Thanksgiving Lectionary, 2003
November 27, 2003
Joel 2:21-27
Psalm 126
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Matthew 6:25-33
Major themes:
The major theme of this set of passages is a combination of God?s provision and thanksgiving, as is appropriate to the season of Thanksgiving. Acknowledging what God has done and dependence on God are two sides of the same coin, and you will find both in all of these passages. In Joel, we have restoration after the destruction; restoration both of the broken covenant and of the prosperity of the people. In 1 Timothy, we have an exhortation to offer prayers, including both petitions and prayers of thanksgiving. In Matthew we have the instruction of Jesus to depend on God because God cares for all of nature, and we are much more important than the birds or flowers. Psalm 126 is a hymn of restoration from exile, with the rejoicing. It would go very well with Joel.
Joel 2:21-27 ? Restoring the Years
I strongly suggest reading the entire book of Joel. It?s short, and shouldn?t be a great burden. Many people treat this as an eschatological book, but I would suggest it?s message as one of disaster and restoration that can be, and has been, applied over and over again and will continue to be applied by Christians. The theme of restoration is strong in scriptures, and is the focus of this passage. Everything comes back as it was before. After the destruction, there is restoration. The rains come as they did before, trees produce, grass grows, and thus the land can rejoice as well as the people who live there.
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(21) Don’t be afraid, Land, Shout for joy! Rejoice! For YHWH has shown his greatness by taking action. (22) Don’t be afraid, animals of the field, for the meadows of the wilderness are growing grass! for trees are bringing for their fruit, The fig tree and the vine are giving their strength. (23) Sons of Zion! Shout for joy! Rejoice in YHWH your God! For he has given to you the autumn rains according to righteousness, and he has brought a downpour upon you, the autumn rain and the spring rain as before. (24) And he will fill your throats with grain, And the winepresses will overflow with new wine and oil. (25) And he will restore to you the years that the Locust ate, The yeleq locust, and the chasil locust and the gazam locust The great army which I sent against you. (26) And you will surely eat and be satisfied, and you will praise the name of YHWH your god, Who acted among you wonderfully, And my people will not be ashamed forever. (27) And you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And I am YHWH your God, And there is no other, And my people will not be ashamed forever. |
YHWH acts for his sake in most prophetic thought, and for the sake of his own reputation.
The autumn rains come according to covenantal righteousness. The covenant is being restored as well as the physical blessings.
These various kinds of locusts are hard to identify. Wolff [Hermeneia: Joel and Amos] identifies them as ?hopper,? ?jumper,? and ?biter.? The names are the same as in 1:4.
Some think this phrase has been duplicated from the end of verse 27, but I?d suggest rather than it forms an inclusio around what God says about being their God, with there being no other. |
Psalm 126
See notes on Psalm 126 in Lectionary 30.
1 Timothy 2:1-7 ? Constant Thanksgiving to God
Paul regularly urges thanksgiving (Philippians 4:4-9, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, Ephesians 6:18-20). Here he simply presents the life of prayer as a life pleasing to God. In particular he calls for prayers for those in authority so that we will be allowed to live peaceful lives.
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(1) So I urge you first of all to offer petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving on behalf of all people, (2) on behalf of kings and everyone who is in authority, so that we may pursue quite and peaceful lives in all piety and holiness. (3) This is good and acceptable before God our savior (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity, a human being, Christ Jesus, (6) Who gave himself as a ransom on behalf of everyone, a witness at the right time. (7) Of whom I have been appointed a proclaimer and apostle–I’m telling you the truth and not lying–a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth. |
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Matthew 6:25-33 ? Depending on God for Everything
This passage of Jesus is so familiar as to hardly need comment. I would recommend looking at the passages about the kingdom of God and Jesus as king in Lectionary 34 and comparing and contrasting them with this theme.
In what way will ?all these things? be added to the Christian? What are ?all these things??
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(25) Because of this I tell you, “Don’t worry about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body as to what you will wear. Is not life more than sustenance and your body more than its clothing? (26) Take a look at the birds in the sky. They don’t plant, nor do they harvest, nor do they gather into storage barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they are? (27) Now who of you can add one foot to your height by worrying about it? (28) And why do you worry about clothes? Learn from the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work hard and they don’t spin to make cloth, (29) but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory wasn’t dressed like one of them. (30) So if God cares about the grass of the field that is there today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he care about you, people with little faith? (31) So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will be drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ (32) For the gentiles look for all these things. Because your heavenly father knows that you need all these things. (33) Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. |
I think this is the key text. What is God?s kingdom (comparing this weeks? texts with Lectionary 34 may provide some interesting food for thought. Notice that the call is dual?seek the kingdom and seek righteousness. These two things go together. I wonder what would happen if our prayers to God looked less for the physical blessings and more for spiritual blessings both for ourselves and others. It would at least represent trying to take the approach of Jesus to his kingdom. |