Being neighbor: to who?

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Friar Musings

Who is my neighbor? But because he wished to justify himself… And who is my neighbor?” One wonders why the scholar did not “quit while he was ahead?” It is almost as though the scholar’s first question was entrée to the real question about who is (or is not) neighbor. In Leviticus 19 the word root neighbor (-ger) include fellow Israelites, but also stranger and travelers. While that Semitic custom remained present in Jesus’ time, the Pharisees also professed extensive limitations on interactions with non-Jews. (m. Abodah Zarah 1:1, 2:1-2, 4:9-10) To “justify himself” the scholar raises the disputed question about the identity of the neighbor. When the scholar added the Leviticus text, one may well speculate that the scholar’s understanding was that “neighbor” included only one’s fellow Israelite. Continue reading →

Being neighbor: inheriting

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Friar Musings

A Question About Inheriting. There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The setting is not entirely clear. Jesus spoke to the disciples privately in v. 23, but now he is addressed by a lawyer. The lawyer’s question is readily understandable following Jesus’ blessing of the disciples in vv. 23–24 for what they have seen and heard. What if one has not seen and has not heard what the disciples were privileged to see and hear? Is there any hope for them? The scholar asks a good question, even is there some sense of opposition in the asking of the question (ekpeirazō – put to the test). It is perhaps notable that in Mark and Matthew, the question asks what is the greatest of the commandments and Jesus is the one who provides the answer. Jumping ahead just a bit, Jesus does not answer the scholar’s question, instead asking his own question, receives an answer (“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”) and accepts the scholar’s answer: “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” Continue reading →

Being neighbor: context

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Friar Musings

²⁵There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” ²⁷He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” ²⁹But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. ³²Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. ³³But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. ³⁴He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ ³⁶Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” ³⁷He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Continue reading →

Love and forgiveness: parable

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Friar Musings

The Parable. . ⁴¹“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty. ⁴²Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

The gist of the parable centers on the creditor who becomes a gracious benefactor, cancelling the debts of his clients. The clients have done nothing to repay debt – both seem beyond the capacity of the clients to payback. The dynamics of creditor/debtor would have been something well familiar to Simon (as it appears he is relatively wealthy in throwing a public dinner affair). He would have been quite familiar and comfortable in the quid pro quo to invitations, reciprocal invitations, and the inherent social status implied in the dynamic. The cancellation of such debts, strips away the “rules” by which interpersonal interactions were managed. Continue reading →

Love and forgiveness: context

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Friar Musings

³⁶A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. ³⁷Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. Continue reading →

Keeping watch:

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Friar Musings

Keeping Watch. ³² “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. ³⁴It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. ³⁵Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. ³⁶May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. ³⁷What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” Continue reading →

Keeping watch: sure sign

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Friar Musings

The Certain Sign. ²⁸“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. ³⁰Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

The image of the fig tree in blossom is a sure and certain sign of summer. Jesus is using a short proverb to assure the readings that his promises are true. So, when they see these things happening they will know. But what are “these things?” Is the reader supposed to remember the fig tree with leaves and no fruit, which Jesus cursed (11:12–14, 20–22)? If so, then alleged “signs” must be carefully scrutinized. Who is “near”? God? A Son of Man other than Jesus? Jesus as Son of Man? What are “these things”? Continue reading →

Keeping watch: promise

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Friar Musings

Promise Amidst Tribulation. ²⁴“But in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, ²⁷and then he will send out the angels and gather (his) elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

As noted in most outlines, we are jumping into the middle of Mark’s “Oliver Discourse.” Pheme Perkins [691] nicely locates it for us: “Both of the previous sections end with a note of warning to the elect: Persecution requires endurance (v. 13); the presence of false messiahs requires careful attention to the prophecies in the discourse (v. 23). Both sections also assure the faithful that they will be among the elect (vv. 13b, 20b). Thus each unit of prophetic discourse directs the reader’s attention from the present or impending historical experiences of persecution to the culmination of all things at the end time. The faithful testimony of Jesus’ disciples before human courts will assure them that the Son of Man will testify on their behalf in the heavenly court (13:9–13 echoes 8:34–38). A prophecy concerning the coming of the Son of Man to gather the elect now makes explicit the expectations built up in the previous sections.” Continue reading →

Keeping Watch: context

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Friar Musings

²⁴“But in those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, ²⁷and then he will send out the angels and gather (his) elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. ²⁸“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. ³⁰Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ³² “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. ³⁴It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. ³⁵Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. ³⁶May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. ³⁷What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:24-37) Continue reading →

Widow’s mite: exit

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Friar Musings

The Poor Widow and Jesus. ’ ⁴¹He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. ⁴³Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, ‘Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. ⁴⁴For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.’

We are conditioned to consider that Jesus is continuing his castigation of the scribes (religious leaders who use their position for their own gain) and their social counterparts, many rich people. By juxtaposition we then infer that the poor widow is praised for her giving of her whole livelihood and placing here full dependence upon God. We infer that, and perhaps rightly so, but there are many Continue reading →

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the musings of a Franciscan friar…

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