God Will Make Things Better
Commentary
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
The First Lesson is drawn from a collection of oracles for different occasions in the late 7th or early 6th century BC during the height of Babylonian power. We know nothing about the prophet whose name is attached to the book. This lesson includes part of the opening two-cycle dialogue involving the prophet’s lament and Yahweh’s response with assurance. First, the prophet laments how long the Lord will seem not to listen to his cries in face of all the destruction and violence (1:2-3). He notes that the law has become slack, justice never prevails, and the wicked surrounds the righteous (1:4). The prophet indicates that he will listen for a reply to his complaint (2:1).
Yahweh responds with a word of assurance. He claims that his answer is as plain as a road sign (2:2). There is a vision at the end, and it will come even if it seems to tarry (2:3). Yahweh directs us to regard the proud who do not have a right spirit, but the righteous shall live by faith (2:4).
This lesson obviously affords preachers with the opportunity to preach the Reformation word of justification by faith, a word of hope in the midst of injustices in America today and our lethargy about them. Just as the Hebrews under foreign Babylonian domination felt that they had lost their way, lots of us in America on the eve of the Reformation and the elections are losing hope for the future. Polls indicate that, like Habakkuk felt, we have become slack in our observance of the law and injustices continue to grow (a 2022 Gallup poll found 50% of Americans say our state of moral values is poor and another 37% rate us as fair, while a 2022 poll by NCB finds 70% of us think the nation is moving in a wrong direction). Obviously one approach is to preach the lesson’s word that faith leads to righteousness, that God forgives us for our wantonness and also directs us in faith to righteousness (see comments on righteousness and the righteousness of God below in the Psalm). Another approach is to stress the theme of hope inherent in this lesson, to focus on how our nation needs more hope-givers in political office, those who do not so demonize opponents with their pride, but call us to reconciliation, to our common values and to work together in order to get our communities back on the right road.
Psalm 119:137-144
The alternative First Lesson appears in a book of Hebraic hymns of praise, most of which were composed to accompany worship in the Jerusalem temple. It is organized in five collections of books, perhaps an analogy to the five books of the Torah. The authors of each of the psalms are largely unknown. This is a wisdom psalm on the law of God, especially devoted in these verses to its beauty and sweetness. It is an acrostic psalm in which each stanza consists of eight lines beginning with the same Hebrew letter. The 22 stanzas use all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in turn.
The verses that comprise this selection are an acknowledgement of the righteousness of God as evidenced in the law. Yahweh is declared to be righteous [tsaddiq], making righteous judgments [mishpat] and likewise his decrees have this quality (vv.137-138). The Lord’s promise is well tried and loved by his servant who confesses to being small and despised. Yet God’s precepts are not forgotten (vv.140-141). God’s righteousness is said to be an everlasting righteousness which makes the law true. Even when trouble comes upon us, the psalm proclaims that these commandments are our delight (vv.142-143).
This is a text for sermons on the righteousness of God, especially providing opportunity to clarify the reformation view of God’s righteousness (see Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, pp. 373, 376ff. and the idea that the Hebraic equivalent term for “righteousness” when applied to God does not just connote legal, judgmental actions, but concerns loyalty to his covenanting). Sermons could begin with the Hebraic concept of wisdom (the primary subject of the psalm as a whole) which is closely tied to the law of God. Scholars are agreed that for the Ancient Hebrews wisdom is the ability to judge correctly and follow the best course of action based on knowledge, seeing things from God’s viewpoint. Of course, the law is the path to righteousness, but just before the lesson begins, it is made clear that we have not kept the law (v.136), that foes forget it (v.139). For this reason, we need forgiveness, which is God’s righteousness. The rest of the sermon might then afford excellent opportunities to explain the links between the Hebraic view of God’s righteousness and the Protestant Reformation’s vision of the concept — the belief that God is righteous not as a judge, but in making us righteous. His loyalty to us makes us loyal people who will delight in God’s commandments and makes us fully alive.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
The Second Lesson is taken from an epistle which purports to be a follow-up of the authentic Pauline letter which we have in 1 Thessalonians to a Gentile church in a Greek city threatened by social pressures and some persecution. Though closely resembling the previous epistle, some scholars have regarded the authorship as the result of possible forgery evidenced in 2:2 and 3:17. Either Paul wrote this letter to recall his earlier wording or a later writer wrote it using 1 Thessalonians as a model. This book is less inclined than the earlier epistle to contend that the end is near, and so is more concerned with questions of how the faithful should continue the pursuits of daily life.
This lesson includes a salutation, thanksgiving, and reflections on the judgment of God. The Thessalonians are greeted by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, wishing them grace and peace (vv.1-2). Paul and company praise the Thessalonians for their faith and boast of their steadfastness when facing persecution (vv.3-4). Thanks are expressed to God for the Thessalonians and his giving them relief when Christ comes again (vv.5-10). The lesson resumes as the author (with the persona of Paul) notes how he always prays for the Thessalonians, asking that God make them worthy of their calling and fulfilling their good resolve (v.11). Such fulfillment will lead to the name of Jesus being glorified in them and they in him, according to God’s grace in Christ (v.12).
In our context in which we often speak of America as a meritocracy where the hard-working and gifted succeed, we need sermons with the Pauline author’s word that we do not do the good, but God does it. Preachers might like Paul praise the faithful for their faith and working in the church. But then like the Pauline writer, it should be made clear that it is God who deserves thanks for all the good that is done. Make it clear that life is a little easier and happier when we live with this appreciation that God deserves all the credit for the good we have in life.
Luke 19:1-19
The gospel is drawn from the first part of the author’s two-part history of the church. Both books aim to vindicate outreach to the Gentile community, and its author is supposed to have been a Gentile, Luke a physician and associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11). This gospel is clearly indebted to oral traditions about Jesus which have been recorded in Mark, though in this case much of the story is unique to Luke. This is a story of the tax collector Zacchaeus — his repentance and forgiveness.
The story begins with Jesus passing through Jericho where the chief tax collector Zacchaeus is said to reside (vv.1-2). He wanted to see Jesus, but due to the crowd and his short stature is reportedly unable to do (v.3). Consequently, Zacchaeus ran to climb on a sycamore tree to see Jesus (v.4). There is a curiosity exhibited in this action, which is perhaps a yearning on his part. Jesus sees him, summons him by name, and the tax collector hurries down the tree to welcome Jesus (vv. 5-6). Those who saw this grumbled, complaining that Jesus went to be the guest of a sinner (v.7). Zacchaeus was resented in Jericho as a Roman collaborator. He responds, claiming half his possessions he would gave to the poor and would pay back four times anyone he had defrauded (v.8). This repentance transpires in Jesus’ presence. The Lord responds that this day salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house as a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man seeks out and saves the lost (vv.9-10).
This is an opportunity to preach a Biblical, grace-oriented vision of repentance. It could be related to Martin Luther’s call for daily repentance in the First Thesis of The Ninety-Five Theses. Help those in the congregation to see how they and you have been inclined to see ourselves as morally better than others, to wondering if these others could really be God’s children like we “know” we are. In that sense we are the grumblers, while it is Zacchaeus and those we regard as less accomplished or less upstanding than we are who are really the ones with whom God dwells. We need daily repentance for our pride and sin no less than Zacchaeus and the other “sinners.”
All the lessons testify to how, no matter how good or bad things look, God is always with us, working on us and our surroundings by grace and in surprising ways to make things better. That is the Reformation word of Martin Luther’s Theology of the Cross.
The First Lesson is drawn from a collection of oracles for different occasions in the late 7th or early 6th century BC during the height of Babylonian power. We know nothing about the prophet whose name is attached to the book. This lesson includes part of the opening two-cycle dialogue involving the prophet’s lament and Yahweh’s response with assurance. First, the prophet laments how long the Lord will seem not to listen to his cries in face of all the destruction and violence (1:2-3). He notes that the law has become slack, justice never prevails, and the wicked surrounds the righteous (1:4). The prophet indicates that he will listen for a reply to his complaint (2:1).
Yahweh responds with a word of assurance. He claims that his answer is as plain as a road sign (2:2). There is a vision at the end, and it will come even if it seems to tarry (2:3). Yahweh directs us to regard the proud who do not have a right spirit, but the righteous shall live by faith (2:4).
This lesson obviously affords preachers with the opportunity to preach the Reformation word of justification by faith, a word of hope in the midst of injustices in America today and our lethargy about them. Just as the Hebrews under foreign Babylonian domination felt that they had lost their way, lots of us in America on the eve of the Reformation and the elections are losing hope for the future. Polls indicate that, like Habakkuk felt, we have become slack in our observance of the law and injustices continue to grow (a 2022 Gallup poll found 50% of Americans say our state of moral values is poor and another 37% rate us as fair, while a 2022 poll by NCB finds 70% of us think the nation is moving in a wrong direction). Obviously one approach is to preach the lesson’s word that faith leads to righteousness, that God forgives us for our wantonness and also directs us in faith to righteousness (see comments on righteousness and the righteousness of God below in the Psalm). Another approach is to stress the theme of hope inherent in this lesson, to focus on how our nation needs more hope-givers in political office, those who do not so demonize opponents with their pride, but call us to reconciliation, to our common values and to work together in order to get our communities back on the right road.
Psalm 119:137-144
The alternative First Lesson appears in a book of Hebraic hymns of praise, most of which were composed to accompany worship in the Jerusalem temple. It is organized in five collections of books, perhaps an analogy to the five books of the Torah. The authors of each of the psalms are largely unknown. This is a wisdom psalm on the law of God, especially devoted in these verses to its beauty and sweetness. It is an acrostic psalm in which each stanza consists of eight lines beginning with the same Hebrew letter. The 22 stanzas use all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in turn.
The verses that comprise this selection are an acknowledgement of the righteousness of God as evidenced in the law. Yahweh is declared to be righteous [tsaddiq], making righteous judgments [mishpat] and likewise his decrees have this quality (vv.137-138). The Lord’s promise is well tried and loved by his servant who confesses to being small and despised. Yet God’s precepts are not forgotten (vv.140-141). God’s righteousness is said to be an everlasting righteousness which makes the law true. Even when trouble comes upon us, the psalm proclaims that these commandments are our delight (vv.142-143).
This is a text for sermons on the righteousness of God, especially providing opportunity to clarify the reformation view of God’s righteousness (see Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, pp. 373, 376ff. and the idea that the Hebraic equivalent term for “righteousness” when applied to God does not just connote legal, judgmental actions, but concerns loyalty to his covenanting). Sermons could begin with the Hebraic concept of wisdom (the primary subject of the psalm as a whole) which is closely tied to the law of God. Scholars are agreed that for the Ancient Hebrews wisdom is the ability to judge correctly and follow the best course of action based on knowledge, seeing things from God’s viewpoint. Of course, the law is the path to righteousness, but just before the lesson begins, it is made clear that we have not kept the law (v.136), that foes forget it (v.139). For this reason, we need forgiveness, which is God’s righteousness. The rest of the sermon might then afford excellent opportunities to explain the links between the Hebraic view of God’s righteousness and the Protestant Reformation’s vision of the concept — the belief that God is righteous not as a judge, but in making us righteous. His loyalty to us makes us loyal people who will delight in God’s commandments and makes us fully alive.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
The Second Lesson is taken from an epistle which purports to be a follow-up of the authentic Pauline letter which we have in 1 Thessalonians to a Gentile church in a Greek city threatened by social pressures and some persecution. Though closely resembling the previous epistle, some scholars have regarded the authorship as the result of possible forgery evidenced in 2:2 and 3:17. Either Paul wrote this letter to recall his earlier wording or a later writer wrote it using 1 Thessalonians as a model. This book is less inclined than the earlier epistle to contend that the end is near, and so is more concerned with questions of how the faithful should continue the pursuits of daily life.
This lesson includes a salutation, thanksgiving, and reflections on the judgment of God. The Thessalonians are greeted by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, wishing them grace and peace (vv.1-2). Paul and company praise the Thessalonians for their faith and boast of their steadfastness when facing persecution (vv.3-4). Thanks are expressed to God for the Thessalonians and his giving them relief when Christ comes again (vv.5-10). The lesson resumes as the author (with the persona of Paul) notes how he always prays for the Thessalonians, asking that God make them worthy of their calling and fulfilling their good resolve (v.11). Such fulfillment will lead to the name of Jesus being glorified in them and they in him, according to God’s grace in Christ (v.12).
In our context in which we often speak of America as a meritocracy where the hard-working and gifted succeed, we need sermons with the Pauline author’s word that we do not do the good, but God does it. Preachers might like Paul praise the faithful for their faith and working in the church. But then like the Pauline writer, it should be made clear that it is God who deserves thanks for all the good that is done. Make it clear that life is a little easier and happier when we live with this appreciation that God deserves all the credit for the good we have in life.
Luke 19:1-19
The gospel is drawn from the first part of the author’s two-part history of the church. Both books aim to vindicate outreach to the Gentile community, and its author is supposed to have been a Gentile, Luke a physician and associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11). This gospel is clearly indebted to oral traditions about Jesus which have been recorded in Mark, though in this case much of the story is unique to Luke. This is a story of the tax collector Zacchaeus — his repentance and forgiveness.
The story begins with Jesus passing through Jericho where the chief tax collector Zacchaeus is said to reside (vv.1-2). He wanted to see Jesus, but due to the crowd and his short stature is reportedly unable to do (v.3). Consequently, Zacchaeus ran to climb on a sycamore tree to see Jesus (v.4). There is a curiosity exhibited in this action, which is perhaps a yearning on his part. Jesus sees him, summons him by name, and the tax collector hurries down the tree to welcome Jesus (vv. 5-6). Those who saw this grumbled, complaining that Jesus went to be the guest of a sinner (v.7). Zacchaeus was resented in Jericho as a Roman collaborator. He responds, claiming half his possessions he would gave to the poor and would pay back four times anyone he had defrauded (v.8). This repentance transpires in Jesus’ presence. The Lord responds that this day salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house as a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man seeks out and saves the lost (vv.9-10).
This is an opportunity to preach a Biblical, grace-oriented vision of repentance. It could be related to Martin Luther’s call for daily repentance in the First Thesis of The Ninety-Five Theses. Help those in the congregation to see how they and you have been inclined to see ourselves as morally better than others, to wondering if these others could really be God’s children like we “know” we are. In that sense we are the grumblers, while it is Zacchaeus and those we regard as less accomplished or less upstanding than we are who are really the ones with whom God dwells. We need daily repentance for our pride and sin no less than Zacchaeus and the other “sinners.”
All the lessons testify to how, no matter how good or bad things look, God is always with us, working on us and our surroundings by grace and in surprising ways to make things better. That is the Reformation word of Martin Luther’s Theology of the Cross.
