Today in the Spirit: Proper 27A
The collects and readings appointed for the last three weeks of the Pentecost season create a pre-Advent period of preparation for the new church year. Our attention shifts dramatically to themes of knowledge about the end times and spiritual readiness for the second coming of Christ.
In Year A, the church assigns three consecutive readings from Matthew 25: two parables and a vision of God the King at judgment for Christ the King Sunday (the last Sunday after Pentecost). For Proper 27A, we worship under the hearing of Matthew 25:1-13, the parable of the ten virgins, which Jesus concludes with the summary teaching, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (13).
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The appointed Old Testament reading from Amos 5:18-24 supports the teaching of the Gospel reading with the warning, “Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD” (18), a name often used in Scripture to denote the cataclysmic day of final judgment. The prophecy warns Israel not to trust in their empty religious observances, but to live faithfully for God, without idols and in just relationships throughout society. “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (24).
This is the only Sunday in the three-year cycle in which Psalm 70 is assigned. Many commentators believe it was lifted from the middle of Psalm 40 (vv. 13-17) to create a separate liturgy for the “memorial offering” (as in the psalm title given in the ESV). The urgent tone of “David” comes out in the opening line and is sustained throughout: “Hasten, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord” (1).
The sequential New Testament readings out of 1 Thessalonians at the end of Year A continue this week with the assignment of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Appropriately for our pre-Advent period, Paul addresses the saints’ apparent preoccupation with the eternal state of those who die before Jesus’ coming (which they believe is imminent). He teaches emphatically: “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep” (15).
The assigned collect was originally composed for the 1662 BCP as an additional prayer for the Epiphany season. In the BCP 1979, it was moved to the end of Pentecost, presumably because of its explicit reference to the second coming of Jesus; it remains there in the BCP 2019. The prayer is notable for its use of many phrases from 1 John 3:1-9.
The Collect
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I Will Not Accept Them (Amos 5:18-24)
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Amos 5:18-24
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
19 as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos’ oracles delivered to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel reveal just how terrifying YHWH’s knowledge of human beings can be. The people of Israel showed enthusiasm for fulfilling religious duties and customs but without turning their hearts to God in a spirit of true worship. We observe, first, the emphatic refusal of God to accept their rituals: “I will not accept them” 22), and “I will not look upon them” (22), and “I will not listen” (23). Then, that there is no escaping judgment for Israel, not in this passage or anywhere in the Book of Amos. (There is a call to repentance in the previous chapter, but never a hope of escaping exile [5:17]). Much like the foolish virgins in the Gospel parable for today, Israel will learn only through their desolation that they have ignored what is right and just in their covenant relationship with the One God.
One warning for us here, devotionally, is to guard against the trap of empty ritualism in our own worship. Christian churches of any tradition can degenerate that way. Pastor and author Adam T. Barr describes our frightful tendency to ritualism this way: “But more fundamentally, ritualism is difficult, like faking a laugh. In extreme cases, it can be deadly, like mistreating a disease.”
Of course, unlike OT Israel, the Christian church operates in the age of grace, and the Holy Spirit. See how Peter’s preaching on repentance in Acts, in contrast to that of Amos, offers hope: And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38); and, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus” (3:19-20).
Today, by your Spirit, dear Lord, reveal to your church any signs of empty ritualism that lurks inside us as a mistreated disease; and through repentance, by your grace, turn our hearts of stone to flesh alive and responsive to you.
You Are My Help and My Deliverer (Psalm 70)
1 Hasten, O God, to deliver me; *
Psalm 70, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
make haste to help me, O LORD.
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek after my life; *
let them be turned back and put to confusion who wish me evil.
3 Let them be soon brought to shame *
who cry over me, “Aha! Aha!”
4 But let all those who seek you be joyful and glad in you; *
and let all who delight in your salvation say always, “The LORD be praised.”
5 As for me, I am poor and in misery; *
hasten to me, O God.
6 You are my helper and my deliverer; *
O LORD, do not tarry.
As we give voice to these words in worship, we ride through the ups and downs of the poet’s emotions. We sink into the sorrow of “David” in his opening lament, “Hasten, O God, to deliver me” (1); then we rise on the confidence of his strongly worded invocations one after another–two against his enemies and two in favor of the people of God. But, then, at the transition “as for me” (5), we fall with David into another let down, ending the song with much the same language as before: “You are my helper and my deliverer; O LORD, do not tarry” (6).
I believe this is an example of what many modern commentators see as a thread of Messiah imaging running throughout the Scriptures. It is observed that characters like Judah and Moses, and David, though not Messiahs, occasionally bear the image of a Messiah by their words and actions: in obedience to God, and on behalf of God’s people, they fall into danger, even to the point of sacrificing themselves, for the salvation of God’s people and the defeat of their enemies. Here David shows vulnerability in his personal circumstances mixed with determination that God use his suffering to lift Israel up. The rise and fall of his tone in the psalm point us ahead to the experience of Jesus the Messiah to come.
Devotionally, this is one of many psalms to help us through dark periods of humiliation (note: not just humility in general, but mortification): A project of yours fails at work, and everyone looks to the one in charge for explanations; a child of yours misbehaves badly at school, and everyone faults the child’s upbringing; a ministry project you have advocated results in the congregation shrinking instead of growing. How to respond? We pray, like David, to crush the spirit of those who say, “Aha, aha!” (nothing wrong with praying down cruel detractors), and to lift up the people of God who delight in him. But, we also pray to God for help for ourselves, coming under the condemnation of enemies that others may be set free.
We, of course, are not the Messiah, but as Christians, with his life in us through the Holy Spirit, we bear the image of the Messiah and are occasionally called upon to stand up and serve God’s people and stand against evil detractors who would oppose it. In the power of the Holy Spirit, today, let us find the faith of David in Psalm 70, in his confidence and in his weakness, to pass through our own seasons of humiliation.
Always with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Notice: not “we will all be with the Lord,” but “we will always be with the Lord” (18). As Paul seeks to reassure those who mistakenly believe that their loved ones who die before Christ comes might be left out of the resurrection, we may think the first statement might have been more to the point—all will be with Jesus. But Paul, ever the pastor, is anticipating the deeper question of the heart of the saints in Thessalonica: Will all those who are “caught up together” (17) with the Lord stay in the presence of Jesus?
The mechanics aside as to how the resurrection of the dead will work, our deepest longing is to know for certain we will be with him “always,” to remain with him. See how our Lord presents the Great Commission to the disciples. Any number of questions could have been raised about the command to “make disciples of all nations”, but any and all anxiety about the job melts away with that final statement, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20). There are scores of passages like this in every part of the Bible, all carrying the sweet promise of God abiding with his people. Here are a few to ponder in your devotional study: Gn. 28:15; Dt. 31:8; Jos. 1:5,9; Is. 41:10; Jn. 14:20; Rev. 7:15-17.
What are some of the how-to questions you have about this life or the life to come? How can I lead my kids to faith in Christ? How can I have more impact in my ministry? Will I meet my loved ones in heaven? Beloved, if we can trust Jesus is with us always, is not the edge of our anxiety greatly reduced in any case?
Today, Holy Spirit, do your work with us as you did through Paul in this letter. Let us rest assured that we will always be with the Lord Jesus.
Watch Therefore (Matthew 25:1-13)
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Matthew 25:1-13
The Israelites listening to Jesus deliver this parable would have recognized immediately that the ten virgins in the parable were not official members of the wedding party. If they were, they would been inside the whole time, No, the virgins in the story were hangers on. Their participation at the feast in the bridegroom’s home would have been both acceptable and welcome, but the initiative to get there would have been all on them. Some of them were wise in that situation; others were not.
What is it for us to be wise, waiting smartly on the outside for the long-awaited entrance into the Father’s house with Jesus? The main issue for our discipleship, as Jesus himself makes plain, is to remain on “watch” (13,or “alert” NASB) for the coming of the Lord. But does watching here mean sitting outside and staring at the clouds? Certainly not. We watch for the coming of the Lord in the Spirit through everyday circumstances here and now. We watch for the Lord by taking advantage of every opportunity given to us to serve someone else, especially those in the church, with prayer, encouragement and practical service
For me, a good summary of what Jesus means by “watch” in this parable comes from Paul’s words in a NT reading from a few weeks ago: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Rom.12:9-13). Here, by the present day work of the Spirit, is all the oil we need to carry us right into the arms of Jesus when he comes again, whenever that may be. The present day ministry of Christ in the power of his Holy Spirit is our light to give energy and to show the way to the big house in the future.
Today, in the Spirit, hearing this parable on Sunday, we confess to you our lack of readiness to serve. Empower us with the wakefulness to “watch” for any opportunity to do your will everyday.
Today in the Spirit
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