Today in the Spirit: Proper 27C
At Proper 27, the Sunday lectionary shifts to pre-Advent mode, concentrating on eschatological (end times) themes. The assigned Gospel reading in Year C, Luke 20:27-38, is Luke’s version of the dialogue between Jesus and the Sadducees over marriage and the resurrection. The priestly power brokers of Jerusalem, who don’t believe in the resurrection from the dead, seek to trip up Jesus with the hypothetical situation of one woman marrying seven brothers. They ask him, no doubt with a sneer: “In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be?” (33).
Jesus replies first, “…those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage” (35); and second, “But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him” (37-38).
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The appointed OT passage from Job 19:23-27a is the protagonist’s glorious discourse uttered at the height of his personal distress, concerning his vindication on earth and, it seems, certainty of an afterlife: “And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (26-27). Implied behind the explicit reference to a resurrection of the body is Job’s yearning for fellowship with the One who has brought him to such intense grief and suffering.
Psalm 17, appointed only here in the three-year cycle, is a psalm of petition delivered with a similar tone and spirit as the words of Job in his speech. For “David,” the issue provoking intercession is the fierce opposition of his personal enemies: “They lie waiting in my way on every side, watching how they may cast me down to the ground” (11). At the end, we will find we are reciting in our worship, as in Job, another OT foretaste in verse of the assurance of bodily resurrection: “But as for me, I will behold your presence in righteousness; and when I awake and see your likeness, I shall be satisfied” (16).
At Proper 27C, the church assigns the second in a three-week series of NT readings out of 2 Thessalonians. The passage 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5 itself is hardly concerned with the second coming of Jesus, but it is part of a larger discourse beginning with the phrase, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him…” (2:1). At one point in the reading Paul does say pertaining to Christian life after death, “To this [salvation, God] called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2:14).
Many Collects for Sunday worship contain phrases concerned with preparation for an eternal afterlife; none more, however, than those assigned consecutively beginning this Sunday through the First Sunday of Advent. This week in our worship, we pray that “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.”
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 Shall See God (Job 19:23-27a)
23 “Oh that my words were written!
Job 19:23-27
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!”
Commentators on this passage are quick to point out that these verses are not necessarily about Job’s hope for an afterlife. The Hebrew is highly ambiguous, and even that which we can easily translate is mysterious. In context, what Job wants most in the short term is relief from his friends’ harassment (“How long will you [friends] torment me and break me in pieces with words?”, 19:1); and in the long term vindication from what he believes to be unjust treatment from God (“[God] has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths,” 19:8).
In looking for resurrection hope devotionally, however, we need not be discouraged. There are lots of examples in the OT of human yearning for something earthly becoming an introduction to belief in something heavenly in the NT: David as king or Israel is a figure of Jesus, King of the Universe; YHWH’s command to Israel to inhabit the entire land of Canaan becomes a metaphor for Christ ordering his disciples to make disciples in all nations. H. H. Rowley, the renowned OT scholar of the early twentieth century, commented on this passage this way: “Though there is no full grasping of a belief in a worthwhile Afterlife with God, this passage is a notable landmark in the program toward such a belief.”
Today, in the Spirit, setting our sights on Advent and the coming(s) of Jesus Christ into the world, we hear this passage from Job and long with him for vindication from suffering, that we may see God with our own eyes.
Keep Me as the Apple of Your Eye (Psalm 17)
1 Hear what is right, O Lord; consider my complaint; *
Psalm 17
hearken to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.
2 Let justice for me come forth from your presence, *
and let your eyes look upon that which is right.
3 You have tested and visited my heart in the night season. *
If you try me you shall find no wickedness in me; my mouth shall not offend.
4 As for the works of others, *
because of the words of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
5 Hold my steps firmly in your paths, *
that my footsteps may not slip.
6 I have called upon you, O God, for you will hear me; *
incline your ear to me and hearken to my words.
7 Show your marvelous loving-kindness, you that are the Savior of those who put their trust in you *
from the ones who resist your right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; *
hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9 From the ungodly who assault me, *
even from my enemies who encompass me to take away my soul.
10 They have closed their heart to pity, *
and their mouth speaks proud things.
11 They lie waiting in my way on every side, *
watching how they may cast me down to the ground,
12 Like a lion that is greedy for its prey, *
and like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them and cast them down; *
deliver my soul from the ungodly by your sword and by your hand,
14 From those, O Lord, from those whose portion in life is of the world, *
whose bellies you fill with your hidden treasure.
15 They have children at their desire, *
and leave the rest of their abundance for their little ones.
16 But as for me, I will behold your presence in righteousness; *
and when I awake and see your likeness, I shall be satisfied.
“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings” (8). Many of us will recognize these words as a treasured versicle embedded in the Compline service (BCP. pg. 62). The phrase is an ancient metaphor to describe the value of the pupil at the center of the eye (see v. 8, NET). In other parts of the OT, “the apple” of God’s eye is the law (Pr. 7:2) or Israel (Zec. 2:8). In the psalm, “David” considers himself as YHWH’s chosen king to be highly favored in his sight.
Devotionally, of course, we rightly consider ourselves, individually and corporately, to be the apple of God’s eye—and, with David, declare it with confidence. Think of how you catch a glimpse of a plump, perfectly formed red McIntosh in a bowl: for a moment, you forget about everything else, and your eyes expand in proportion with your growing desire to take it in. David pleads with his God to persevere with him and defend him from his enemies.
We do the same through the challenges we face. In fact, we are now not the perfect fruit God sees when he looks at us. We are bruised by sin and cut by impurity, but he is over time and through trials forming us to be his object of love without fault, just as he created us to be. He “keeps” us faithfully, even to the realization of that delectable vision he has of us..
Today, in the Spirit, on this Sunday, looking forward to the end times, we celebrate your seeing us now as the apple of your eye, desiring us even before we are fit for consumption.
May the Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5)
13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
Why the urgent tone in this passage? Persecution is coming. In the previous section of the letter, the apostle has reminded the Thessalonian church that “the lawless one” (see 2:8-10) will come to terrorize the world with unimaginable violence against which there will be no opposition to stand in the way. In the face of this reality, Paul offers two invocations for God’s intervention, one soon after the other in the text: 1) “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2:16-17); and 2) “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (3:5).
Devotionally, brothers and sisters, we must not fail here to stand at attention spiritually. Though we in the West may not feel (at least now) the intense threat of persecution that the early church experienced, we must hold with all our might to the lifeline these invocations offer: “May the Lord Jesus Christ himself” give us the comfort and hope we need to pass through our time. Without it, we are lost. Beloved, the roar of the lion seeking to devour us is equally menacing now as at any time.
Today, in the Spirit, hearing Paul’s invocations in this passage, we declare forthrightly that we need you, Jesus, to direct our hearts and create steadfastness within us.
For They Cannot Die Anymore (Luke 20:27-38)
27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
Luke’s version of this narrative contains compelling language about life in the age of the resurrection that does not appear in Matthew of Mark. All three have Jesus saying something like, “‘The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage;’” but Luke adds the line, “for they cannot die anymore’” (36a). Similarly, all three report Jesus saying, “‘they are equal to angels;’”; then, in Luke, he adds, “‘…and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection’” (36b). To this we should also add the observation at the end of the account that in Luke Jesus says not only that Israel’s God is God “of the living,” but then the comment, “for all live to him” (37).
To the Sadducees “who deny that there is a resurrection” (27), the effect of these added comments may be to say: “Look, you are not only wrong in your thinking, but see what you are missing–life eternal as children of God!”
However, to us who believe in the resurrection and read this passage, we find in our Lord’s words here not only a clever argument against detractors but an invitation to a heightened expectation about the future in eternity. To be frank, I’m not sure how I feel about a place where there is no marriage: I very much want to be joined with Blanca forever. But setting that aside, I could not be more enthusiastic about life after death. What about you?
Today, Holy Spirit, in this season of the church, looking ahead to the second coming of Jesus, we rejoice, hearing this passage in Luke about the life you are promising us at the end of all things.
Today in the Spirit
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