and is- One God.  God hung his bow in the sky for Noah to see, and swore off killing.  So what's all the nationalistic bloodshed for?

I have a pet theory about this that has no real scholarship or authority behind it, so take it with a train of salt.  In the pre-historic, pre-biblical world, the gods seemed capricious.  One day there is a good crop and life seems abundant, the next day a grass fire wipes out the crop.  Both would have been attributed to the kind of gods who use humans as pawns.

The One True God speaks with a still small voice, and it takes a while for hard headed humans to hear.  To think that a god might be FOR US is a revolutionary thought.  Thinking that a single, powerful God is on 'our side' in a war is crude, but nevertheless a step up from thinking the gods harass everyone for no reason.

It is a very long hike from "The gods hate us" to "God so loved the world..." (John 3:16).  We are still on that journey, and we stand on the shoulders of our religious forbears going back to the mists of earliest time.  Our God did not switch identities.  God has been saying the same message all through time, but it takes a long time for humans to hear, believe, consider, and realize that God loves our enemy as much as ourselves. 

The Bible is a record of the small slow gains in human awareness of divine love that happen through the unfolding plot that is the world.  Israel was chosen and preserved in order for the One True God to have a sturdy platform for speaking to all the earth. 

When the right time came, Jesus took to that platform and changed the world.