Reflections on the Lectionary for February 2008

The Lectionary readings for February begin with the Transfiguration and move through the third Sunday in Lent. Finding common themes which link the readings together will be a challenge for the most accomplished preacher. There is, however, a common characteristic in the structure of the readings chosen for the month. Each gospel lesson is foreshadowed by the Hebrew Bible reading.

The account of Moses receiving the law on Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:12–18) is paired with the account of the Transfiguration in Matthew (17:1–9). Similarly, on the First Sunday of Lent, the story of the temptation in the garden (Gen 2:15–17; 3:1–7) is linked with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. (Mt 4:1–11) In the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent, the call of Abram (Gen 12:1–4a) is paired with the call of Nicodemus to “be born from above.” (Jn 3:1–17) Likewise, on the Third Sunday of Lent the account of God providing the children of Israel water in the wilderness is linked to the story of the Samaritan women at the well who is offered “living water” by Jesus. (Jn 4:5–42)

Perhaps one starting point in examining both these readings and their linkages is to interrogate the theological assumptions that, perhaps, are being made by the lectionary scholars. First, it would appear that there is a desire to underscore the Christological nature of interpretation. Each gospel lesson has a Hebrew Bible parallel so that each reinforces the other while structurally pointing to the fulfillment which occurs in the Jesus event. Clearly the lectionary has a Christocentric construction. Second, are the lectionary scholars suggesting that the Hebrew Bible is subordinate to the New Testament? I do not believe that the scholars would suggest this, but one danger of this construction of texts is that it might appear that the Hebrew Bible is “the warm-up act” for the New Testament. One thing we need to avoid in our preaching is the trivialization of the old covenant in favor of the new covenant. Not to examine this tendency in our preaching is to potentially support an implicit but slippery kind of anti-Semitism on one hand and a reductionist view of the history of salvation on the other.
A third series of questions might be developed around what appears to be the focus on individuals, particularly in the Lenten period, to the exclusion of the communal context of the readings. Has the dominance of Western individualism influenced the ways the scholars choose the texts? I would guess that this is true, but the greater challenge for the preacher is to present the texts for Lent in the context of the communities both in which they were heard and in which they will be delivered. The preacher has the task of recontextualizing the readings in the light of not only the past but particularly in the light of the specific venue where the word will be shared today. How do the Transfiguration, Jesus in the wilderness, the story of Nicodemus, and the story of the Samaritan women get interpreted in our twenty-first-century context?

With these introductory comments in mind, I will now turn to the readings for the month with special attention given to the gospel texts. Grappling with how these readings are heard in the twenty-first century will be a challenge for each Sunday. How do we help our faith communities hear what was said in the past while also being open to appropriating these texts in our own context? It is not enough for the preacher to simply tell the story. He or she must build a hermeneutical bridge that moves the contemporary listener to embark on the Lenten journey amid the current troubled times of American culture and to encounter the movement of the Holy Spirit in these difficult days of a deeply divided and warring world.

How does one make sense of the Transfiguration? Clearly the week’s reading from Exodus with its account of Moses on Mt. Sinai is meant to parallel or even interpret the Transfiguration recounted in Matthew. But how do we make sense of this story for our congregations and faith communities?

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is the fulfillment of the old. Hence, the Transfiguration is yet another divine sign of Jesus being the messiah similar to God’s appearance at the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus. Matthew is focused on fulfillment in a way that the other Gospels are not. But having acknowledged the fulfillment theme in Matthew, then what do we do? How does the preacher make sense theologically of this event? Is it a kind of prelude to Lent? If so, in what ways? Theologically Lent is bracketed by the Transfiguration one side and Easter on the other. The reading from 2 Peter simply recounts Peter’s experience at the Transfiguration, which becomes for him a sign of divine prophecy and gives credence to his claims.

For the first Sunday in Lent the preacher is given stories of temptation: first, the story of temptation in the Garden of Eden and, second, Jesus’ retreat to the wilderness for forty days of temptation. The Romans reading is a theological interpretation of the first temptation story. As sin came into the world through one man, now through Jesus sin will be forgiven. Jesus is the new Adam. As Paul says, “Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.” (Rom 5:17)

An exegesis of the temptation in Matthew might be the place to begin. Some critical questions to note include that “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Mt 4:1) What role did this temptation play in the later ministry of Jesus? Please note the nature of each temptation. The first temptation is to turn stones into loaves of bread. Although Jesus rejects this economic temptation, contemporary messianic expectation would be looking for some leader who would change the economic condition of a poor people.

The second temptation is to jump from the pinnacle of the temple and that he will not be hurt. Jesus counters by saying, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” In this case he does seem to reject a “miracle-working” option that might draw crowds to his work.

The last temptation is political. The devil promises Jesus earthly power if he will fall down and worship him. Jesus rejects this political option. In the time of temptation we get a glimpse of what Jesus rejects as priorities for this newly announced Kingdom of Heaven. He will not start with an economic solution, a miracle-promising presence, or a military-political option. What will he do? That is yet to be determined as the story unfolds.
Is there any way that the temptations which faced Jesus parallel some of the current temptations in both the world and the church? We are certainly seeing the limits of both the economic and military-political options as the United States has sought both to feed and control the world. We see the fallout from these policies in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Darfur, and so many other places. What might we learn from all of this? What contemporary temptations do we face that Jesus’ temptations help us understand?

The second Sunday in Lent focuses on call. First is the call of Abram and then is the call of Nicodemus. Between the two is the reading from Romans with its focus on Abraham’s faith. Abraham’s faith is a great gift and not the law.

The story of Nicodemus is filled with interesting issues for call. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, is called to “be born from above.” This is sometimes translated to “be born again” and is a text which has been at the center of much evangelical conversation concerning the nature of salvation.

What does it mean to “be born from above”? I recently heard the Liberation Bible Scholar from South Africa, Gerald West, talk about the need to “be born from below.” He suggested that the radical new view called for by Jesus to Nicodemus might be understood in our culture better if we were to attempt to see the world, ourselves, God, and others from the perspective of the poor and oppressed. If we look “from below” we would see a different reality from what we see from a perspective of comfort or privilege. Perhaps the rebirth of Nicodemus from above might be comparable in our culture to accept a view “from below.” How do you get a radically new perspective? How do we get born anew to other possibilities? Have we ever sought to “look from below”?

Preaching could get creative here by comparing and contrasting views from above and below. Perhaps in our culture we are already “too much above” and hence do not comprehend the difficulties and problems of the poor and oppressed. Help us to be born again from below.

Third Sunday in Lent
February 24, 2008
Ex 17:1–7; Rom 5:1–11; Jn 4:5–42
The Exodus reading recounts God providing water to the children of Israel while in the wilderness of Sin. The Romans reading reflects on Christ’s death as the event which provides the possibility of reconciliation with God. This is theologically linked to the John reading in that Christ is the source of the living water for the Samaritan women. In both the wilderness and in Samaria God provides living water to all who thirst.

The story of the Samaritan women in John is rich with implications. One can approach the story from several angles. First, it is no accident that Jesus’ encounter is with a women or that she is a Samaritan women. This encounter deliberately breaks through two strong cultural prohibitions. What Jesus provides is offered to one who is both a woman and a Samaritan in a way that pushes the envelope of what is normative. The Jesus event shatters barriers that relate to both gender and religious culture.

Second, this long narrative is filled with surprises for the disciples who are amazed that Jesus is talking to a woman and offering “living water” to Samaritans. Then the metaphor switches from water to food, and Jesus says, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (Jn 4:33) Jesus tells the disciples that “my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” (Jn 4:34)

Third, I have heard one theologian comment on the fact that the woman left her water jar and went back to the city to tell others about what she had heard and thus becomes an evangelist while abandoning her primary task of carrying water. From a feminist angle, this text illustrates how a woman is freed from her assigned task to carry water to become a disciple of the one who indeed provides “living water.”

Fourth, one could reflect upon this story from an ecclesiological perspective. How does the church provide the place where men and women are freed from the conventions and constraints of culture to become transformed in the interaction with Jesus? Does the Jesus event shatter the roles and tasks assigned to men and women in our culture and open up invitations to a new life based on a new vision of what it means to be human for both men and women?

Fifth, please note that Jesus was invited to stay in Samaria and did so for two days. Jesus stayed in a foreign territory with a history of conflict and division, and there Jesus offered the “living water.” Here again the Gospel breaks through the unexpected and creates a new territory of fellowship. How do enemies become friends? This story provides an entry point for that conversation. Certainly, enemies exist both within and without the church. How do we stay in an uncomfortable and hostile space to make the good news known?