All Saints Sunday 2003
(Nov. 2, 2003 ? All Saints Sunday)
Ruth 1:1-18 and Psalm 146
Or
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and Psalm 119:1-8
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark 12:28-34
General Themes:
Loyalty and trust are the focus of Ruth 1:1-18 and Psalm 146, the first loyalty and trust of one person (woman) for another, and the second emphasizing trust in God. Psalm 146 also ties in with Ruth as God is presented as caring for the widow and the orphan. An excellent sermon can be created by combining the thoughts of the two. Ruth and Boaz both act towards one another and towards Naomi in accordance with the principles expressed in Psalm 146. This same pattern is presented in the teaching of Jesus in Mark 12:28-34, though you will have a closer match between that passage and the alternate Old Testament readings.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Psalm 119:1-8 and Mark 12:28-34 make an obvious grouping, with Psalm 119:1-8 being optional. A theme here could be the continuity of the law, the fundamental purpose of the law, or a discussion of how we come to understand and adopt our own systems of value. What kind of priorities are expressed here?
If you want to include Hebrews 9:11-14, you might focus on the earthly shadow of heavenly things as expressed through the law, or through the behavior of God as described in Psalm 146, and how the earthly shadow is cast by God?s heavenly activity.
Ruth 1:1-18
The lectionary readings for November 2 and 9 both come from the book of Ruth. I will use this introduction in both readings. If you are going to use either passage in your preaching, you should definitely read the entire book, which is only four chapters. This will help you get the flavor of the story. It is also helpful to read a couple of different introductions to the book. There are two major views on the meaning of the story.
To understand the difference, compare the introduction in Fee & Stuart, ?How to Read the Bible Book by Book? and that in the ?Interpreter?s Bible.? The first states that this is ?a story of loyalty to Yahweh during the period of the judges? and mention the welcoming of a foreign woman from a ?hated nation? only in passing. They do cite Deuteronomy 23:3 in noting this, but don?t also comment that the same verse states that no Ammonite or Moabite can enter the congregation even in the 10th generation. It seems unlikely that the author of Ruth would casually bring her into the congregation if he knew the Deuteronomic law on the matter unless he intended to exercise some polemic.
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The ?Interpreter?s Bible? (out of print) introduction, on the other hand, notes mostly this point of conflict in suggesting that the book be dated in the 5th century BCE. That date would suggest that the book was written in some conflict with the very strict interpretation of the laws associated with Ezra and Nehemiah. This would put Ruth in agreement with Isaiah 56:1-8 over against Deuteronomy 23:3ff.
I cite these two sources are examples. There are abundant references available to support each option. Tradition suggested that Ruth was written by the prophet Samuel along with Samuel and Judges, but that tradition seems rather unlikely
Though I strongly suspect that the later date is correct for Ruth, I would suggest that the theme of loyalty is very strong, as is also a bit of a feminist theme in that the women do, in fact, take care of themselves, and it is through Naomi?s daring and planning (and Ruth?s obedience) that they eventually find security. That Ruth?s son Obed is then the ancestor of King David is just icing as far as the narrative is concerned. It indicates God?s blessing on the activities of all concerned.
In dealing with the conflict between this book and the law of Deuteronomy, I would suggest that we consider whether the law against the Moabites and Ammonites was indeed intended to last forever, and whether it would, in fact, have been understood by the writer of Deuteronomy to apply to marriage to a Moabite woman. We can ask whether all the actions of Ezra and Nehemiah were in fact approved by God. They were certainly zealous, and their zeal contributed to the survival of Judea and of the Jewish people, but was every action they took approved and blessed by God? It is probably too complex for a sermon, but in a class, one could well take on the combined witness of Deuteronomy 23, Isaiah 56, Ezra, Nehemiah and the book of Ruth and look for principles of how God wants his people to relate to others.
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(1) Now in the days of when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live temporarily in the countryside of Moab–he, and his wife, and his two sons.
(2) The man’s name was Elimelek, and his wife’s name was Naomi, and his two son’s names were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah.
So they went to the countryside of Moab and there they were (for a time). Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. And they found Moabite wives for themselves, the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the second was Ruth, and they lived there about 10 years. (5) Then the two of them, Mahlon and Chilion died as well, and the woman remained without her two sons or her husband.
(6) So she and her daughters-in-law rose up and returned from the countryside of Moab, because she had heard in the countryside of Moab that YHWH had visited his people and given them food. (7) And she went out from the place where she was and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on the road returning to the land of Judah.
(8) And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law. ?Go! Return each to her mother’s house. Let YHWH deal graciously with you as you have with the dead persons and with me.
(9) Let YHWH grant that you find rest, each in the house of her husband. And she kissed them and they lifted up their voice and wept. (10) And they said to her, “We will surely return with you to your people.” (11) But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters, why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they should become your husbands? (12) Return, my daughters, go! For I have become too old for a husband. If I said there is hope also that I should be tonight with a man, and also that I would bear sons, (13) would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried to not have a husband? No, my daughters, for it has been much more bitter for me than for you, for the hand of YHWH has gone out against me. (14) And they lifted up their voice and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. (15) And she said, “Look! Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her gods. Go back after your sister-in-law!”
(16) But Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to abandon you and to turn back from following you, because wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (17) Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. Let YHWH do so to me, and even more if even death separates us. (18) So she saw that she was stubbornly determined to go with her, and she stopped talking to her about it. |
Live temporarily someone living away from their own clan or country lacked rights and were subject to the hospitality provided. It was a fairly extreme move, even though there were strong customs to protect them in spite of their legal status.
Naomi pleasant or beautiful. This allows the later play on words as she sees her life dramatically shift away from her name.
In modern society, where a woman can live alone with few problems, it may be difficult to understand the devastation of Naomi. We empathize with the devastating loss, but we also need to feel the helplessness that must have beaten down on her. Only then can we see the courage and resourcefulness she displays as she carries out her plan for the restoration of security.
Clearly Naomi intends to take her daughters-in-law with her when she starts out on the road, but she likely begins to wonder about what she?s doing to them as they travel along. She finally decides that she can?t make them bear her burden. They have the potential to make lives for themselves in their homeland, while she does not. She thus decides to send them home.
The finding of rest is key here. I have translated ?rest? but it might be better rendered as ?security.? Orpah is sometimes looked down on in the teaching of Ruth, but Naomi clearly is advising the ?wise? thing by any visible standard. Orpah loves her mother-in-law, else she wouldn?t have followed her that far. She now requires full explanation before she is persuaded to go home. Her reaction is natural.
Ruth, on the other hand, clearly loves her mother-in-law deeply, and the implication is here that she has accepted Naomi?s God and people as well. She apparently considers herself an Israelite already, and is willing to express this as an oath. Even in death she does not desire to return home.
For continued discussion, see the Lection for November 9. |
Psalm 146
Psalm 146 presents a similar message to Psalm 127 which will be one of the Psalms for next week. Man is dependent on God for his very existence, so we should put our trust in God rather than people, even important people.
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(1) Hallelujah! Let my soul praise YHWH! (2) I will surely praise YHWH while I live, I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.
(3) Don’t put your trust in princes, In mortals who have no salvation.
(4) His breath returns to the ground, In that day his thoughts perish.
(5) Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, Who waits on YHWH his God.
(6) Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in it. The one who keeps truth forever. (7) Doer of justice to the oppressed, Giver of bread to the hungry, YHWH lets those who are bound loose. (8) YHWH makes the blind see, YHWH lifts up those who are bowed down, YHWH loves the righteous. (9) YHWH protects the alien, He sustains the orphan and the widow, But the way of the wicked he makes tortuous.
(10) YHWH will reign forever.
Your God, Oh Zion, from generation to generation. Hallelujah! |
Praise is not a part time or a temporary activity. Praise comes through action as well, but it is a joy to express it in the form of song. The key focus of this passage is the limitations of mortal man.
Man dies, goes away, his thoughts and plans are gone with him.
If you are waiting on YHWH, then you are waiting for something solid and sure compared to waiting on the help of mortal man.
God is praised here as the creator and is also noted for his exemplification of the moral order. The twin themes of creation and moral order are very frequently combined in scripture. Note also below the Didache, which makes the first commandment ?love God who created you.?
Protection of the alien is often missed by Christians, especially in the political arena. When we talk about ?family values,? we need to remember that Biblical family values include hospitality, care for the orphan and the widow, and indeed care for the alien?and no distinction is made for legal or illegal aliens. Those who are helpless are to be helped.
By contrast, God makes the path of the wicked difficult. This might be a good place to compare this positive claim with the very different picture from the book of Job. A combination of these texts can help make the broader picture more comprehensible.
Again, YHWH is praised because he is eternal.
Note that ?will reign? carries over from the previous line by means of the parallelism. |
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
This passage is the basic belief statement of Judaism, and was carried over into Christianity by the words of Jesus in our passage in Mark 12:28-34 (and parallels). It establishes two things, placing love of God first in the life of believers, and second establishing the duty of witness, particularly to the next generation. An excellent parallel is found in Psalm 78:1-8.
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(1) Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which YHWH your God commanded to teach you to do in the land into which you are passing over to possess it.
(2) So that you might reverence YHWH your God to keep all his statutes and commandments which I am commanding you, you and your son, and your grandson, all the days of your life and so that you might lengthen your days.
(3) So hear, Oh Israel, and be careful to do them, so that it will go well for you and you will multiply greatly, as YHWH the God of your fathers promised you, a land flowing with milk and honey.
(4) Hear, Israel, YWHW our God, YHWH is one.
(5) And you will love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength. (6) And these words that I am commanding you today will be upon your heart. (7) and you will instill them in your children, and you will talk about them as you sit in your house, and as you walk in the road, and as you lie down and as you rise up. (8) And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as phylacteries between your eyes. (9) And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. |
This introduces the summary of the law which follows. Deuteronomy is largely presented as speeches by Moses prior to Israel entering the promised land.
The keeping of God?s law is again presented as the way of life (Deuteronomy 30:15).
The laws come in the context of the covenant promises.
You will find several translations. This might be even clear as: ?Hear, Israel, YHWH our God, YHWH is a unity.?
The commitment to God is established as all encompassing. There is no area of life in which God does not have interest.
This command is taken literally in Jewish law, but also figuratively. God has authority over one?s mind, over one?s hands and so actions, over one?s household. The symbols remind one of this sovereignty. |
Psalm 119:1-8
In Christian theology the law has generally gotten negative reviews, largely taken from the apostle Paul. But Psalm 119 is an expression of unabashed praise for the law. For an introduction I refer you to my ?Running Toward the Goal? radio transcripts on the 119th Psalm:
The Many Faces of God’s Word – Psalm 119:1-8 (NRSV)
Divine Commands – Psalm 119:6, 35, 98, 172 and 176 (NRSV)
A Way of Life – Psalm 119:1, 14, 37, 59 and 168 (NRSV)
Note that seven of the ten words for ?law? are found in the first 8 verses.
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(1) How blessed are those undefiled in behavior, Who act according to the Torah of YHWH.
(2) How blessed are those who keep his stipulations, who seek him with their whole heart.
(3) They will also do no iniquity. They live in his way of life. (4) You gave us your directions, To follow rigorously. (5) Oh that I was established in my behavior, So as to keep your statutes.
(6) Then I would not be ashamed, when I look at all your commands.
(7) I will praise you with an upright heart, When I have learned your righteous judgments.
(8) Your statutes will I keep. Don’t abandon me completely! |
Behavior Hebrew ?derek.?
Torah = teaching or instruction, a rather general term. ?Law? is rarely the best translation for this term.
Stipulations Normally ?testimonies? from Hebrew ?eduth.? These refer to the stipulations of covenant that result from the deeds of God as the covenant maker.
Way of life Hebrew ?derek? Directions Hebrew ?piqudim?
Behavior Hebrew ?derek? Statutes Hebrew ?choq.? This word was used of the entitlements of the priests from sacrifices and also of the specific instructions within a ritual of sacrifice.
Commands Hebrew ?mitzvah? both the simplest and the most common Hebrew word for law.
Judgments Hebrew ?mishpat? refers to the decisions of the judge or case law. Statutes Hebrew ?choq? again. |
Hebrews 9:11-14
One of the interesting debates about the book of Hebrews is the precise view of the Mosaic law held by the author. He seems down on it at some points, but contrary to some Christian theology tends to paint a higher standard for Christians. Review the notes on the book of Hebrews in the previous lectionary sections.
Here our author is presenting the superiority of the eternal sacrifice of Jesus over the temporal sacrifice of animals.
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11And Christ has now become a high priest of the good things which have come by means of a better and more complete tabernacle which is not made with hands and is not of this creation.
12And he went once and for all into the most holy place, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, and he found eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkled ashes of a heifer could make the partakers holy in terms of the cleanness of the flesh. 14How much more will the blood of Christ, which he offered blameless to God by means of an eternal spirit, cleanse our conscience from dead works so we can serve a living God! |
Hebrews teaches that there is a sanctuary in heaven of which the earthly was merely a copy or a shadow. Reading Plato?s ?Republic? book VII will give you some idea of his type of thinking, though this is not identical. We also do not know how literally our author intended this. Since God?s actual manifested presence is in heaven, he could simply be using the tabernacle as an illustration of our approach to God.
The day of atonement completed the religious year, which, according to our author would be the shadow, i.e. temporary. Jesus does the real thing and does it once and for all permanently.
I would suggest that the author of Hebrews does not have a negative view of the Mosaic law. He thinks that there must be something more, i.e. the permanent sacrifice of Jesus, but the shadow has its purpose and accomplished that purpose. |
Mark 12:28-34
Jesus here takes up the passage from Deuteronomy and adds to it Leviticus 19:18b in making a full summary of the law. The incident is particularly good as described in Mark since the scribe who asked is shown as being in full agreement with this summary. It was, in fact, regarded by many of the early Pharisees as quite a good summary of the law.
This teaching had a prominent place in early Christian teaching. For example, the Didache, a very early Christian document, begins, ?There are two ways, one of life, and one of death, and there is a large difference between the two. The way of life is this: First, love God who created you . . . second (love) your neighbor as yourself.? The bulk of the next several chapters of the Didache is built on this. For the text of the Didache, see Burghard, W.I., Newman, Burghardt, and Lawler Didache, the Epistle of Barnabus, the Epistle and Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, the Fragments of Papius, the Epistle of Diogentu (Ancient Christian Writings), ISBN: 0809102471, also Niederwimmer, The Didache from the Hermeneia commentary series, ISBN: 0800660277. The Greek text is available online at http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/texteapo/didache-greek.html, and an English translation can be found at http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/St.Pachomius/Liturgical/didache.html.
It is interesting that this particular piece of teaching does not receive the same sort of emphasis today.
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(28) And one of the scribes heard them debating, and when he saw that Jesus had answered them well, he came and asked him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
(29) Jesus answered, “First is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord,
(30) and you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’
(31) And the second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no greater commandment than these.”
(32) And the scribe said to him, “Excellent, teacher, you’re really right when you say that he is one, and there is none other than him, (33) and ‘loving him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength’ and ‘loving your neighbor as yourself’ is better than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.? (34) And when Jesus saw that he answered with thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And nobody dared to ask him questions any more. |
One difficulty we often have with values is prioritizing. Any time we look at a series of rules we have to ask what is the most important? This should not be an excuse to avoid keeping rules. Rather, it is a way of making sure that the most important things get done. I?m reminded of a manager involved with my ministry (Pacesetters Bible School) who recently asked me to prioritize tasks with this question: ?If you could only accomplish one item on the list of things you try to do, which one would it be?? He suggested continuing down the list of tasks in the same mode, ?If you can only do one more thing, which would it be??
The scribe who is questioning Jesus is approaching the problem in a similar way. What is the number one law?
When we quote the law, we often leave off the first part, which corresponds to the way in which this is presented in Matthew and Luke. Mark alone includes the introductory verse which equates to Deuteronomy 6:4. This particular independent addition of Mark?s might support the theory that the gospel of Mark was a summary gospel written for a gentile audience who might not be acquainted with the full text. A Jewish reader of Luke?s or Matthew?s version would surely assume this key provision.
This statement is at the root of God?s authority to give laws. In Deuteronomy 6:1-3, not quoted here, the text alludes to the covenant which would bring for the notion of the past deeds of God (see ?eduth? in the notes on Psalm 119:1-8).
Jesus places love for God first, as the foundation for our reasoning in moral behavior. I think we should carefully notice that Jesus does not here make the most important point the rewards or punishments of the afterlife, but rather that we should love God. Early Christian thought, reflected in the Didache (see above) related this to God as the creator?love God who created you.
Heart Greek ?kardia,? the seat of physical, mental and spiritual life [BDAG].
Soul Greek ?psuche,? seat of inner human life in its many varied aspects [BDAG].
Mind Greek ?dianoia,? faculty of thinking or reasoning [BDAG].
Strength Greek ?ischus,? power or might
Sometimes we tend to place a time priority on love of God, but in fact, the intention is a logical priority?God is the one who made the universe and thus the physical and the moral order. But nonetheless the way in which our love for God is made manifest is by our actions with regard to one another. Notice the order in the description of loving God: We love from the inside out, from the foundation up, ending in the application through strength. Jesus adds the word for thinking or reasoning, but that is subsumed in the other words. Nonetheless, Jesus places as extra focus on it.
The love that is commanded here is to be manifested in action, to be carried out with our strength, and though it flows from our inmost parts, it is to be displayed outwardly.
?If anyone says, ?I love God,? and yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20).
This area of thought was not a matter of conflict between Judaism and Christianity or the teachings of Jesus. It was a matter of agreement. There could be many interpretations of the details, but the foundation principles were undisputed.
In teaching Biblical interpretation to students I frequently give as the most fundamental rule of Christian interpretation: ?Can you hang it from the two great commandments?? Admittedly this is placing one part of scripture above another, but Jesus himself called this the first commandment of the law. If you are interpreting any part of the Bible as a command to violate the principles expressed here, you should consider whether you are in fact following Jesus. |