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An Informed Faith

John T Squires

An Informed Faith

Category: An Orderly Account: Gospel of Luke

Sins or trespasses? Trial or temptation? Thine or yours? The prayer that Jesus taught (Luke 11; Pentecost 8C)

Which version of the Lord’s Prayer do you pray? Do you petition God to forgive your sins? or your trespasses? Do you seek to be saved from the time of trial, or not to be led into temptation? Do you end with a doxology of praise, or simply conclude with “deliver us from evil”?

This coming Sunday, the lectionary offers us the shortest of the three versions of this prayer which were known in the early decades of the movement that Jesus founded (Luke 11:1–4). That’s right—from the very earliest stages, there were already three versions of this central, foundational prayer!

The version that we are offered for this coming Sunday, in Luke 11, is (as I have noted) the shortest of the three; it ends with “deliver us from evil”. The version in Matthew 6 is closer to the version that we pray today, with the familiar closing doxology (except that this is omitted from most of the earliest manuscripts). Then, there is the version in the Didache (a late first century work which is not part of the New Testament) which includes all the familiar phrases, and ends with a shorter doxology (“yours is the power and the glory forever”).

Luke’s version, as well as being the shortest, is located in the journey section of this Gospel, as Jesus makes his way towards Jerusalem. It comes after the story about the wounded traveller and the Good Samaritan (10:25–37) and the meal in the house of Mary and Martha (10:38–42), and before an encounter with a demon and a discussion about the conflict that Jesus was having with Beelzebul (11:14–26). In short, the context is of minimal importance.

Matthew, by contrast, places this prayer as the centrepiece in a block of teaching about dikaiosune (translated as “piety”, NRSV; “righteousness”, NIV; “religion”, CEB; Matt 6:1–18). Here, Jesus considers the three key markers of Jewish faith: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. In each instance, Jesus contrasts the practice of “the hypocrites” (later identified as scribes and Pharisees; see Matt 23:13–36) with the instructions he provides )”do not [do that] … but rather, [do this]”). So the context indicates that this prayer sits at the heart of discipleship and faith, for those who follow Jesus.

The full text of the version in the Didache is: “You shall not pray like the hypocrites but like the Lord commanded in his gospel; in this manner you shall pray: Our Father, who is in heaven, your name shall be made holy, your kingdom shall come, your will shall come to be as in heaven and upon earth; you shall give to us our bread for our need today, and you shall forgive us our debt as also we are forgiving our debtors, and may you not bring us into a trial, but you shall rescue us from the wicked one, since it is your might and glory into the ages. You shall pray three times of the day in this manner.”

The context is one in which the worship life of the Christian community is in view; ch. 7 considers baptism, ch. 8. discusses fasting and prayer; chs. 9 and 10 concerns the Eucharist. The liturgical form of the prayer is important in this context—thus, the firm inclusion of an appropriate doxological benediction.

The significance of a number of the variations can be noted. As we do so, it is worth recalling that the synthesised, printed versions of our scripture are far from the experience of the followers of Jesus in the first few centuries. Oral traditions were the dominant way by which teachings were passed on; memorising and retelling stories, parables, ethical instructions, and prayers, was the modus operandi of everyone.

Furthermore, any tangible written resources were relatively rare; this was many centuries before the printing press and the mass distribution of standardised documents, and even a few centuries before the imperial weight of Constantine saw monks in many places copying manuscripts by hand. A scroll or codex would be valued as a rare and important document. The passing on of teachings—and, in this case, prayers—by word of mouth, was the dominant pathway for handing on the traditions. See https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/oral.html

So a variety of versions, across time and especially across different physical locations, was what existed. Variety was not only the spice of life but the essence of the movement that Jesus has started. See https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/diversity.html

Thus, as we consider the variations of The Lord’s Prayer that these three ancient documents offer us, let’s remember that they existed in the midst of a swirl of varieties of the early Christian faith.

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Some variations, such as thine or yours, and sins or trespasses, are simply a function of our time. Language changes over time; the words preferred for particular items change, the customs prevalent at the time change. Thine was the common second-person singular possessive in the time of King James; yours is now the common term. You would only ever hear thine in a church sticking doggedly to the Authorised Version from the time of King James, these days.

But five variations in wording do contain significant theological differences.

1. Father, or Father in heaven, is the first significant variant encountered. Scholars typically argue that the shorter version is more likely to have been the original, so the phrase in heaven was added under the influence of other places where that phrase appears (Mark 11:25; Luke 10:21; the phrase is particular common in Matthew, see Matt 5:16, 45; 6:1; 7:11, 21; 10:32–33; 12:50; 16:17; 18:10, 14, 19). In other words, if we are looking for what could have been the original version, Jesus most likely simply said, “pray, ‘Father’”.

2. Next, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. This phrase appears after your kingdom come in both Matthew’s version, and in the Didache, but not in Luke’s shorter version. These two petitions clearly belong together; although, in a sense, I consider the second petition redundant. If God’s kingdom is to come, then God’s will shall surely be done! (The close connection of the two concepts can be seen in the parable of Matt 21:28–32 and the saying of Matt 21:43; and negatively, in Gal 5:16–21.)

Nevertheless, the longer version of Matthew and the Didache sees fit to duplicate the first request, for God’s kingdom to come, with a second petition, for God’s will to be done. The notion that what is done in heaven should also be done on earth can be found in sayings of Jesus at Matt 16:19; 18:18–19; and in the citation from Joel found at Acts 2:19.

3. Each day, or this day? The bread that is prayed for is described as “bread for today” (sēmeron) in Matthew and the Didache, but as “bread for the day” (to kath’ hēmeran) in Luke. What is signified by this subtle difference?

We should first note that this petition includes an unusual Greek word, epiousion, a word which Davies and Allison describe as “one of the great unsolved puzzles of NT lexicography” (Matthew, ICC vol. 1, 1988, p.607). It could refer to “what is needful for existence” (a generic sense ), or “for the current day” (an immediate sense), or even “for the coming (next) day” (a futurist sense). Davies and Allison opt for this latter sense, which means that the prayer is certainly for what lies immediately in front of the person praying, but also has an eschatological sense, referring to the messianic banquet in God’s kingdom on the day in the future, which is yet drawing near.

The difference between the two canonical versions, then, comes down to whether the emphasis is on the bread “for now, for today, for this very day” (Matthew) or the bread “for each and every day” (Luke). John Nolland (Luke, Word Commentary 35B, 1993) believes that Jesus would have been more likely to instruct the former—“a prayer for our mundane sustenance needs” as this would be “most at home in the Jewish context” (and he quotes Prov 30:8 in this regard).

4. Forgive us our sins (trespasses), or forgive us our debts? This difference is quite significant. The forgiveness of sins (in older language, trespasses) is a common theme in the Gospel narratives, and especially in Luke’s orderly account. When Jesus forgives the sin of the paralyzed man on a bed (5:17–20), he affirms that “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (5:24). Jesus discusses sin and forgiveness with Simon the Pharisee and the so-called sinful woman (7:36–50).

God’s gracious forgiveness is recounted in the three striking stories about the lost being found, the wayward being welcomed back home (Luke 15). Jesus instructs his followers to forgive the disciple who sins (17:1–3). Luke alone reports that Jesus, hanging on the cross, offers forgiveness to those crucifying him (23:24, although there are problematic textual variants about this verse); whilst alone in Luke’s account, once again, the risen Jesus gives as a parting word to his disciples: “repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (24:47).

The Lukan version thus, understandably, has Jesus instruct us that we pray for forgiveness of sins, and offer forgiveness to others. This is a strong Lukan theme. Paradoxically, however, the version in Matthew uses a word whose fundamental sense is debt—as in something tangible owed, like money, or a return favour. The Didache, which seems to share a common version of the prayer with Matthew, also uses this word, opheilēmata.

If the reference is to a financial debt, then the strong reference in the version of Matthew and the Didache must surely be to the Jubilee year, during which debts are to be remitted (Lev 25:8–17; see esp. v.13). The irony is that Luke explicitly signals this theme in the opening speech of Jesus that he alone reports: “the Spirt of the Lord is upon me … to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (4:18–19). The reference to “the year of the Lord’s favour” is commonly taken to be an indication of the Jubilee.

Yet the matter is complicated by the fact that in the phrase that follows forgive us our sins, the Lukan version uses the word for debts; so in this Gospel, the petition is actually forgive us our sins, as we ourselves let go of everything that is owed to us. That’s a mixed message!

Nevertheless, when we pray, let’s bear in mind: do we have in view our responsibility to forgive the sins of others, or to let go the debts that others owe to us? That is a question to galvanise our thoughts and challenge our actions!

5. Lead us not into temptation, or save us from the time of trial? This difference is quite important. The options reflect, not differences in the Greek text, but different choices made by translators. The Greek word (peirasmon) is the same in all three versions, but it is capable of different English translations. On the one hand, it can refer to discrete actions which tempt us to stray from the path of righteousness; thus, lead us not into temptation; that is, keep us faithful, righteous, diligent, obedient.

On the other hand, the same word, peirasmon, can have an apocalyptic sense, referring to the coming Day of the Lord, the time of birth pangs (Mark 13:8) and testing (Rev 3:10) which is envisaged, when God’s eschatological intervention confronts humanity with the extent of our sinfulness. The prayer is thus for God, not to let us experience that time of trial, but in fact to intervene, declare us righteous, and realise the promise of life eternal. (Yes, I realise that I am mashing together multiple scriptural verses—but that’s what happens when theological argumentation develops!) Nolland summarises thus: “the primary image her is one of standing up under pressure that threatens to overwhelm” (Luke, p.619).

The additional petition in Matthew and the Didache, rescue us from the evil one, intensifies this eschatological sense; the evil one is Satan, who will sift wheat from chaff (Luke 22:31), whilst God is the one who will step in and “rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim 4:18). As the Didache’s expanded eucharistic prayer offers, “Remember, Lord, your church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in your love, and gather it from the four winds, sanctified for your kingdom which you have prepared for it” (Did 10:5).

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There are other variations found in the textual variants that occur in the mass of manuscripts from the earliest centuries. One fascinating variant in the Lukan text, for instance, occurs in the phrase your kingdom come; some manuscripts read, at this point, your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us—reflecting the interest that Luke has in the activities of the Holy Spirit (1:15, 35, 41, 67, 80; 2:25–26; 3:16, 22; 4:1, 14, 18; etc).

Other manuscripts of Luke’s Gospel quite deliberately follow the phrase your kingdom come with the addition, as in heaven, so on earth. The influence of the dominant tradition of the prayer—reflected in both Matthew 6 and Didache 8—has led various scribes, copying Luke’s Gospel, to harmonise what they have before them with what they know from their daily prayers and from Matthew’s Gospel.

*****

After reporting the instruction of Jesus, to pray this way (11:2), Luke has Jesus continue with a short, somewhat comic, story of a friend, incessantly knocking on his friend’s door at midnight, asking for three loaves of bread—at once hilariously burlesque and exactingly precise. This leads to the instruction, “ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you” (11:9; this is found also at Matt 7:7), and the didactic conclusion, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (11:13; a variant form appears at Matt 7:11).

We might compare this with what happens in Matthew’s reporting of this prayer; he has Jesus continue with teaching relating to the forgiveness of sins (paraptōmata, Matt 6:14–15), which is curious, since the Matthean version of the prayer has a clause about forgiving debts (opheilēmata) rather than the sins (hamartias) in the Lukan account.

So, however you pray this prayer, do so remembering that the version you use is one of a range of options, chosen by translators, interpreters, and liturgical editors, which nevertheless provides a collection of clauses that focusses on the central teachings of Jesus and recalls us to the challenges of discipleship in the contemporary world.

Translation of the Lord’s Prayer into Old English
(British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius A XII f. 184v, detail)
from https://www.bl.uk/medieval-english-french-manuscripts/articles/old-english-after-the-norman-conquest 

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Of course, all of this close scrutiny of the textual versions of the prayer in Greek (because that is the original language of the New Testament documents, and of the Didache) overlooks the simple historical fact that Jesus, as a first century Jew, would have been conversing with his followers (also first century Jews) in Aramaic, the ordinary language of Jews in Israel at that time.

So what did Jesus actually say? We need to translate back, from Greek, into Aramaic–and thus, already the interpreter’s bias and presupposition comes into play!! We won’t ever know the original version that Jesus taught; but we can still pray the prayer that he taught his disciples, with confidence, in faith.

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For a good translation of the whole of the Didache, see https://uploads.weconnect.com/mce/e1c03d2c445ffd0b7d000b732c8108a2e9145245/RCIA/The%20Didache.pdf

Author John T SquiresPosted on July 20, 2022July 20, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags scripture; theology; Luke; prayer; DidacheLeave a comment on Sins or trespasses? Trial or temptation? Thine or yours? The prayer that Jesus taught (Luke 11; Pentecost 8C)

There is need of only one thing. Or, maybe, two. (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

There is need of only one thing. Or, maybe, two. (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

Boaz made another visit to Tuggeranong Uniting Church today, all the way from the first century, accompanied by his wife Deborah. They engaged in a discussion of what they had heard about the scene in the house of Mary and Martha (that we know about because it is told in Luke 10:38–42). The dialogue was written and presented by the Rev. Elizabeth Raine and the Rev. Dr John Squires.

Boaz and Deborah

*****

Elizabeth begins. This gospel passage about Mary and Martha is very well-known one. It often provokes some strong responses, especially from women who have followed more traditional and domestic lifestyles. Many feel a sneaking sympathy with Martha.

After all, the reading says that Jesus and his disciples went to Martha’s house for a meal. Even if the guests were only Jesus and the twelve apostles, that still makes dinner for 15 people. Dinner for that many is not easy to prepare, especially in a first century kitchen consisting of an open fire, and maybe a small brick oven outside.  And she is doing it by herself. Her sister Mary is sitting on the floor at Jesus’ feet, listening to him. No wonder Martha is upset.

Today we attempt to explore this story as we listen to a dialogue between two dinner guests at the house of Martha and Mary, their neighbours Boaz and Deborah.

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Boaz: I am shocked. Outraged, even. I was expecting a dinner where the men gather, are served by the women, and then sit together discussing learned things, like the Torah. Such a spectacle we saw! Martha should not have allowed it. And that Jesus fellow, what was he thinking? Aiding and abetting the decay of society as we know it. And I thought he was a holy man. Deborah, I trust this has not given you any ideas.

Deborah: Aiding and abetting the decay of society! Boaz, you are just old fashioned. You need to get with the times. I am excited! I am feeling liberated! I am worthy of being taught by the great teacher. How can you think treating women equally is a problem?

Lots of reasons. For example, you know that in the synagogue, “a woman should not be allowed to come forward to read the Torah in public.” (Tosefta Megillah 4.11,226). So this notion of equality is not in accord with our practices and beliefs.

And I thought Mary’s attitude, claiming this equality, was nothing short of rebellious. She will be wanting to learn to read before you know it, and then what? Educated women are a menace. They get above their station in life and then refuse to be submissive. In fact, as Rabbi Eliezer has decreed: “If any man gives his daughter a knowledge of the Law, it is as though he taught her lechery.” (Mishnah, Sotah 3.4)

Well, I thought Mary’s sitting at the feet of Jesus was a wonderful demonstration of how women have the right to be taught.If Jesus had no problem with it, why do you?

Look, I am not saying that SOME learning for women might not be a bad thing. But with a household to run, there are other duties that need to be done. How is learning going to help Mary prepare a big dinner? You musthave heard the murmurings of the disciples. They were not impressed by Mary’s action.

Well, I don’t think it is any business of the disciples, or ours, or anyone else’s if Mary wished to learn from Jesus.

Martha had a problem with it. I heard her ask Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Martha knows what the true role of women should be. The true role of women is doing the kind of things that, I understand, some people have called ‘domestic duties’.

Domestic duties ??!!??

Yes, you know what our scrolls tell us: “She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant-girls … She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.” (Proverbs 31)

Yes, yes, yes…I know all of that. But what did Jesus say when she sat at his feet, expecting to be taught by him? You seem to be skipping over that bit.

Listen, Deborah, we are talking about The Law here. We are talking about the whole stability of society. If you do not want to show appropriate regard for The Law, then what are you regarding?

How can you condone an action which is clearly in breach of the very respect and honour that the Law requires we show it? How can a woman, sitting at the feet of a teacher of the law, be showing respect and honour? She should have been in the kitchen, with Martha!

Well, I believe that Jesus was very clear that Mary, by sitting at his feet and learning, had chosen the good part, and it would not be taken from her.

And Martha, her elder sister, made it clear that she had chosen the lazy path, and was not fulfilling her duties. How was dinner going to get on the table if we all sat about distracted by Jesus’ teaching? How can you be so sure that Mary was doing the right thing? 

Well, it is true that Martha is very generous with her hospitality – nothing but the best is laid before Jesus and his followers. I agree that this is an important part of our traditions, to be generous in any hospitality to our guests.

And why couldn’t the male disciples take a turn in the kitchen? Why couldn’t they contribute to the generous hospitality of the occasion? Why must women always serve? Isn’t it time Peter swept the floor and Thomas did the dishes? Or James and John stirred the soup and served the bread?

What nonsense! Men serving women, indeed!! You sound just like that Rabbi Hillel with your liberal notions.

Wait a minute: Jesus serves men and women and feedsthem. Look at his recent actions. Apparently he managed to feed a whole crowd, men, woman and children recently with only five loaves and two fish. And the male disciples cleaned up afterwards. So where does that leave your argument?

Surely this is an exaggeration. I am sure women did most of the serving and tidying up. After all, I heard that they followed Jesus around and ministered to him out of their own resources. This clearly included the cooking and cleaning.

Really, you are most frustrating. There are precedents in our faith, you know, for women leaders and prophets. Look at Deborah the judge. Or Huldah, the prophet. Or what about the mother of Jesus himself? I heard she said….

Oh, you make it all sound very normal indeed, for women to be spouting revolutionary leadership talk. But just think about the way Mary went about it. Sitting with the men. Sitting on the floor at the feet of a man. This isn’t customary. And in public like that! Shocking!!

Well, I suppose it wasn’t the best image she might have presented of herself. I was a little taken aback myself to see her sitting at the feet of a man who wasn’t related to her. In some ways, it could be seen as shameful.

But still – why must it be so? Why can’t the sexes be equals?

Well, they just aren’t. What about how Jesus spoke to Martha? Surely this was harsh. She must have been very hurt.

Yes, I can see that. Here was Martha, wanting to provide the best dinner, and Mary as her sister should have helped. She did have some obligation to attend to the guests.

Yes. “Martha, Martha, you are distracted with too much serving”, he said. Or something like that. Well, of course she was, getting a dinner for all those people. What did he expect?

It may not have been meant unkindly. Jesus doesn’t need to defend traditional roles of women. There are plenty of people, just like you to do that. But he does need to defend our right to learn, to be disciples, to be on the same level as the men.

Mary’s right to learn is precisely what Jesus is protecting by refusing to send her into the kitchen. Jesus will not let dinner take that good thing away from Mary. What justice would there be if he did?

And what if Martha has wanted to sit by Jesus, too? Where is the fairness for Martha here? Then what have happened to dinner?

Well, I suppose there is that. But perhaps our real problem is that we are trying to put the two sisters and the two things they are doing in a stark contrast. We see one who puts aside her distractions to listen to Jesus, and we see another who worries herself to distraction with trying to make dinner for all of them.

Mary and Martha are sisters, not enemies. They complement each other. Why, one could even argue that they are two parts of a legitimate whole that includes them both.

Hmmmmm, I am not sure what you mean. I know they are sisters, but I am missing your point…

Let me put it another way. Martha engaged herself in the necessary task of serving others. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, in the necessary task of spiritual and faithful learning. And both of them surely did each thing out of love for Jesus.

That is a very good point. I am thinking that l would have to say both learning and serving are necessary to be a righteous and holy person.

I don’t think the only lesson here is about traditional duty versus anew feminist wave. Surely the two sisters represent together who we should be as people. Listening to Jesus is not opposed to serving Jesus. Jesus didn’t tell Martha she was doing the wrong thing. He said Mary has chosen the more needful thing at that point. Surely it was Martha’s anxiety he was criticising, not her service. We all needed to eat.

But I thought this complimentary togetherness was not about a single person, but about society, male and female, we have different roles which complement each other. So I don’t have to wash the dishes to be whole anymore than you have to learn to read the Torah.

Nonsense. How many men in our scripture offer hospitality? Look at Abraham. And what about when David seeks food for the troops? He asks Nabal, not his wife – though she was the one who showed sense when she took the food to David. I mean, really. Are you honestly trying to tell me that if you as a man did nothing but contemplate the Law, with no other activity, you would be a happy, content person? If we did one thing constantly at the expense of the other, we would be far from well-rounded people.

Well, I know we need both hospitality and learning. No argument there.

And I hope you noticed the word that Jesus used to describe Martha’s serving. He said Martha was performing a “diakonia”, and I understand this is an important word Jesus uses to describe his disciples. Jesus was surely suggesting that her hospitality was a ministry, that it was something sacred.

Perhaps part of the genius of Jesus is that he can hold this stuff together himself. He reminds those serving to be attentive and not distracted. He reminds those who listen carefully to his words about the necessity of service.

*****

Back to the present … Elizabeth resumes as the *preacher* for the day.

I am going to ask you a question. Don’t think about it too much. When you look for a role model in this story as to how you express yourfaith, who do you pick? Martha or Mary? Which one do you act like most of the time and is the same one you chose? What does that say to you?

Many, many people see their faith in practical terms— making tea, organising social afternoons, looking after people’s material needs and so on. Across the world churches would not function without those who are busy with the activities that go towards keeping a building open, running programmes, and maintaining the life of the church asa visible entity in the eyes of the membership and the community.

There is no question that the gift of hospitality is as important as the gift of learning. There is also no question that Mary’s action would still be the more unusual one. Did Jesus know this? Do those of us serving perhaps need to be reminded of the grounding provided by being attentive to spiritual needs?

With all the challenges that we face in today’s world, we can’t lose sight of the need for God’s people to make time to grow their own personal faith in a way that works for them. We know from research that this is what unchurched people seek when they come through our doors.

What will they find? Mary or Martha? Or will they find both, well-rounded disciples ready to share the love of God with all?

See also

https://johntsquires.com/2019/07/15/listening-and-learning-at-the-feet-of-jesus-luke-10/
Author John T SquiresPosted on July 17, 2022July 16, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags scripture; theology; Luke; discipleship; womenLeave a comment on There is need of only one thing. Or, maybe, two. (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

Where have all the women gone? Women in the movement initiated by Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

Where have all the women gone? Women in the movement initiated by Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

This coming Sunday, we hear a story in which Jesus is in the home of two women: Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38–42). It’s a passage that is much beloved for the radical portrayal it offers: Jesus willing to teach a woman, Jesus willing to break the mould of traditional patriarchal expectations. This story gives is opportunity to consider the strong emphasis on women that is found in the story of Jesus told within the orderly account that we attribute to Luke.

Feminist scholars have noted the prominence accorded to women as followers of Jesus throughout this orderly account, and the particular emphasis on women that surfaces at specific moments in the narrative. The presence of women amongst the movement initiated by Jesus, and their taking on of leadership roles within that movement, is no surprise, given that it is only in the second of the two volumes attributed to Luke that we find such a clear declaration about this matter.

Every Pentecost, when we read and hear the story of that day, we are told that Peter, in beginning his speech, cites in detail a prophetic word uttered centuries earlier by Joel. Speaking in the name of God, the prophet declares, “God declares that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy … even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Acts 2:17–18).

This prophecy is significant, both in what follows in the events recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, but also in terms of the place that women occupy in the Gospel of Luke. Women have significant roles, both in the stories told in the ensuing chapters about the movement initiated by Jesus, and also in what has come before, the account of the words and activities of Jesus himself.

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In the Acts of the Apostles, this strand of female faithfulness continues, but appears to become somewhat diminished as the narrative continues. We need to keep asking, is what we find in this narrative (and what is missing) a result of the ordering of material undertaken by the author? If the specific mentions of women fade later in Acts, was this intentional or accidental?

Very early in Acts, the spirit is poured out upon males and females alike (Acts 2:17–18). This Pentecost scene in Jerusalem has a paradigmatic function for the narrative that follows (in the same way as the scene in the Nazareth synagogue functions in the Gospel). Many of the elements in the Lukan Pentecost story recur throughout the ensuing stories of the good news being proclaimed in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Antioch, throughout Asia Minor and Macedonia, into Greece (Corinth and Athens) and ultimately to Rome.

Amongst the significant women who are presented as positive models of faithfulness, we find Tabitha in Joppa, a woman “full of good works, acts of charity” (9:36); Mary, in whose house the believers meet in Jerusalem (12:12); Lydia in Philippi, who likewise provides hospitality to Paul and his companions (16:15); Priscilla, who with her husband, Aquila, teaches Apollos in Ephesus (18:26); and the four female prophets in Caesarea (21:9). Each of these women, we must conclude, exercise a leadership role in the early church.

See

https://johntsquires.com/2022/01/27/lydia-dorcas-and-phoebe-three-significant-strategic-leaders-in-the-early-church/
https://johntsquires.com/2020/11/19/women-in-the-new-testament-1-the-positive-practices-of-jesus-and-the-early-church/

However, the frequency of explicit references to women in Acts lessens as the narrative continues. Whilst there are faithful women noted amongst the converts in some places, women fade from view and are almost entirely absent from the latter sections of Acts. Is this intentional on the part of the author? 

There are women in the audiences to whom preaches in various towns and cities in his travels, often specifically identified as being women of higher social status. We might assume that this was par for the course in the towns and cities of the Hellenistic world; at least, in four locations, this is clearly the case, as those listening to Paul include “devout women of high standing” in Antioch (13:50), “not a few of the leading women” in Thessaloniki (17:4), “not a few Greek women and men of high standing” in Beroea (17:12), and “a woman named Damaris, and others with them” in Athens (17:34). Were there, likewise, women in other crowds which heard Paul?

In Corinth, Paul stays for some time with “a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla” (18:1–4). We know about this couple from Paul’s own letters (Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; and see 2 Tim 4:19; in each case, the female is identified as Prisca). The gathering in the house of Aquila and Priscilla clearly included females, hearing the proclamation of the good news that Paul brought.

However, in the face of intense opposition, Paul, with Silas and Timothy, “left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue” (18:7). When we learn that “Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household” (18:8), we can reasonably assume that this household included women—a partner, some children, and certainly some female servants.

There are no women specifically mentioned when Paul falls into difficulties in the theatre, the public arena, in Ephesus (19:23–41), nor when farewelling the Ephesian elders in Miletus, presumably in a private meeting (20:17–38). Yet, could it have been possible that this latter group included women? Whilst it may seem unlikely to us, if we focus on the dominant patriarchal makeup of society at the time, Jesus had established a movement in which equality of males and females was clearly advocated. 

As Marg Mowcko notes, “In Paul’s more general teaching on ministry and ministry gifts, including his teaching on leadership ministry gifts, the apostle gives no hint that some ministries are for men and some are for women”—so could this apply to the group with whom he met in Miletus. See https://margmowczko.com/pauls-qualifications-for-church-leaders/ ; whilst the quote is from footnote 13, the argument of the whole post keeps open this possibility. If it was a possibility, and if the author of Acts knew this, then his failure to mention this would be striking. But this is a rather hypothetical line of interpretation.

When Paul travels from Greece to Troas (20:1–6), only males are noted as his companions: “he was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia” (20:4). There are no clear indications, either in Acts, or in Paul’s own letters, that women travelled with him on his journeys. 

In Troas, when he meets to “break bread” (20:7), we can reasonably hypothesise that women were present along with men as “Paul was holding a discussion with them … [and] continued speaking until midnight” (20:7). Why might not the same apply to those travelling with Paul? Especially since this would have continued the model that was first provided by Jesus (Luke 8:1–3; 23:55).

When Paul arrives in Ptolemais, he greets “the believers” (21:7), presumably a mixed group of males and females. In the next city, Caesarea, Paul stays with Philip, the father of “four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy” (21:9). They remain unnamed, and also apparently inactive in terms of their giftedness; it is Agabus, a male prophet visiting from Judea, who provides active prophetic words (21:10–11).

On the next leg, into the house of “Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple”, Paul was accompanied by “some of the disciples from Caesarea” (21:16). Again, given the nature of the movement established by Jesus, the presence of women amongst those disciples can reasonably be assumed.

When he is arrested whilst undergoing a ritual in the Temple in Jerusalem (21:27–36), he is in the company of “four men who are under a vow” (21:23). It is considered that this was most likely to have been a Nazirite vow, akin to what he had previously undertaken in Cenchreae (18:18). Such a vow was originally open to men and to women (Num 6:1–4), but it is thought that it had become a specifically priestly vow by this time (see https://www.thetorah.com/article/can-a-husband-annul-his-wifes-nazirite-vow ) So no females are in the story of Acts 21, nor might we expect them to be. 

After this arrest, when Paul is brought before a series of officials whilst under arrest (chs.22—26), before being taken as a prisoner to Rome (28:14–16), the protagonists in the story are all males. Only the consort of Felix, Drusilla, in Caesarea (24:10–21) and her sister Berenice, the consort of Agrippa, in later scenes in Caesarea (25:13, 23; 26:30), provide a female presence in this long section. Berenice engages in the discussion about Paul after his speech (26:30–31); the decision about Paul, however, is made by the two men, Festus and Agrippa (26:32).

On Berenice and Drusilla, see https://margmowczko.com/wealthy-women-roman-world-and-church/

*****

Have the faithful female followers of Jesus and the spirit-inspired women of the Pentecost prophecy dwindled away to nothing as the movement spreads across the Hellenistic world?

From the first sermon of Jesus, set in Nazareth and presented as a key moment for Jesus, Luke has him explicitly draw attention to the faithfulness of a woman. The anonymous widow from Zarephath in Sidon (Luke 4:26), alongside the named male from Syria (4:27), formed prototypes of those who would become faithful followers of Jesus. Both males and females became disciples of Jesus, and later, members of the early church communities. Discipleship was seen to be inclusive in gender terms.

At an equally-significant moment, in the way that Luke orders events and tells his story, at the coming of the spirit during the festival of Pentecost, Luke has Peter refer to an older prophecy which now is coming to pass: “God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy … even upon my slaves, both men and women” (Acts 2:17–18). The equal role of women and men is clear and central.

The movement appears to have followed that vision, but the way that the Lukan narrative is developed sadly allows that vision to slip from view. Women, spirit-inspired and strategic in leadership within the movement, disappear from view, even though, as we have indicated above, it is quite plausible to argue for the presence of women, alongside men, at virtually every step of the way.

Later evidence for the developing Christian church attests to the ongoing activity of women in preaching, leading, caring, hosting, and even writing. That Luke had a particular reason to hide, or at least diminish, this fact, is a worrying conclusion to draw—but it seems to be the most logical deduction. What that reason is, however, is not at all clear to me. Had the author of this second volume succumbed to the dominant patriarchal culture of the time, and allowed women to fall from view in his narrative?

Author John T SquiresPosted on July 14, 2022July 14, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags scripture; theology; Luke; Acts; womenLeave a comment on Where have all the women gone? Women in the movement initiated by Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

Mary and Martha: models of women following and learning from Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

Mary and Martha: models of women following and learning from Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

This coming Sunday, we hear a story in which Jesus is in the home of two women: Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38–42). It’s a passage that is much beloved for the radical portrayal it offers: Jesus willing to teach a woman, Jesus willing to break the mould of traditional patriarchal expectations. This story gives is opportunity to consider the strong emphasis on women that is found in the story of Jesus told within the orderly account that we attribute to Luke.

Feminist scholars have noted the prominence accorded to women as followers of Jesus throughout this orderly account, and the particular emphasis on women that surfaces at specific moments in the narrative. The presence of women amongst the movement initiated by Jesus, and their taking on of leadership roles within that movement, is no surprise, given that it is only in the second of the two volumes attributed to Luke that we find such a clear declaration about this matter.

Every Pentecost, when we read and hear the story of that day, we are told that Peter, in beginning his speech, cites in detail a prophetic word uttered centuries earlier by Joel. Speaking in the name of God, the prophet declares, “God declares that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy … even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Acts 2:17–18).

This prophecy is significant, both in what follows in the events recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, but also in terms of the place that women occupy in the Gospel of Luke. Women have significant roles, both in the stories told in the ensuing chapters about the movement initiated by Jesus, and also in what has come before, the account of the words and activities of Jesus himself.

First, it is often noted by interpreters that the author of the orderly account that we know as the Gospel according to Luke has a particular penchant to pair a female character with a male character at various moments in the story. It’s one way of “ordering” the material at the disposal of the author. A key instance of this is in the expanded Lukan version of the visit that Jesus makes to his hometown, and the address that he makes in the synagogue (Luke 4:16–30).

Jesus refers to two prophets in his sermon, Elijah and Elisha. Although both prophets are male, they are sent to individuals of different genders. Elijah is sent to a faithful woman, who perhaps typically remains unnamed; Elisha is sent to faithful man, identified as Naaman (4:25–27). Each of these figures receives the prophet and their message; Jesus does not elaborate on the point, but it must have been self-evident to his Jewish audience from their knowledge of the scriptural stories (1 Kings 17:8–24; 2 Kings 5:1–14). The male and the female who responded with faith and obedience signify the equal ability of both genders to respond in faith, and to follow Jesus.

Other dual-gender pairs can be seen in the account of Jesus healing the servant of a male centurion in Capernaum, followed by his raising the son of a widow in Nain (7:1–10, 11–17). Soon after these paired stories, there is one scene which juxtaposes the extravagant actions of a sinful woman with the more constrained hospitality of Simon, a Pharisee (7:36–50). Whilst the man is questioned about his lack of understanding (surprising, it would seem, for a man of learning), the woman is affirmed for her faith expressed in tangible actions.

Similar pairings appear in the parables of Jesus as Luke reports them. The parable of the mustard seed (presumably planted by a man in his field) is followed by the parable of the yeast (used by a woman in her household duties) (13:18–19, 20–21). The parable of the lost sheep, searched for by a male shepherd, is followed by the parable of the lost coin, searched for by a woman (15:3–7, 8–10).

This orderly account contains two strongly-apocalyptic discourses (17:20–37; 21:5–36). It’s another sign of how the author orders his materials, dividing the apocalyptic material available to him into two discrete speeches. In the first of these speeches, Jesus refers to two men on a couch and two women grinding at a mill to make a point about the judgement that is coming (17:34–35). And although they are not adjacent to one another, the parable of the persistent (male) friend (11:5–8) bears similarities to the parable of the persistent (female) widow (18:1–8); these stories resonate with one another so that the one informs the other.

Although this is not unique to Luke’s account, the Lukan Jesus also use pairs in his discourses, referring to “men and women” (12:45), as well as “father and mother, son and daughter” (12:53). Jesus also says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple” (14:26).

Ben Witherington suggests that such pairs demonstrates that men and women are “equal recipients of God’s grace and equal participants in the community of Jesus’ followers” (Women in the Ministry of Jesus: A Study of Jesus’ Attitudes to Women and their Roles as Reflected in His Earthly Life; Cambridge University Press, 1984, 52; quoted by Marg Mowczko in https://margmowczko.com/gendered-pairs-and-parallelism-in-lukes-gospel/)

Each evangelist tells of women, as well as men, who hear the message of Jesus and respond in obedience, with faith. In Luke’s Gospel, the motif of faithful men and faithful women is heightened. Luke’s distinctive beginning to the story of Jesus introduces us to two faithful pairs: Zechariah and Elizabeth (1:5–25, 57–80), and Simeon and Anna (2:25–38), as well as to Mary, “the servant of the Lord” (1:38).

The end of the Gospel has a similar tendency. The Markan portrayal of the last hours of Jesus is stark: the male disciples desert him (Mark 14:43–46, 50, 51–52) and Peter betrays him (Mark 14:66–72) whilst the women watch from afar (Mark 15:40–41). In Luke’s version, Peter’s betrayal of Jesus is interpreted as having been forced by Satan (Luke 22:31); the Markan comment that the men deserted him is omitted; and those who watched from afar include both genders: “all his acquaintances, including the women” (Luke 23:49). Luke does not indicate complete abandonment by the male followers of Jesus, but still maintains the priority of the female followers.

After this, Luke resumes the Markan account, in which the strategic role of the first witnesses to the empty tomb is delivered to women (Luke 23:55–56; 24:1, 10; compare Mark 15:47; 16:1).

In his account of Jesus’ preaching and teaching, Luke intensifies the theme of the faithfulness of women which was available to him in his sources. To the Markan account in which Jesus blesses an ill woman for her faith (Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48), Luke adds a similar commendation of another woman (7:50).

Only in Luke does Jesus receive a blessing from a woman in the crowd (11:27–28). Only in Luke do we learn of the woman who was healed by Jesus after suffering from “a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years”, who was “bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight” (13:10–17).

Only Luke specifically notes that in the early period of Jesus’ public activity, women travelled around with the group of male disciples of Jesus (8:1–3). That might be assumed from the comment made, after the death of Jesus, at Mark 15:41, but Luke places this fact in the spotlight much earlier in his Gospel narrative.

And only Luke tells the story which we hear this coming Sunday; the story of Mary and Martha, sisters who gave Jesus hospitality, and of Jesus’ commendation of Mary for her desire to learn from Jesus (10:38–42). It is a striking account of an important claim: that women, equally with men, are able to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from him.

*****

See also

https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/12/mary-and-martha-models-of-women-following-and-learning-from-jesus-luke-10-pentecost-6c/
https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/17/there-is-need-of-only-one-thing-or-maybe-two-luke-10-pentecost-6c/
https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/14/where-have-all-the-women-gone-women-in-the-movement-initiated-by-jesus-luke-10-pentecost-6c/
Author John T SquiresPosted on July 12, 2022July 17, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags scripture; theology; Luke; Acts; womenLeave a comment on Mary and Martha: models of women following and learning from Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

Imagine! A Samaritan helping a Jew! (a dialogue from the first century)

Imagine! A Samaritan helping a Jew! (a dialogue from the first century)

A dialogue from the first century, presented at Tuggeranong Uniting Church on Sunday 10 July 2022, by the Rev. Elizabeth Raine and the Rev. Dr John Squires. The characters are Boaz and his neighbour, Abigail.

*****

Ah, Abigail. I have been looking for you. I wanted to get your opinion of the story that was told by Jeshua yesterday. Imagine! A Samaritan helping a Jew! Unheard of! Impossible! What was Jeshua thinking?

I thought it was a good story. It showed that God’s love should be extended to all people by all people. Don’t you think that by using the character of the Samaritan Jeshua made the point well?

Well, yes, I understand the broad principle. But a Samaritan helping a Jew? I haven’t forgotten the time when the Samaritans scattered bones of dead people in the Temple precincts and defiled it. To say nothing of their wholesale rejection of Jerusalem and our priests.

But isn’t that part of Jeshua’s point? This is a story to push the boundaries. This is a story about radical love. This story is not just about etiquette for travelers. It is not even just about compassion, and generosity. This story demands that we embrace opportunities to practice love for others in powerful and new ways.

Whoa, there, Abigail. You are getting carried away. Let us talk about this story a little bit more. I want to start at the beginning. You know, of course, that one of the scribes challenged Jeshua about his knowledge of the law. I thought it was a good question, aimed at seeing whether the disciples were operating within the law when they went on their mission. “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Well, I thought the question came from nowhere. I thought the scribe was testing Jeshua. I thought the scribe was trying to embarrass Jeshua in front of the crowd, and trying to make himself look good.

Of course the scribe was trying to make himself look more learned. That is the whole point of these debates, Abigail. You women do not understand these things. This was a normal debate between men, a verbal banter with Jeshua about interpretation and understanding of Torah. The scribe did this because he respected Jesus. This is a common social exchange in which one learned person challenges the actions or words of another. The scribe was not “testing” Jeshua in a right and wrong sense. This was a challenge about honour, to see whether Jeshua could back up his beliefs.

You can see this from the way that Jeshua responds to the scribe’s question with two questions of his own: “What does the law say? What do you read there?” The scribe would have been well versed in the law and would know the answer to the question he poses to Jeshua. He would also have known the answer to the question of the law Jeshua asks of him. This is how these things work.

I think I understand. You are saying that is why the scribe replied with an answer based on the law (Deut. 6:4–5; Luke 19:18), and why Jeshua commends him.

Yes. The scribe then keeps the debate going with the next question: “And who is my neighbour (v.29)?” This is a good question. The Torah states clearly who is a neighbor and how that neighbour should be treated. The scribe is waiting for Jeshua to give a response that is consistent with the teaching of the law.

Ah, But he doesn’t does, he? I thought Jeshua’s response was very unexpected. He tells a story. I think this appreciated by the crowd. Not everyone understands these learned debates about Torah. Jeshua set his teaching in a place that is familiar, though a place that is a bit uncomfortable – on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem.

You are right about the uncomfortable bit. That road is notorious for bandits and thieves. I thought it strange that Jeshua had all his characters alone on this road. Sensible people travel this route in groups for protection. I can tell you, the thought of being alone on this road made me feel very uncomfortable, even a tad afraid.

Yes, I felt the same way. A lone man going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho is asking for trouble. It was no surprise to hear that he was stripped beaten, and left half dead. And imagine how difficult it would be to help him. He has been stripped of his clothes, and everything that would identify him and his social class and his religion. You wouldn’t be able to tell whether he was Jew or Gentile, or Roman or Greek.

The next part of the story reminded me of those jokes you hear. A priest, a Levite and an Israelite come walking by … you know the ones I mean.

Ah, but that was the twist. You know, beginning with a priest made me feel a bit awkward. You know how high and mighty they can appear. And they are in cahoots with the Romans. Not surprised a priest wouldn’t stop.

Or a Levite. They are just as snobbish. Think they are better because they are descended from an ancient lineage. I am descended from equally ancient people, so I don’t see why they believe they are closer to God than me.

Yes indeed. But it is the next bit that is surprising. You mentioned those stories that start with a priest, a Levite and an Israelite. That is the twist. We expected Jeshua to make an Israelite the hero of the story.

Well, that’s right. The hero is meant to be one of our kind, a regular down-to-earth type like you and me, the one you are expecting to come to the rescue of the poor, wounded man. But no! Jeshua goes and gets it mixed up. It’s not one of our own kind who saves the day – it’s an enemy, a Samaritan, an outsider. Samaritans don’t worship like us, they don’t act like us, they don’t live where we live, and there’s no way one of them should have been the hero.

I bet your stomach was churning by then, Boaz! But really, why should you be so offended?

You seem to have forgotten how Jeshua himself was treated by the Samaritans. Remember when a Samaritan village refused to welcome him? This was very poor form, you know how much hospitality means to travellers.

Well, the priest and the Levite weren’t much use, were they?

My friend Zedekiah says that the priest and Levite couldn’t stop because they risked making themselves unclean on behalf of a stranger. Or maybe they were afraid they would become victims themselves if they stopped. I suppose we should remember that the priest and Levite are both descendants of the tribe of Levi with different sets of duties in the temple, and they are bound to obey the Law. They could have been in violation of the Law as written in Leviticus (Lev. 21:11) if they touched a body by the road.

I think you are asking the wrong question here. Jeshua did not mean us to start inventing excuses as to why the priest and Levite didn’t stop. I think that Jeshua wants us to consider why he picked a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan. What were they symbolizing, do you think?

Mmmm, let me think. The wounded man, though unidentified, is a Jew. The Priest and Levite are also Jews. The debate with the scribe is about interpreting Jewish law governing ‘neighbour’. Are you suggesting that the Priest and the Levite somehow represent the law?

Well, one would expect them to know the law. And the law says ‘Love you neighbour as yourself’. They would know that. They were not obeying this law by walking past, and let’s face it, they could easily purify themselves once they got back to the Temple and Jerusalem. No, Jeshua is asking a deeper question here. To really drive home his point, Jeshua then sticks the most unlikely hero into the story, the one most likely to make us feel uncomfortable.

I am sorry, but the hostility between our races is well founded. We do not worship in the same place. We have different versions of the Torah. The Samaritans married foreign women. And the list goes on.

You forget that we are all descendants of the same ancestors. Why should we allow what are really small things to become a great wall that divides us?

The Torah speaks of loving of God and loving neighbour, and surely it is clear that the neighbour being understood is a Jew.

This comes back to my original point. This is a story to push the boundaries. This is a story about radical love. It challenges us to think differently. The Samaritan, the one who is hated and despised by Jews, becomes the hero of the story. Surely this must bring a new dimension to understanding what we mean by ‘neighbour’?

I think I begin to see your point. The scribe’s question: “Who is my neighbour?” has a different answer from what we are expecting.

Yes. Jesus does not answer the question directly for this reason. The parable poses a new question, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

Of course. The Samaritan is the one who tends the injured man. Jeshua is saying that acting as a neighbour is what is important. Neighbour is not a group, or a religion, or a race. It is about doing the right thing.

I cannot help thinking, Boaz, that Jeshua wants us to act in this way ourselves, not just with very injured people, but with others in need. Surely he is asking us who are those fallen by the way in our communities and the ones who need our help? I am ashamed to admit that like the Priest and the Levite, I see situations where I could help and walk away because I have other things to do or I don’t want to get involved.

So to truly follow the law is to embrace everyone as neighbour. So you think that for the scribe, God is the God of Israel, and neighbours are Jewish neighbors. But for Jeshua, Israel’s God is the God for the whole world and a neighbour is anybody in need.

Yes, but it is more than that. Jeshua is not just saying ‘help those in need’ but also don’t judge others who you don’t agree with – like the Samaritan.

It seems to me that a lot of hatred in our country is religiously based and rooted in historical things like wars and other arguments. No doubt Samaritans are taught to hate the Jews in the same way Jews are taught to hate them.

And remember that the Samaritan in the story is in our territory, and the robbers might still be hanging around, waiting for their next victim. But he doesn’t let the Law, or fear, or the knowledge that he is hated keep him from providing care and compassion. He doesn’t even know if will be paid back, yet he still does this amazing act of kindness. Surely this is the sort of kindness and faith that Jesus is all about?

*****

(at this point we lose contact with the dialogue, and return to the 21st century)

This story prompts us to be more open to opportunities to be neighbour. We need to look for places where we can engage with those who need our help, and not just with those who are like us.

Can compassion move us in a way that defies traditional stereotypical understandings of people and embraces all as equals, as neighbours, as residents of a global community?

Jesus challenges the lawyer to go out and do likewise, to be such a neighbour. Are we willing to do the same?

*****

See also

https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/05/the-good-samaritan-a-parable-luke-10-pentecost-5c/
https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/06/the-good-samaritan-a-story-told-in-samaria-luke-10-pentecost-5c/
https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/07/the-good-samaritan-what-about-the-priest-and-the-levite-luke-10-pentecost-5c/
Author John T SquiresPosted on July 10, 2022July 10, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags compassion, Luke, Samaritan, scripture; theology;Leave a comment on Imagine! A Samaritan helping a Jew! (a dialogue from the first century)

The Good Samaritan: what about the Priest and the Levite? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

The Good Samaritan: what about the Priest and the Levite? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

In this third post on the story of “the Good Samaritan” (the story set as the Gospel passage for this coming Sunday), we give consideration to the portrayal, in the story, of the Priest and the Levite. Were they acting in an uncharitable manner? Or were they simply adhering to the provisions of the Torah, which governed their lives?

A common interpretation of the lack of assistance provided by the Priest and the Levite, in contrast to the Samaritan, rests on the commandment of Lev 21:1–4, at the start of a long section relating to the ways that “the priests, the sons of Aaron” should ensure they remain holy (Lev 21–24). The first commandment relating to this priestly holiness is, “no one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives, except for his nearest kin” (Lev 21:1).

These commandments are given to ensure the holiness of the priests as they minister within the Temple, in the area just outside the Holy of Holies itself (see Lev 21:21–23). However, the Priest and the Levite are both heading away from Jerusalem (“going down from Jerusalem to Jericho”, Luke 10:30), so they are not required to keep holy in order to conduct the ceremony. Furthermore, the commandments of Lev 21 do not actually apply to the Levites, only to the Priests.

Indeed, Josephus (writing at the end of the first century) notes that there is a command, relating to a person who has been convicted of a crime and left to hang on a tree, that “his corpse must not remain all night upon the tree; you shall bury him that same day” (Deut 21:22–23). He indicates that all Jews should obey “those things which our legislator ordained for us beforehand, which of necessity we ought to do in common to all men; as to afford fire, and water, and food to such as want it; to show them the roads; not to let any one lie unburied” (Against Apion 2.211).

So neither Priest nor Levite are excused from attending to the traveller, even on the presumption that he may have appeared dead to them as they passed by. Indeed, the expectation of normal human compassion is for the travellers to stop and render assistance. The Samaritan was a neighbour, to whom compassion and love (and practical assistance) ought to be offered. They are not excused by obedience to Torah; they are condemned by their hard hearted indifference.

The three characters in the story may well indicate that Jesus is riffing off a well-known threefold categorisation of the people of Israel: there are Priests, and Levites, and Israelites. (In the same way that we have the threefold categorisation, often told in jokes, “an Englishman, and Irishman, and a Scotsman walked into a pub …”)

The Priests all descended, it was claimed, from Aaron, the brother of Moses, regularly designated a priest (Exod 31:10; Lev 1:7; Num 3:6; Deut 10:6; Ezra 7:5; Neh 10:38; and see the note that Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah, was “a descendant of Aaron”, Luke 1:5–which puts John the Baptist into a priestly line.) The Levites, as their name suggests, traces their lineage back to Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah (Gen 35:23; 1 Chron 2:1; Ezra 8:18), and thus Levi gave his name to one of the twelve tribes of Israel (Deut 27:12–13)

The Levites were “set apart … to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (Deut 10:18) and thus had no inheritance (Josh 13:14, 33), were not counted in the census of Moses (Num 1:49) and received “no allotment or inheritance within Israel” (Deut 18:1; Josh 13:14). They were to be devoted to assisting the priests (Num 3:6), 53: 3:7–9), to be responsible for “the tabernacle of the covenant, and over all its equipment, and over all that belongs to it” (Num 1:49–50). Whilst all the other tribes were allocated land (Judges 13–19), the Levites were given the cities of refuge to care for those fleeing acts of retributive justice (Num 35:9–34; Deut 19:1–13; Josh 20:1–52).

The Israelites were all others, descended from the other sons of Jacob (the early stages of these genealogical tables are given at Gen 46:8–27).

So those listening to this story (presuming the disciples, present at 10:23, are still nearby) are expecting the typical pattern: first a Priest, then a Levite, then (of course) an Israelite. Instead, Jesus punctures these traditional expectations and moves from the Priest and the Levite, to the Samaritan (v.33). This is the first punchline in the story.

Amy-Jill Levine and Ben Witherington, in their recent New Cambridge Bible Commentary on this Gospel (CUP, 2018) , suggest that the story that Jesus told may have been influenced by the incident reported in 2 Chronicles 28, when the armies of Adam and Israel conquered the people of Judah, and “intend[ed] to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves” (2 Chron 28:10). A prophet named Oded spoke in the name of the Lord, commanding the victors “you shall not bring the captives in here” (2 Chron 28:13).

As a result, “they got up and took the captives, and with the booty they clothed all that were naked among them; they clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them; and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kindred at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.” (2 Chron 28:15).

We can hear the echoes of this story reverberating in the story of the traveller and his Samaritan rescuer: bandaging and anointing the man, putting him “on his own animal”, and leading him to an inn (on the road to Jericho? or actually in Jericho??).

Go, and do likewise, indeed!

*****

See also

https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/05/the-good-samaritan-a-parable-luke-10-pentecost-5c/
https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/06/the-good-samaritan-a-story-told-in-samaria-luke-10-pentecost-5c/
Author John T SquiresPosted on July 7, 2022July 7, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags scripture; theology; Luke; Samaritan; compassion; justiceLeave a comment on The Good Samaritan: what about the Priest and the Levite? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

The Good Samaritan: a story told in Samaria? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

The Good Samaritan: a story told in Samaria? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

In this second post on the story of “the Good Samaritan” (the story set as the Gospel passage for this coming Sunday), we give consideration to where this story takes place—and whether than matters for how we hear and understand the story. Was Jesus telling this story in Galilee? Or in Jerusalem? Or somewhere else? And how might this matter?

For the first post, see https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/05/the-good-samaritan-a-parable-luke-10-pentecost-5c/

Much of the activities of Jesus take place in Galilee, in both Mark’s earliest account (Mark 1–9), and in Matthew’s later reworking of his narrative (Matt 4–18). Those activities, in Luke’s orderly account, are compressed into a much shorter narrative (Luke 4–9). At a crucial turning point, Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51). Galilee was behind him; Jerusalem was before him.

However, to get from Galilee in the north to Judea in the south, it was necessary to pass through Samaria. Matthew, following Mark, skips over this essential component of this trip; Jesus leaves Galilee and arrives in “the region of Judea beyond the Jordan” in the space of just one verse (Matt 19:1, following Mark 10:1a). For the Matthean Jesus, who insisted that he had nothing to do with Samaritans (Matt 10:5), the avoidance of any comment about this geographical necessity in this Gospel is quite understandable.

Not so for Luke. Jesus quite explicitly travels through the region of Samaria, as we have noted in exploring previous sections of this Gospel. He journeys in Samaria in 9:52–56. He is “on the way” to Jerusalem (10:38; 13:22, 31–35), but is apparently still in Samaria many chapters later. Curiously, Luke reports that, after a full seven and a half chapters, Jesus was still “going through the region between Samaria and Galilee” (17:11). He heals ten lepers and sends them to the priests to be “made clean” (17:14); and the one who returned to thank Jesus was a Samaritan (17:16).

We should note that when Luke tells of the meal that Jesus and with Martha and Mary (10:38–42), we might well expect that he was in Bethany, far to the south, near to Jerusalem—for this is where John locates the sisters (John 11:1; 12:1–2). However, Luke simply says that this meal was in “a certain village” (10:38), and it is clear that Jerusalem is still some way in the distance (13:33–35).

We know from other sources that there was entrenched, longterm distrust, even hatred, between the Jews and the Samaritans. John reflects this in his account of Jesus’s encounter with a Samaritan woman by the well of Jacob (“Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans”, John 4:9).

The Samaritans were regarded as being the descendants of the people who committed idolatry after the Assyrians had conquered the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17:5–6) and resettled the northern region with people from other locations in their empire (2 Kings 17:24), from “every nation [who] still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived” (2 Kings 17:29).

Flavius Josephus, a late 1st century CE historian, retells the sequence of events we read in 2 Kings, indicating that the Samaritans descended from this hybrid, unfaithful group of people (Antiquities 11.297–347). He also recounts an incident which entrenched the antagonism of southern Judeans towards the northern Samaritans (Antiquities 11.297–347).

The Samaritans attempted to undermine the returning exiled Judeans with their Persian rulers and slowed the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple (Ezra 4:6–24). Josephus notes disagreement about which site should be the location for the temple (Josephus, Antiquities 12.9-10); the same issue is reflected at John 4:20-22.

Samaritans had built a temple on Mount Gerizim, one of the ancient holy sites in the northern kingdom (Deut 27:12; Josh 8:33–34; Judg 9:7). That temple was destroyed in 107BCE, when John Hyrcanus destroyed the temple and the capital city of Samaria.

Archaeological remains on Mount Gerizim

See https://johntsquires.com/2020/11/02/the-samaritans/

Josephus recounts a later time when some Samaritans scattered bones of dead people in the in portico of the Jerusalem Temple, thus rendering it unclean (Antiquities 18.29-30), and he gives a graphic description of the time when Cumanus (governor of Judea 48-52 CE) was bribed by some Samaritans, leading some Judean brigands to mount an uprising. Cumanus ordered the Romans to join with the Samaritans in battling the Judeans; many were killed, many more taken captive (Antiquities 20.118-123).

References to the Samaritans in the 3rd century CE Mishnah may reflect views current at the time of Jesus: “Rabbi Eliezer used to say, ‘He that eats of the bread of Samaritans is as one who eats the flesh of swine’” (m. Seb. 8.10); “the daughters of Cutheans [Samaritans] are menstruants from their cradle” (m. Nid. 4.1).

The Lukan Jesus takes a clear stance on the Samaritans; he is deliberate in his acceptance of those most hated of outsiders, the Samaritans. He stops his disciples from bringing harm on the Samaritans (9:52–56); he uses a Samaritan as an example of neighbourliness (10:29–37); and he commends a Samaritan leper for his faith after he had offered thanks to Jesus for being healed (17:15–19).

The Samaritan motif continues into the story of the early faith communities; it was the people of Samaria who first accepted the Gospel when it was preached outside of Judea (Acts 8:5–25). Indeed, Samaria figures in the programmatic statement that Jesus makes when he appears, resurrected, to his followers, and instructs them, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

These Samaritans bear witness to the ways that Jesus and the earliest followers of Jesus would welcome outcasts into their midst. The community of the faithful would reflect diversity in this way, that both respectable and disreputable would be given a place.

That Jesus was, according to Luke’s erratic geography during the journey narrative of chapters 9–19, still in Samaria when he tells a story about who is “a good neighbour”, is telling. That it is a Samaritan who is that good neighbour, adds power to the story he tells. In this story, no Jew exhibits the behaviour that the Torah mandates, of loving your neighbour; it is a Samaritan who lives this way. The power of the story is intensified by where it is being told.

*****

See also

https://johntsquires.com/2022/07/05/the-good-samaritan-a-parable-luke-10-pentecost-5c/
The Good Samaritan: what about the Priest and the Levite? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)
Author John T SquiresPosted on July 6, 2022July 7, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags love, Luke, parables, scripture, theology2 Comments on The Good Samaritan: a story told in Samaria? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

The Good Samaritan: a parable? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

The Good Samaritan: a parable? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

I think that most people know about the story of the man who was “going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers” (Luke 10:30). The story that Jesus tells probably rates as one of the two most widely-known “parables” of Jesus. Alongside the “parable of the prodigal son” (Luke 15:11–32), the “parable of the Good Samaritan” (10:30–37) must have a similar recognition level.

As we hear this story read in worship this coming Sunday, what is there that is new, or not much known, to be said about this story? I’m going to canvass three different aspects of the story, over three consecutive posts.

First, I want to propose that we consider the nature of this story—and we might reconsider whether this story was actually a “parable”. A parable is a story which puts one thing alongside another; in Hebrew, it was called a mashal, meaning “comparison”, whilst the Greek word, parable, literally means “thrown side-by-side”.

The classic parable in the Gospels begins, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed …” (Mark 4:30–31), or “it is like yeast that a woman took …” (Luke 13:21), or “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field …” (Matt 13:44), or “the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard …” (Matt 20:1).

Most parables told by Jesus begin this way. But not the story of the man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho; Jesus simply starts into the story in response to a question from a lawyer, “who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). And the story of the prodigal younger son, and gracious father, and resentful elder son, simply begins, “there was a man who had two sons …” (Luke 15:11).

In this regard, these stories (found only in Luke’s Gospel) are much like the classic mashalim (comparisons) found in the Hebrew Scriptures, which simply launch into things: “there were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor; the rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb …”(2 Sam 12:1–3), or “let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard … “ (Isa 5:1).

The comparison is revealed at the end of the story: “you are the man”, says Nathan to David (2 Sam 12:7), “the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting” (Isa 5:7); and in the case of the story told by Jesus, a closing question, posed to the lawyer: “of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” (Luke 10:36). In this case, the lawyer draws the comparison intended (“the one who showed him mercy”), to which Jesus then concludes, “go and do likewise” (10:37).

So is this parable a parable? Yes, in the terms of the Hebrew Scripture, it is. But it is not explicitly a parable about what “the kingdom of God is like”. It is, rather, a story which instructs on how to live as a “good neighbour” to others in this world, in this time. The punchline (10:37) is instruction about living a just and righteous life.

As a story with a clear ethical punchline, it sits alongside of many of the explicit teachings of Jesus, indicating how we are to live in this life: “love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return” (6:35); “if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (9:23); “sell your possessions, and give alms” (12:33); “when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” (14:13); “none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (14:33); “you cannot serve God and wealth” (16:33); “give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (20:25); and so on.

The story is told after a discussion between Jesus and a scribe (an interpreter of the Law), about the question raised by the scribe: “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (10:25). In the discussion, conducted in typical rabbinic style (a question posed, answered with another question, leading to yet another question …).

The scribe cites two commandments, from Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18–commandments which, in Mark 12 and Matt 22, Jesus declares to be “the two greatest commandments”. For my technical discussion of the words used in the citation of Deut 6:5, see https://johntsquires.com/2021/10/26/love-with-all-that-you-are-heart-and-soul-completely-and-entirely-deut-6-in-mark-12-pentecost-23b/

*****

See also

The Good Samaritan: a story told in Samaria? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)
The Good Samaritan: what about the Priest and the Levite? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)
Author John T SquiresPosted on July 5, 2022July 7, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags love, Luke, parables, scripture, theologyLeave a comment on The Good Samaritan: a parable? (Luke 10; Pentecost 5C)

On Jesus, love of enemy, love of the poor, and forgiveness

On Jesus, love of enemy, love of the poor, and forgiveness

There is a post doing the rounds of Facebook at the moment that makes the claim that Jesus uttered “dangerous and heretical ideas”, “impossible, dangerous ideas—to love your enemy, to love the poor, to forgive others” which were “terrifying and unconscionable and forbidden in His day.”

It may be a fair assessment of the radical nature of the teachings of Jesus; taking his teachings seriously is indeed “terrifying”. But were his instructions “unconscionable and forbidden in his day”? Not at all! Such a fraudulent claim is built on the back of a completely erroneous portrayal of Jewish teachings, both in the time of Jesus, and in the centuries prior to his time. Hebrew Scripture, in particular, provides many passages that refute this hyperbolic claim.

On love of enemies, there are proverbs that are relevant: “If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink” (Prov 25:21); and “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble” (Prov 24:17). That’s love for enemies, surely?

There are injunctions in the Torah that are pertinent. “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free” (Exod 23:4–5); and “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Lev 19:33–34). Both passages instruct behaviour that exemplifies love in action: one for an enemy, the other for an alien (a foreigner).

There is the story told concerning Elisha, at a time “when the king of Aram was at war with Israel” (2 Kings 6:1). Elisha had asked God to strike the army of Aram blind, and God did so; Elisha then led them into a trap in Samaria, after which they were given back their sight. The story continues: “When the king of Israel saw them he said to Elisha, “Father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” He answered, “No! Did you capture with your sword and your bow those whom you want to kill? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink; and let them go to their master.” So he prepared for them a great feast; after they ate and drank, he sent them on their way, and they went to their master. And the Arameans no longer came raiding into the land of Israel.” (2 Kings 6:21–23). Elisha turned enemies into friends through this command to show love.

In relation to loving the poor, Hebrew Scripture is clear: “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbour. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be” (Deut 15:7–8).

“Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land’” (Deut 15:10–11).

“You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the LORD against you, and you would incur guilt” (Deut 24:14–15).

Especially potent is the song found in the third, and latest, section of the book of Isaiah, where the prophet reports that God says: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” (Isa 58:6–8). That is crystal clear about the need to love the poor!

And there is a succinct proverb that informs us: “Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honour him” (Prov 14:31).

As for forgiveness, there is a constant refrain in Hebrew Scripture that God is a God who forgives; “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exod 34:6; this refrain also appears at Num 14:18; Neh 9:17b; Ps 145:8–9; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; as well as 2 Kings 13:23; 2 Chron 30:9).

Alongside the many instances where God’s judgement is spoken of, there are also many references to the steadfast love and forgiving nature of God. The God of the Old Testament is not just a God of wrath; the Lord God requires justice, and will punish transgressors, but also offers an abundance of gracious, loving forgiveness.

The psalmist affirms that “there is forgiveness with you” (Ps 130:4), that “when deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions” (Ps 65:3). The prophet Hosea declares that God says, “I will heal their disloyalty;

I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them” (Hos 14:4). The prophet Jeremiah asserts that God promises that in the renewal of the covenant, “I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more” (Jer 31:34); while the prophet Ezekiel declares that God promises to “establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord … when I forgive you all that you have done” (Ezek 16:62–63). Finally, the prophet Daniel declares that “to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness” (Dan 9:9).

This divine forgiveness is lived out in the story of human beings in various ways; take Abigail and David, for instance. Abigail asks David, “please forgive the trespass of your servant”; David replies, “Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition” (1 Sam 25:28, 35). Forgiveness, both divine and human, is clearly not unknown and unpractised in Israel.

My own view is that Jesus was standing firmly and resolutely in the prophetic tradition of Israel; they were the counter-cultural voices of their day, and Jesus adopts and re-speaks their damning words and challenging ethos to the people of his own time. See https://johntsquires.com/2021/08/16/justice-and-only-justice-you-shall-follow/

Certainly Jesus is confronting and challenging; but let’s not pile on negatively to his predecessors and to the religion of the Israelite prophets, which nurtured the ground for the development of rabbinic Judaism as well as the Jesus movement and then, over time, grew into the Christian church. We Christians are inheritors of the fullness of Israelite—Jewish traditions, mediated through Jesus, and we should rejoice in the richness of this heritage.

*****

I have blogged before about ensuring that we don’t fall into antisemitic stereotypes when talking about the Pharisees; see

https://johntsquires.com/2019/10/21/in-defence-of-the-pharisees-on-humility-and-righteousness-luke-18/

and

https://johntsquires.com/2021/08/10/this-is-a-hard-saying-who-can-listen-to-it-john-6-pentecost-9b-13b/
Author John T SquiresPosted on June 30, 2022June 30, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeLeave a comment on On Jesus, love of enemy, love of the poor, and forgiveness

Sent out in Samaria, proclaiming the kingdom (Luke 10; Pentecost 4C)

Sent out in Samaria, proclaiming the kingdom (Luke 10; Pentecost 4C)

“I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves … carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road … cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:3, 4, 9). So Jesus instructs a group of his followers, preparing them to replicate the mission that he himself has commenced in the region of Galilee. It’s part of the passage that is offered by the lectionary for this coming Sunday.

Bearing witness in Samaria

It is important to note that this group of seventy disciples is sent out while the group is, presumably, in the region of Samaria. The earlier sending out on mission, of the twelve (9:1–6), was located in Galilee. The activity of Jesus, to this point, has been amongst his own people: in Galilee (4:14, 31; 5:17), in Nazareth (4:16 and presumably in 8:19–21), in Capernaum (4:31; 7:1), in Nain (7:11), and in synagogues in various towns (4:15, 33; 6:6; Galilee is inferred in 8:1; and the textual variant of 4:44, Galilee, is surely to be preferred). After a short sojourn across to the other side of the lake (8:22–40), Jesus returns to Galilee; soon after this mission of the twelve, he is in Bethsaida (9:10).

Just a little later, still in Galilee, Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51), and thus he and his followers move south, into the region of Samaria (9:52–55). After some interactions relating to discipleship “follow me/you”, 9:57, 59, 61), Jesus sends out the seventy (10:1). So Samaria is the location for the mission of the seventy. And Samaria is the region where many hear the good news and respond in faith.

There is some debate as to whether there were seventy, or seventy-two, followers sent out by Jesus. Seventy represents the purported number of nations—as listed in Gen 10—or the number of Israelites who travelled to Egypt with Joseph (Gen 46:27)—or the number of elders appointed by Moses (Num 11:16)—but is found in only a small number of older manuscripts. There is a list of the names of the 70 disciples, drawn from later church traditions, at https://www.christian-pilgrimage-journeys.com/biblical-sources/christian-history/the-seventy-disciples/)

Seventy-two, found in most of the older manuscripts, is sometimes seen to correlate with the 72 scholars who translated the Septuagint, as the Letter to Aristeas reports: “In the presence of all the people I selected six elders from each tribe, good men and true, and I have sent them to you with a copy of our law. It will be a kindness, O righteous king, if you will give instruction that as soon as the translation of the law is completed, the men shall be restored again to us in safety. Farewell.” (Letter to Aristeas 46; the names of the 72 translators follow in Aristeas 47–50).

These seventy followers were to engage with people in the villages where they were, sharing a message of peace and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom (Luke 10:1-20). This is a critical moment in the development of the movement which was clustering around Jesus. And it is set in Samaria—not in Galilee, not in Judea, but in Samaria! In response to the call of the disciples to “call down fire from heaven” on some Samaritans, Jesus instructs his followers to move around the region, proclaiming the good news of the coming kingdom.

From learners to leaders

Throughout his “orderly account”, Luke portrays the inner circle of Jesus’ followers as disciples, committed to the task of learning from Jesus. They provide role models for those in a later generation who listen to the story which Luke has written in his Gospel and strive to be faithful followers of the way of Jesus in their own times. So the stories from long ago are not simply historical reminiscences; they are narratives which provide stimulus and encouragement for us, in the 21st century, as we seek to be faithful followers of Jesus.

Luke reports how, early in the ministry of Jesus, as growing numbers of people show interest in him (4:15, 36, 42; 5:1, 15), Jesus calls three fishermen to form the core group of his followers (5:1–11). Simon Peter is singled out at this point, but his business partners, James and John, are recruited with him to move from catching fish to “catching people”. The tax collector Levi then responds to Jesus’ challenge to “follow me” by leaving everything (5:27–28); these first four named followers thus stand as a pattern for how people were to respond to Jesus (as 14:26 reinforces).

Soon after these early recruitments, Luke reports the gathering of a group of twelve disciples, whom he names and designates “apostles” in recognition of their role in representing his message to those whom they encounter (6:12–16). This is the group that we often have in mind when we talk about “the disciples of Jesus”; but, as we shall see, Luke actually has many more in mind beyond this inner group.

Immediately after this scene, Luke reports at more length the teachings which Jesus directs towards his disciples: “love your enemies…be merciful…do not judge…hear my words, act on them” (6:20–49). The role of the disciples as learners is firmly established; these words are to be programmatic for all that they undertake. So their first task is to listen, and learner. Disciples are learners. (In fact, the Greek word translated as “disciple” actually comes from the root verb which means “to learn”!)

The narrative continues, and as the disciples travel with Jesus, they continue to learn—they witness how Jesus preaches, teaches, heals and exorcises (7:11, 22; 8:1, 9, 22, 45). After a period of such learning in the company of Jesus, this inner group is then commissioned to replicate these activities for themselves, going out in pairs to “proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal” (9:1–6). The twelve will later be promised a key role at the ultimate judgment of Israel (22:28–30). This inner circle thus transitions: from learners, to leaders.

Sent out to bear witness

An account of the sending out the twelve to bear witness to the kingdom is found in the source used by Luke, the beginnings of the good news (Mark 6:7–13), as well in the book of origins (Matt 10:5–25). Luke intensifies the importance of this missionary activity by reporting that, after sending out the twelve, Jesus then sends out a larger group of his followers, to do likewise. There were seventy such disciples (or in some versions, seventy–two) for the role that will later consume their lives: “cure the sick and say to them, ‘the kingdom of God has come near’” (10:1–12; cf. 9:2).

The rigour with which the seventy are sent out reflects the rigour required of the twelve before them: “no purse, no bag, no sandals”, intent on filling their purpose, instructed to “greet no on on the road” until arriving at the house of destination (10:4–5). The twelve were instructed to “take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic” (9:3).

One part of the instruction, to “greet no one on the road” (10:4) evokes the instructions of Elisha to Gehazi, “if you meet anyone, give no greeting” (2 Kings 4:29); another instruction, to say “peace to this house” (10:5) evokes the directions of David to ten young men to salute Nabal, “peace be to you, and peace be to your house” (2 Sam 25:5–6).

The overall portrayal of those sent out in both scenes, the twelve and the 70 (or 72), is reminiscent of the way that Cynic philosophers roamed the countryside, touting their philosophical teachings; see https://johntsquires.com/2021/06/29/just-sandals-and-a-staff-and-only-one-tunic-mark-6-pentecost-6b/

On the comments relating to the moments when “you enter a town and they do not welcome you”, when Jesus instructs them to “go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you’”, see https://johntsquires.com/2021/06/30/shake-the-dust-off-your-feet-mark-6-pentecost-6b/

Alongside these moments of non-receptivity to the message, there are times when the message is accepted and believed. It is indeed striking that the success of these seventy, reported with great joy (10:17), occurs amongst the Samaritans. As we have seen, the Samaritans were difficult customers; James and John had actually wanted Jesus to invoke the wrath of God and consume them (9:54). Jesus, by contrast, refuses to do this (9:55) and charges the seventy to preach a message peace to the Samaritans (10:5) and to declare the good news, that God’s kingdom is right there, in midst of them (10:9,11; cf. 9:2). See https://johntsquires.com/2022/06/20/through-samaria-heading-to-jerusalem-luke-9-pentecost-3c/

The prayer of thanks that Jesus offers (10:21–22) and the blessing that he bestows upon his disciples (10:23–24) recognises this startling fact: Samaritans have responded positively to the good news proclaimed by the followers of Jesus! (This is similar to the successful witnessing to the significance of Jesus that is reported in the book of signs, at John 4:39–42, after Jesus had engaged with a Samaritan woman beside Jacob’s well, at Sychar, 4:4–6.)

“The disciples” in Luke’s account is a broad, inclusive group of followers—including Samaritans! Time spent with Jesus involves not just learning from him—although this is the bedrock of the relationship—but also putting his ethic into practice. So the seventy, having spent time with Jesus learning, are now challenged to exercise leadership within the Jesus movement.

(As Paul writes in the letter to the Galatians, also set in this week’s lectionary: “Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher”, Gal 6:6.)

The seventy have been charged with moving on, from being learners, listening in the crowd as Jesus teaches and tells parables, to become leaders, undertaking activities for which they need initiative, resolve, and capacity. And such leadership means addressing the challenges of the context and plunging into the difficult situations with the message and actions of hope. Samaria was not an easy gig!!

Teachings to deepen discipleship and strengthen leadership

The inner group of twelve is thus not depicted as being isolated from, or elevated above, the others who travel with Jesus in Galilee and on into Samaria. They form a kind of model for the seventy, and, by extension, later disciples—right up to the 21st century. We are all called to move from being learners, to become leaders.

Thus, in the following chapters, the teachings of Jesus are explicitly addressed to disciples on matters such as prayer (11:1–4), integrity (12:1–2), the appropriate lifestyle to lead (12:22–34), fidelity to God (16:1–13), forgiveness and preparedness (17:1–10, 22–37) and the nature of the kingdom (18:15–17). In keeping with his focus on those who are poor (4:18; 6:20; 7:22), the challenge to “give to the poor” is a motif which runs consistently through the words of Jesus (12:21, 33; 14:13, 21; 16:19–31; 18:22; cf. 19:8).

All of these teachings were important for the first followers of Jesus. They deepen their discipleship, expand their understanding, and strengthen their leadership skills. All of these teachings apply to our discipleship, as well, and help to us make the move from learners, to leaders.

Strategically, these teachings also include Jesus’ revelation of his own fate (9:43b–44; 18:31–33) and the high cost of discipleship (14:25–35). Jesus emphasizes the distinctive nature of leadership in his movement (20:45–47; 22:24–30). “Deny yourself” and “be like one who serves” provide central motifs for Jesus’ instructions to those who will continue his enterprise after his passion. The twelve and the seventy, who first heard these words of Jesus, thus function as role models for the way that leaders are to operate after the lifetime of Jesus, as we in turn listen to these teachings.

The second volume of Luke’s work shows a range of figures who have learned from Jesus (or his disciples) and are reported as putting into practice the charge which Jesus gave to his disciples, to “proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal”. The followers of Jesus throughout Acts are offering leadership: proclaiming the good news, undertaking acts of mercy and charity, standing up for justice, and other ways of being faithful to the way of Jesus.

Overall, the lines of continuity can be clearly traced from the example of Jesus through the activities of the leaders of the movement. The learners were diligent, and became effective and faithful leaders. May that be the pathway that we each walk, also, in our lives, as faithful followers of Jesus—learners, who now exercise leadership.

*****

The cover images come from The Seventy-two Disciples (Unknown artist, Provenance Ethiopia, Dated about 1480 – 1520; Tempera on parchment).

Based on excerpts from a 64-page study booklet, From Learners to Leaders: an exploration of the Gospel for Year C, by John Squires and Elizabeth Raine (self-published, 2014)

Author John T SquiresPosted on June 28, 2022June 28, 2022Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags scripture; theology; Luke; mission; discipleshipLeave a comment on Sent out in Samaria, proclaiming the kingdom (Luke 10; Pentecost 4C)

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An Orderly Account: Luke and Acts

  • “An orderly account”: a quick guide to Luke and Acts
  • Costly discipleship, according to Luke
  • Did Luke write the first “orderly account” about Jesus?
  • With one eye looking back, the other looking forward: turning to Luke’s Gospel I (Year C)
  • Leaving out key moments, so they can appear later in the story: turning to Luke’s Gospel III (Year C)
  • “A light for the Gentiles, salvation to the ends of the earth”: turning to Luke’s Gospel II (Year C)
  • The scriptural resonances in the Annunciation (Luke 1; Advent 4B)
  • Magnificat: the God of Mary (Luke 1) is the God of Hannah (1 Sam 2) (Advent 4C)
  • “To give knowledge of salvation”: Luke’s portrayal of John the baptiser (Luke 3; Advent 2C)
  • On angels and virgins at Christmastime (Luke 2; Christmas Day B)
  • A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel (Luke 2; Christmas 1B)
  • John the baptiser’s call for ethical, faithful living (Luke 3; Advent 2C)
  • A Testing Time: forty days in the wilderness (Luke 4)
  • Sacred place and sacred scripture: forty days in the wilderness (2)
  • Scripture fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:16-30; Epiphany 3C, 4C)
  • Jesus and conventional Jewish piety (Luke 4:16; Epiphany 3C)
  • Jesus, scripture and experience (Luke 4:17, 21; Epiphany 3C)
  • The holistic spirit-inspired mission of Jesus (Luke 4:18–19; Epiphany 3C)
  • Jesus, the widow of Sidon and the soldier of Syria: representatives of the community of faith (Luke 4:25–27; Epiphany 4C)
  • Two prophets of Israel, the widow of Sidon and the soldier of Syria: an inclusive community of Jews and Gentiles (Luke 4:25–27; Epiphany 4C)
  • Leave everything, follow Jesus (Luke 5:1-11; Epiphany 5C)
  • On a level place, with a great crowd (Luke 6; Epiphany 6C)
  • Blessed are you … poor, hungry, weeping … (Luke 6; Epiphany
  • The plain, the synagogue, and the village (Luke 6, 4 and 1; Epiphany 6C)
  • Bless—Love—Forgive—and more. The teachings of Jesus (Luke 6; Epiphany 6C, 7C)
  • The beloved physician, the lover of God, and loving our enemies (Luke 6; Epiphany 7C)
  • Perfect, or merciful? The challenge Jesus poses (Matt 5, Epiphany 7A; Luke 6, Epiphany 7C)
  • Jesus and his followers at table in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Before Transfiguration Sunday, the stories of the dying slave and the grieving widow (Luke 7; Epiphany 9C; Proper 4C)
  • What have you to do with me, Jesus? (Luke 8; Pentecost 2C)
  • Bringing his ‘exodos’ to fulfilment (Luke 9; Transfiguration C)
  • Setting his face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51, 13:33, 17:11, 19:11; Lent 2C)
  • Through Samaria, heading to Jerusalem (Luke 9; Pentecost 3C)
  • Sent out in Samaria, proclaiming the kingdom (Luke 10; Pentecost 4C)
  • Listening and learning at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)
  • On earth, as in heaven: the key to The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11; Pentecost 7C)
  • “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12; Pentecost 8C)
  • On incense and injustice, of assemblies and abominations (Isaiah 1; Pentecost C9)
  • Coming to grips with the judgement of God (Luke 12 and Isaiah 5; Pentecost 10C)
  • Jerusalem, Jerusalem: holy city, holy calling (Luke 13; Lent 2C)
  • Disturbing discipleship: exploring the teachings of Jesus in Luke 14 (Pentecost 12C to 13C)
  • Disreputable outsiders invited inside: parables in Luke 14 (Pentecost 12C, 13C)
  • The discomfort of ambiguity (Luke 15; Lent 4C)
  • Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? (Luke 17; Pentecost 18C)
  • Unjust judge, shameless widow (Luke 18; Pentecost 21C)
  • In defence of the Pharisees: on humility and righteousness (Luke 18; Pentecost 20C)
  • Zacchæus: patron saint of change and transition (Luke 19; Pentecost 21C)
  • Look up to the sky? Look down to your feet! (Luke 20; Pentecost 22C)
  • Don’t take it at face value: on former things and new things
  • Don’t take it at face value: on what lies behind and what lies ahead (Lent 2C)
  • What do you see? What do you hear? (Luke 19; Palm Sunday C)
  • Holy Week: the week leading up to Easter
  • Sacrificial death and liberating life: at the heart of Easter
  • The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Easter in Christian tradition and its relation to Jewish tradition
  • A time in-between the times, a space in no-space.
  • The tomb is empty. He is not here. He is risen.
  • He Is Not Here Day
  • Discovering new futures … letting go of the old
  • Ten things about Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • The cross-cultural nature of the early Jesus movement
  • Ministry and Mission in the midst of change and transition (Luke 21:13)
  • “When these things begin to take place … your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21; Advent 1C)
  • “Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength … to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21; Advent 1C)
  • The moment of recognition: walking … talking … listening … understanding … (Luke 24; Easter evening)
  • From Learners to Leaders: deepening discipleship in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Judas: reconsidering his part in the Easter story (Acts 1; Easter 7B)
  • Pentecost, the Spirit, and the people of God (Acts 2; Pentecost B)
  • What God did through him: Peter’s testimony to Jesus (Acts 2; Easter 2A)
  • What God did through him: proclaiming faith in the public square (Acts 2)
  • Repent and be baptised: Peter’s Pentecost proclamation (Acts 2; Easter 3A)
  • The church in Acts: Times of refreshing (Acts 3; Easter 3B)
  • Boldly proclaiming “no other name” (Acts 4; Easter 4 B)
  • The church in Acts: Unity, testimony, and grace (Acts 4; Easter 2B)
  • We must obey God rather than human authority (Acts 5; Easter 2C)
  • Edging away from the centre (Acts 8; Easter 5B)
  • What happened after Philip met the Ethiopian? (Acts 8; Easter 5B)
  • The calling of Saul and the turn to the Gentiles: modelling the missional imperative (Acts 8—12; Easter 3C)
  • People of ‘The Way’ (Acts 9; Easter 3C)
  • You will be told what you are to do (Acts 9; Easter 3C)
  • Resurrection life, economic responsibility, and inclusive hospitality: markers of the Gospel (Acts 9)
  • Another resurrection! (Acts 9; Easter 4C)
  • Even to the Gentiles! (Acts 10; Easter 6B)
  • Even to the Gentiles (Acts 11; Easter 5C)
  • On literary devices and narrative development (Acts 16; Easter 7C)
  • The unknown God, your own poets, and the man God chose: Paul on the Areopagus (Acts 17; Easter 6A)
  • Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe: three significant strategic leaders in the early church
  • An Affirmation for Our Times
  • I make prayers on your behalf (Letters to Luke #1; Year C)
  • I rejoice in the gift of writing (Letters to Luke #2; Year C)
  • How exciting it was! (Letters to Luke #3; Year C)
  • I write briefly (Letters to Luke #4; Year C)
  • I am happy to report that we have held another reading (Letters to Luke #5; Year C)
  • I was astonished to receive your brief note (Letters to Luke #6; Year C)
  • Leaving Luke . . . Meeting Matthew
  • Sins or trespasses? Trial or temptation? Thine or yours? The prayer that Jesus taught (Luke 11; Pentecost 8C)
  • There is need of only one thing. Or, maybe, two. (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)
  • Where have all the women gone? Women in the movement initiated by Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)
  • Mary and Martha: models of women following and learning from Jesus (Luke 10; Pentecost 6C)

Scripture and Theology

  • The Word of God, Scripture, and Jesus Christ
  • Marrying same-gender people: a biblical rationale
  • Discernment
  • Interpreting the creeds “in a later age”
  • Affirming the Teachings of Jesus
  • To articulate faith contextually
  • Let your gentleness be known to everyone
  • What can we know about the birth of Jesus?
  • “An orderly account”: a quick guide to Luke and Acts
  • Costly discipleship, according to Luke
  • In the wake of the verdict about Pell …
  • Another Time, Another Place: towards an Australian Church
  • Holy Week: the week leading up to Easter
  • Sacrificial death and liberating life: at the heart of Easter
  • The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Easter in Christian tradition and its relation to Jewish tradition
  • The cross-cultural nature of the early Jesus movement
  • Jesus and his followers at table in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Once again: affirming our diversity, celebrating joyous marriages
  • Ten things about Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • The Paraclete in John’s Gospel: exploring the array of translation options (John 14, 15, 16)
  • “Do you believe in the Triune God?”
  • The DNA of the UCA (part I)
  • The DNA of the UCA (part II)
  • Harness the passion, but restrain the rhetoric. Musing on the role model which Paul offers in Galatians.
  • Providing for the exercise by men and women of the gifts God bestows upon them: lay people presiding at the sacraments in the Uniting Church
  • Freedom and unity: themes in Galatians
  • Australian Religious Leaders support renewable energy
  • Human sexuality and the Bible
  • Dividing the unity, splintering the connections: more ACC agitation
  • Giving Voice, Telling Truth, Talking Treaty: NAIDOC 2019
  • Advocacy and Climate Change, Growth and Formation, Treaty with First Peoples: Synod 2019
  • Climate Change: a central concern in contemporary ministry
  • On earth, as in heaven: the key to The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11; Pentecost 7C)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part I)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part II)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part III)
  • International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
  • In the wake of the verdict (and appeal decision) relating to Pell …
  • Where will we find hope? When will we see justice?
  • Supporting the Climate Strike
  • Gracious openness and active discipleship as key characteristics of church membership
  • Please Leave ?? No — Please Stay !!
  • Stones singing and rivers vibrating … a liturgy for Holy Communion
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part One)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Two)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Three)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part one)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part two)
  • We wait, and hope, and grieve, anticipating …
  • On the move. A reflection on Christmas.
  • Reflecting on faith amidst the firestorms
  • This is the world we live in, this is the Gospel we believe in
  • Giving up? Or going deep? The opportunity of Lent
  • Passing the peace, sharing the elements, greeting the minister
  • When you come together … reflections on community in the midst of a pandemic
  • Holy Week: a week set apart, in a time set apart.
  • It was on that night that everything came to a head. Maundy Thursday Reflections.
  • Sacrificial Death: to give his life. Good Friday Reflections
  • Liminal Space: waiting and not knowing. Holy Saturday Reflections
  • Liberating Life: a new way of being. Easter Sunday Reflections
  • It’s been just over a month—but there have been lots of learnings!
  • Not this year. So what about next year?
  • The times, they are are a-changin’.
  • When we come together (2) … values and principles in the midst of a pandemic
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (1)
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (2)
  • Saying sorry, seeking justice, walking together, working for reconciliation
  • Worship like the first Christians. What will our future look like? (3)
  • Pentecost: the spirit is for anyone, for everyone.
  • Racism and Reconciliation
  • Paul’s vision of “One in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28) and the Uniting Church
  • In memory of James Dunn (1939–2020)
  • Black Lives Matter. Now—and Then.
  • Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945), and the commitment to seek peace (2020)
  • Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill: A Christian Perspective
  • Always Was, Always Will Be. #NAIDOC2020
  • The Lectionary: ordering the liberty of the preacher
  • Women in the New Testament (1): the positive practices of Jesus and the early church
  • Women in the New Testament (2): six problem passages
  • Reflections on a significant anniversary
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (1)
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (2)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters attributed to Paul? (3)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters in the name of the apostles? (4)
  • Revelation: a complex and intricate world of heavenly beings and exotic creatures
  • Why the Christmas story is not history (1)
  • Why “the Christmas story” is not history (2): Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2
  • Advent Greetings from Canberra Region Presbytery
  • Honours. Honestly?
  • Celebrations in Canberra (in the Uniting Church Presbytery)
  • Enough is Enough!
  • Earth Day 2021
  • From BC (Before COVID) to AD (After the Disruption)
  • The identity of the Uniting Church
  • #IBelieveHer: hearing the voice of women (Easter Day; John 20)
  • An Affirmation for Our Times
  • The missional opportunity of Trinity Sunday
  • The Murugappans of Biloela
  • World Refugee Day 2021: “when I was a stranger, you welcomed me”
  • The climate is changing; the planet is suffering; humanity is challenged.
  • 20 years on, and the shame continues: the Palapa, the Tampa, and “children overboard”
  • Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year
  • Remembering John Shelby Spong (1931–2021)
  • International Day of Indigenous Peoples
  • A Safe Place for Rainbow Christians
  • Working with First Peoples and advocating for them
  • Jesus, growing, learning: a review of ‘What Jesus Learned from Women’
  • “The exercise by men and women of the gifts God bestows upon them”: celebrating women in leadership in the Uniting Church
  • On vaccinations, restrictions, and fundamentalism
  • We are buying more debt, pain, and death: a case against nuclear-powered submarines
  • World Rivers Day (27 September)
  • Affirming and inclusive passages from scripture
  • The challenge of COVID-19 to Social Ethics as we know them
  • Mental Health Day, 10 October
  • The shame continues: SIEV X after 20 years
  • What does it mean to be Protestant in the Contemporary World?

Life during COVID 19

  • Passing the peace, sharing the elements, greeting the minister
  • When you come together … reflections on community in the midst of a pandemic
  • Pastoral Letter to Canberra Region Presbytery on COVID-19 pandemic
  • Pastoral Letter to the Canberra Region Presbytery of the Uniting Church in Australia. 31 March 2020
  • Liminal Space: waiting and not knowing. Holy Saturday Reflections
  • It’s been just over a month—but there have been lots of learnings!
  • Not this year. So what about next year?
  • The times, they are are a-changin’.
  • When we come together (2) … values and principles in the midst of a pandemic
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (1)
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (2)
  • Worship like the first Christians. What will our future look like? (3)
  • Pastoral Letter to Canberra Region Presbytery: June 2020
  • “Greet one another” (2 Cor 13). But no holy kissing. And no joyful singing. (Trinity Sunday A)
  • Going “back” to church—what will our future look like? (4)
  • When you come together (3) … wait for one another (1 Cor 11)
  • Minimising risks in the ongoing reality of COVID-19
  • Pastoral Letter to Canberra Region Presbytery—September 2020
  • Reimagining—the spirit of our times
  • Coping in the aftermath of COVID-19: a global perspective, a local response
  • From BC (Before COVID) to AD (After the Disruption)
  • Values and Principles in the context of a pandemic (revisited)

The First Peoples of Australia

  • The sovereignty of the First Peoples of Australia
  • Affirming the Sovereignty of First Peoples: undoing the Doctrine of Discovery
  • On Covenant, Reconciliation, and Sovereignty
  • Learning of the land (1): Eora, Biripi, Whadjuk Noongar
  • Learning of the land (2): Ngunnawal, Namadgi and Ngarigo
  • The profound effect of invasion and colonisation
  • “Endeavour by every possible means … to conciliate their affections”
  • “We never saw one inch of cultivated land in the whole country”
  • “They stood like Statues, without motion, but grinn’d like so many Monkies.”
  • “Resembling the park lands [of a] gentleman’s residence in England”
  • On Remembering: Cook and Flinders (and Trim), Bungaree and Yemmerrawanne
  • “They are to be hanged up on trees … to strike the survivors with the greater terror.”
  • So, change the date—to what?
  • Learning of the land (3): Tuggeranong, Queanbeyan, and other Canberra place names
  • Learning from the land (4): Naiame’s Nghunnhu—fishtraps at Brewarrina
  • We are sorry, we recognise your rights, we seek to be reconciled
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: learning from the past
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: Bennelong and Yemmerrawanne
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: Bungaree and Mahroot
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: Cora Gooseberry and Biddy Giles
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: “these are my people … this is my land”.
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: living together with respect
  • Dark deeds in a sunny land: the exposé offered by John B. Gribble
  • This is the proper way: no climbing
  • “They appear’d to be of a very dark or black colour”. Cook, HMS Endeavour, and the Yuin people and country.
  • “Three canoes lay upon the beach—the worst I think I ever saw.” James Cook at Botany Bay, 29 April 1770
  • Saying sorry, seeking justice, walking together, working for reconciliation
  • Racism and Reconciliation
  • “We weigh’d and run into the Harbour”. Cook, the Endeavour, and the Guugu Yimithirr
  • Black Lives Matter. Now—and Then.
  • James Cook, the Endeavour, twelve turtles and the Guugu Yimithirr (3)
  • James Cook: Captain? Discoverer? Invader? Coloniser? Cook, the Endeavour, and Possession Island.
  • Always Was, Always Will Be. #NAIDOC2020
  • Invasion and colonisation, Joshua 3 and contemporary Australia (Pentecost 23A)
  • This whispering in our hearts: potent stories from Henry Reynolds
  • A vision, a Congress, and a struggle for justice
  • What’s in a name? Reconciliation ruminations
  • NAIDOC WEEK 2021
  • Heal Country: the heart of the Gospel (for NAIDOC WEEK 2021)
  • The Spirit was already in the land. Looking back on NAIDOC WEEK.
  • Working with First Peoples and advocating for them
  • World Rivers Day (27 September)

Paul

  • The calling of Saul and the turn to the Gentiles: modelling the missional imperative (Acts 8—12; Easter 3C)
  • The unknown God, your own poets, and the man God chose: Paul on the Areopagus (Acts 17; Easter 6A)
  • Freedom and unity: themes in Galatians
  • Paul’s vision of “One in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28) and the Uniting Church
  • Descended from David according to the flesh (Rom 1; Advent 4A)
  • The best theology is contextual: learning from Paul’s letter to the Romans (Year A)
  • The righteous-justice of God, a gift to all humanity (Romans; Year A)
  • Sighs too deep for words: Spirit and Scripture in Romans (Rom 8; Pentecost 9A)
  • Praying to be cursed: Paul, the passionate partisan for the cause (Rom 9:3; Pentecost 10A)
  • A deeper understanding of God, through dialogue with “the other” (Romans 10; Pentecost 11A)
  • God has not rejected his people. All Israel will be saved. (Rom 11; Pentecost 12A)
  • “We do not lose hope” (2 Corinthians; Pentecost 3B—6B)
  • For our instruction … that we might have hope (Rom 15, Isa 11, Matt 3; Advent 2A)
  • When you come together (3) … wait for one another (1 Cor 11)
  • A new creation: the promise articulated by Paul (2 Cor 5; Pentecost 6B)
  • “Greet one another” (2 Cor 13). But no holy kissing. And no joyful singing. (Trinity Sunday A)
  • Paul the travelling philosopher (1 Thessalonians; Pentecost 21–25A)
  • The sincerest form of flattery? Or a later, imperfect imitation? (2 Thessalonians; Pentecost 21B to 23B)
  • To the saints [not just in Ephesus] who are faithful (Ephesians 1; Pentecost 7B)
  • Declare boldly the gospel of peace, put on the armour of God (Ephesians 6; Pentecost 13B)
  • To the saints [not just in Ephesus] who are faithful (Ephesians 1; Pentecost 7B)
  • In the name of the apostle … (2 Timothy, Pentecost 17B to 21B)
  • Rightly explaining the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15; Pentecost 18C)
  • What does it mean to say that the Bible is inspired? (2 Tim 3:16; Pentecost 19C)
  • On care for orphans and widows (James 1; Pentecost 14B)
  • Fulfilling the Law (James 2; Pentecost 15B)
  • Wisdom from ages past for the present times (Leviticus, Jesus, James, and Paul) (Pentecost 15B, 23B)
  • The wisdom from above (James 3; Pentecost 17B)
  • The ‘word of exhortation’ that exults Jesus as superior (Hebrews 1; Pentecost 19B)
  • A great high priest who “has passed through the heavens” (Hebrews 4; Pentecost 20B)
  • A priest forever, “after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5; Pentecost 21B)
  • The perfect high priest who mediates “a better covenant” (Hebrews 9; Pentecost 23B)
  • The superior high priest who provides “the better sacrifices” (Hebrews 9; Pentecost 24B)
  • The assurance of hope in “the word of exhortation” (Hebrews 10: Pentecost 25B)

The Beginning of the Good News: Mark

  • The Lectionary: ordering the liberty of the preacher
  • Forty days, led by the Spirit: Jesus in the wilderness (Mark 1; Lent 1B)
  • The kingdom is at hand; so follow me. The Gospel according to Mark (Year B)
  • The more powerful one who is coming (Mark 1; Advent 2B)
  • The whole city? (Mark 1; Year B). Let’s take that with a grain of salt
  • “Let’s get down to business”: beginning the story of Jesus (Mark 1; Epiphany 3B)
  • Textual interplay: stories of Jesus in Mark 1 and the prophets of Israel (Year B)
  • 1: Where has Mark gone ?
  • 2 Mark: collector of stories, author of the passion narrative
  • 3 Mark: placing suffering and death at the heart of the Gospel
  • 4 The structure of the passion narrative in Mark
  • Reading the crucifixion as a scene of public shaming
  • In his house, out of his mind (Mark 3; Pentecost 2B)
  • The kingdom, God’s justice, an invitation to all (Mark 4; Pentecost 3B)
  • Mark: a Gospel full of questions (Mark 4; Pentecost 4B)
  • On ‘twelve’ in the stories of the bleeding woman and the dying child (Mark 5; Pentecost 5B)
  • On not stereotyping Judaism when reading the Gospels (Mark 5; Pentecost 5B)
  • Just sandals and a staff—and only one tunic (Mark 6; Pentecost 6B)
  • Shake off the dust that is on your feet (Mark 6; Pentecost 6B)
  • What’s in, and what’s out (Mark 6; Pentecost 8B)
  • Stretching the boundaries of the people of God (Mark 7; Pentecost 14B, 15B)
  • Wash your hands (Mark 7; Pentecost 14B)
  • On Jesus and Justa, Tyre and Decapolis (Mark 7; Pentecost 15B)
  • Disturbance, disruption, and destabilising words (Mark 8; Lent 2B)
  • Transfigured lives—in the here and now (Mark 9 and 1 Kings 2; Epiphany 6B)
  • The paradoxes of discipleship (Mark 8; Pentecost 16B)
  • Giving priority to “one of these little ones” (Mark 9; Pentecost 18B)
  • Boundary lines and the kingdom of God (Mark 9–10; Pentecost 18B to 20B)
  • Not to be served, but to serve: the model provided by Jesus (Mark 10; Pentecost 21B)
  • A ransom for many: a hint of atonement theology? (Mark 10; Pentecost 21B)
  • Seeing and believing as Jesus passes by (Mark 10; Pentecost 22B)
  • Love God, love neighbour: prioritising the Law (Mark 12; Pentecost 23B)
  • Love with all that you are—heart and soul, completely and entirely (Deut 6 in Mark 12; Pentecost 23B)
  • Jesus, the widow, and the two small coins (Mark 12; Pentecost 24B)
  • The beginnings of the birth pangs (Mark 13; Pentecost 25B)
  • Towards the Coming (Mark 13; Advent 1B)

The Book of Origins

  • Leaving Luke . . . Meeting Matthew
  • For our instruction … that we might have hope (Rom 15, Isa 11, Matt 3; Advent 2A)
  • The origins of Jesus in the book of origins: Matthew 1 (Advent Year A)
  • Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way (Matthew 1; Advent 4A)
  • Descended from David according to the flesh (Rom 1; Advent 4A)
  • A young woman? A virgin? Pregnant? About to give birth? (Isa 7:14 in Matt 1:23; Advent 4A)
  • More on Mary (from the Protoevangelium of James)
  • Tales from the Magi (the Revelation of the Magi)
  • Herod waiting, Herod watching, Herod grasping, holding power (Matt 2; Christmas 1A)
  • Herod was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children (Matt 2; Christmas 1A)
  • Repentance for the kingdom (Matt 4; Epiphany 3A)
  • Blessed are you: the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 (Epiphany 4A)
  • An excess of righteous-justice (Matt 5; Epiphany 5A)
  • You have heard it said … but I say to you … (Matt 5; Epiphany 6A)
  • The missing parts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6 and 7; Epiphany Year A)
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Passover and politics
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Riding on a donkey (or two) as the crowd shouts ‘Hosanna’
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Waving branches, spreading cloaks
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Acclaiming the king, anticipating the kingdom
  • “Go nowhere among the Gentiles” (Matt 10:5): the mission of Jesus in the book of origins (Pentecost 3A)
  • “Even the hairs of your head are all counted.” (Matt 10:30; Pentecost 4A)
  • Come to me, take my yoke, I will give you rest (Matt 11; Pentecost 6A)
  • Parables: the craft of storytelling in the book of origins (Matt 13; Pentecost 7A)
  • The righteous-justice of God, a gift to all humanity (Romans; Year A)
  • Let anyone with ears, hear! (Matt 13; Pentecost 8A)
  • Chopping and changing: what the lectionary does to the parables of Matthew (Pentecost 7–9A)
  • A rock, some keys, and a binding: clues to the identity of Jesus (Matt 16; Pentecost 13A)
  • An invitation that you just cannot … accept! (Pentecost 19A)
  • Producing the fruits of the kingdom (Matt 21; Pentecost 19A)
  • Darkness, weeping, and gnashing of teeth: the scene of judgement (Matt 22; Pentecost 20A)
  • The greatest and first commandment … and a second, like it (Matt 22)
  • On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matt 22; Pentecost 22A)
  • Sitting on the seat of Moses, teaching the Law—but “they do not practice what they teach” (Matt 23; Pentecost 23A)
  • Discipleship in an apocalyptic framework (Matt 23–25; Pentecost 23–26A)
  • A final parable from the book of origins: on sheep and goats, on judgement and righteous-justice (Matt 25; Pentecost 26A)

The Book of Signs

  • John (the baptizer) and Jesus (the anointed) in the book of signs (the Gospel of John; Epiphany 2A)
  • In the beginning … the Prologue and the book of signs (John 1; Christmas 2B)
  • Living our faith in the realities of our own times … hearing the message of “the book of signs”
  • Righteous anger and zealous piety: the incident in the Temple (John 2; Lent 3B)
  • Raise up a (new) temple: Jesus and “the Jews” in the fourth Gospel (John 2; Lent 3B)
  • The serpent in the wilderness (John 3, Num 21; Lent 4B)
  • The complex and rich world of scriptural imagery in ‘the book of signs’ (John 3; Lent 4B)
  • The Pharisee of Jerusalem and the woman of Samaria (John 3 and 4; Lent 2–3A)
  • From the woman at the well to a Byazantine saint: John 4, St Photini, and the path to enlightenment (Lent 3A)
  • Misunderstanding Jesus: “they came to make him a king” (John 6; Pentecost 9B)
  • Claims about the Christ: affirming the centrality of Jesus (John 6; Pentecost 9B—13B)
  • In the most unlikely company: confessing faith in Jesus (John 9; Lent 4A)
  • In the most unlikely way … touching the untouchable (John 9; Lent 4A)
  • The Father and I are one (John 10; Easter 4C)
  • Yes, Lord, I believe—even in the midst of all of this! (John 11; Lent 5A)
  • Holding out for hope in the midst of turmoil (John 11; Lent 5A)
  • We wish to see Jesus (John 12; Lent 5B)
  • Love one another: by this everyone will know (John 13; Easter 5C)
  • “I am the way” (John 14): from elitist exclusivism to gracious friendship? (Easter 5A)
  • The Paraclete in John’s Gospel: exploring the array of translation options (John 14, 15, 16)
  • Father, Son, and Disciples (I): the *real* trinity in John’s Gospel (John 17; Easter 7A,B,C)
  • Father, Son, and Disciples (II): the *real* trinity in John’s Gospel (John 17; Easter 7A,B,C)
  • In defence of Thomas: a doubting sceptic? or a passionate firebrand? (Easter Sunday)
  • #IBelieveHer: hearing the voice of women (Easter Day; John 20)
  • The third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples (John 21; Easter 3C)
  • Back to the lake, back to fishing: a late resurrection story (John 21; Easter 3C)
  • “See what love the Father has given us”: the nature of 1 John (1 John 3; Easter 3B)
  • “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3; Easter 4B)
  • “In this is love: that God sent his son” (1 John 4; Easter 5B)
  • “The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5; Easter 6B)
  • Images drawn from the past, looking to the future, as a message for the present (Revelation; Easter, Year C)
  • “Worthy is the lamb that was slaughtered”: a paradoxical vision (Rev 5; Easter 3C)
  • With regard to Revelation … and the “great multitude that no one could count” in Rev 7 (Easter 4C)
  • With regard to Revelation … and the “great multitude that no one could count” in Rev 7 (Easter 4C)
  • A new heaven and a new earth … musing on Revelation 21 (Easter 5C, 6C)

The Basis of Union

  • What I really like about the Basis of Union
  • What is missing from the Basis of Union?
  • Alongside the Basis of Union, there was the Statement to the Nation
  • Fresh words and deeds
  • The Word of God, Scripture, and Jesus Christ
  • The sovereignty of the First Peoples of Australia
  • Affirming the Sovereignty of First Peoples: undoing the Doctrine of Discovery
  • On Covenant, Reconciliation, and Sovereignty
  • Forty four years on …

Marriage and the Uniting Church

  • Marrying same-gender people: a biblical rationale
  • A diversity of religious beliefs and ethical understandings
  • Marriage and the matter of being vital to the life of the church
  • Seven Affirmations
  • Recognising Pain, Working for Reconciliation
  • The “additional marriage liturgy” for Uniting Churches
  • An Explainer, in nine easy steps
  • Marriage of same gender people: a gift to the whole Church
  • Let your gentleness be known to everyone
  • The Uniting Church is not a political democracy
  • So, what just happened? (An Explainer, Updated)
  • A Prayer for the Uniting Church in Australia
  • “When you suffer, the whole body of Christ suffers”
  • Affirmations we can make together
  • Once again: affirming our diversity, celebrating joyous marriages

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