Life-giving power
Commentary
Object:
One of the ongoing discussions within any denomination or non-denominational ministry is the use of power. There is power from above such as the Roman Caesar, which is mirrored in military organizations. This lends itself to abuse of power by one (unaccountable) individual. There is power behind the scenes, which some might call “manipulation,” but it is often used when the leaders realize they have to work through other persons to get the job done. More acceptable usage is power through teamwork or collaboration. However, people can switch teams if they so choose to do so. And finally there is power through nurturing or mentoring. However, one day the nurtured person has to operate independently on his or her own. In today’s texts we have three examples of life-giving power. The 2 Samuel lesson suggests that there is a power by means of grieving the loss of a beloved leader of Israel. Second Corinthians 8 implies there is a power through sharing. Finally, Jesus in Mark 5 demonstrates life-giving power through healing. This week, we are challenged to ask ourselves how and to what ends we use the power that God has given us as Christians and a community of faith. [source: Ray Anderson, The Soul of Ministry: Forming Leaders for God’s People (Westminster John Knox Press, 1997)]
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
This text is David’s lament for the recently slain King Saul of Israel, probably written by David’s hand (if one accepts he also had the ability to write many of the Psalms). David invites a time of national grief for several days, as one might if a U.S. president were assassinated. Mount Gilboa (1:21) would then have same legacy as the Texas Schoolbook Depository in Dallas. Despite any in-house grievances David might have had with the deceased monarch Saul, the time to grieve and acknowledge his accomplishments now has its place. 2 Samuel 1:19-27 takes on a poetic form because poetry has its own life and language, thus is less vulnerable to being manipulated or domesticated for less than living, giving purposes.
This time of lamentation is to be an in-house time for the family of Israel to tear, touch, and talk to one another. Outsiders can view, but are expected to allow the family of Israel to have their space and time for grieving. While the daughters of Israel are their professional grievers, everybody is invited to name the death, recount the works of the person, and acknowledge the harsh reality of their absence. Until this process has occurred, life-giving grief will be postponed at best. The dominant ideology of modern culture is to silence serious speech of grief, cover the impact of loss, and practice as much denial as one can get away with so life can proceed on its continuum. This text invites one to partake in a more sound religion that names and allows the feelings of lost to be felt and shared, as death remains at the edges of any human life despite the level of medical technology one has available.
Some sermon directions might include “Are there places or points of history in our own lives or the collective community in which we have not fully grieved?” Some have suggested that Vietnam was one such chapter in the American experience. Those who have lost a loved one during the time of a major holiday know how difficult it is to deal with the loss and yet maintain the integrity of a given holiday.
A pastor has lost both his mother and youngest brother around Mother’s Day and Memorial Day of a given year. The next year, how does he preach a genuine love for parents on Mother’s Day and celebrate the holidays if he has not worked through the feelings of losing family during this annual summer festive time? Second Samuel provides a roadmap to take grief seriously by naming it, then acknowledging it as real. Only then will new life emerge that Christians have through the crucified and risen Messiah. [source: Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: First and Second Samuel (Westminster John Knox Press, 1990)]
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Since the Corinthian community has realized a windfall of economic prosperity due to its being a port city for the Roman empire, the local churches are in a position to give more in terms of offerings (8:14). This text lends itself quite easily to a stewardship sermon. One gives in response to God’s bounty as they are able to give at the given time (8:15). In this case, the Jerusalem church is need of support. Paul is not pressuring the people of Corinth toward generosity in giving, but simply reminding them of the Hebrew Bible heritage of those who were taken care of in terms of sustenance and food during the time of the wilderness wanderings in Exodus 16:18.
Paul appeals to Christians setting a good example as one principle of giving by their own self-initiative. Second, he suggests that reciprocity may or probably may not occur from the Jerusalem church. As the people of Corinth share, they are empowering other believers in other communities to be faithful witnesses to the one gospel. By the world’s standards, such an ethic might be foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18-20), but in Paul’s world, giving of oneself results in power (1 Corinthians 1:25). Giving to other Christian communities in need is one way to move forward the gospel Paul preaches.
One example might be a congregation who struggles financially. Their women’s group is still able to sew blankets for their church’s third-world ministry efforts. Also, there could be a person who is homebound for some reason yet is able to donate financially to the local church’s Christian education ministry. Each of these acts of sharing does produce new life in the gospel. [source: F.F. Bruce, The New Century Bible Commentary: I & II Corinthians (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971)]
Mark 5:21-43
This text uses the framing of one narrative within another narrative, which is a literary method Mark likes to exercise to make his points. Consider that both narratives have a way of interpreting the other. So Jairus, the more wealthy supporter of the synagogue, requests that Jesus heal his daughter (probably around 12 years of age, 5:42), which is the same length of time the woman who is hemorrhaging blood is in need. She is more aggressive than Jairus in seeking healing, to the point where she came up behind Jesus “and touched his cloak” (5:27). The older woman held the popular belief of that time that touching a person with holy power would allow that power to be transmitted to her for relief of the oppressive ailment. Her faith was not a matter of believing in the right words about Christology, soteriology, or eschatology. She touches his cloak in the faith that Jesus heals people in need. The point Mark wants to make is Jesus’ presence has the potential to awaken faith in a person. Both Jesus’ presence and the woman’s faith worked toward her restoration of health. By the standards of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, she is clean (Leviticus 5:25; 12; and 15:25).
Jesus is most human in Mark’s gospel in that he asks questions (5:30), but he also exercises his divinity in his realization that a woman has touched him and that “power had gone forth from him” (5:30). Also note the Greek word euthos for “immediately” used here, as it occurs 42 times in this gospel. For those in our congregations who are always pressed by time, Mark 5 is a reminder that there is a time for healing.
In keeping with the ancient Hebrew traditions of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17:19-22; 2 Kings 17:32), Jesus will rise from the dead the daughter of Jairus. She has been dead, as the mourners are present for immediate funeral services due to the lack of embalming technology in that time. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him so as to witness this event, as they would accompany him on the mountain during the transfiguration. This supports the claim that these three disciples had a special status as leaders. This text might point beyond itself to the Christ being resurrected report in Mark 16:6. This epiphany of God’s power is to remain secret in Mark’s gospel until the disciples witness the true nature of Jesus’ mission and discipleship in the crucifixion (Mark 15:21-39). Two healings occur within one another in Mark 5. Jesus can heal those who have more influence and money, as well as the needy. Death remains the great equalizer, but faith in Jesus has its own power. [source: Eugene Boring, The New Testament Library: Mark (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)]
Application
How does healing occur these days? The hemorrhaging woman’s reliance on technology of that day has let her down. Where do people of faith go if/when their medical plan will not pay for a certain medical procedure? Possibly, a case can be made here for alternative medicines. Despite the inevitability of death itself, how aggressive does one want to pursue life-preserving measures? Is it a matter of quality vs. quantity of life? Is it a matter of completing one’s mission they believe God has sent them on this earth to accomplish? Pressing this text a bit further, do we as modern Christians still believe in the power of healing from other than the medical community, or is it simply the “placebo effect”?
One direction to go might be to consider where we as people of faith receive “empowerment.” All three texts suggest that barriers might include mourning a loss, greed, and lack of faith. The respective lectionary texts would provide the antidote here. Power can be life-giving if one has death, with denial of certain losses, facing them ? and only then consider the next step or chapter. Also, one who believes their life lacks meaning only needs to look at the Corinthian church, which is living in a relative time of a good economy. Here is an opportunity to make a difference in simply sharing (2 Corinthians 8:7-15).
Alterative Application
With numerous scandals occurring in churches in recent years, what sort of “touch” can church leaders engage in? Some clergy might be afraid to hug parishioners during the “passing of the peace.” Then again, some European-rooted churches have a reputation of being cold and unfriendly. Where does “touch” fit into ministry in a time when larger denominational churches are vulnerable to lawsuits, insurance coverage being cancelled, and discipline for “boundaries violations”?
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
This text is David’s lament for the recently slain King Saul of Israel, probably written by David’s hand (if one accepts he also had the ability to write many of the Psalms). David invites a time of national grief for several days, as one might if a U.S. president were assassinated. Mount Gilboa (1:21) would then have same legacy as the Texas Schoolbook Depository in Dallas. Despite any in-house grievances David might have had with the deceased monarch Saul, the time to grieve and acknowledge his accomplishments now has its place. 2 Samuel 1:19-27 takes on a poetic form because poetry has its own life and language, thus is less vulnerable to being manipulated or domesticated for less than living, giving purposes.
This time of lamentation is to be an in-house time for the family of Israel to tear, touch, and talk to one another. Outsiders can view, but are expected to allow the family of Israel to have their space and time for grieving. While the daughters of Israel are their professional grievers, everybody is invited to name the death, recount the works of the person, and acknowledge the harsh reality of their absence. Until this process has occurred, life-giving grief will be postponed at best. The dominant ideology of modern culture is to silence serious speech of grief, cover the impact of loss, and practice as much denial as one can get away with so life can proceed on its continuum. This text invites one to partake in a more sound religion that names and allows the feelings of lost to be felt and shared, as death remains at the edges of any human life despite the level of medical technology one has available.
Some sermon directions might include “Are there places or points of history in our own lives or the collective community in which we have not fully grieved?” Some have suggested that Vietnam was one such chapter in the American experience. Those who have lost a loved one during the time of a major holiday know how difficult it is to deal with the loss and yet maintain the integrity of a given holiday.
A pastor has lost both his mother and youngest brother around Mother’s Day and Memorial Day of a given year. The next year, how does he preach a genuine love for parents on Mother’s Day and celebrate the holidays if he has not worked through the feelings of losing family during this annual summer festive time? Second Samuel provides a roadmap to take grief seriously by naming it, then acknowledging it as real. Only then will new life emerge that Christians have through the crucified and risen Messiah. [source: Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: First and Second Samuel (Westminster John Knox Press, 1990)]
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Since the Corinthian community has realized a windfall of economic prosperity due to its being a port city for the Roman empire, the local churches are in a position to give more in terms of offerings (8:14). This text lends itself quite easily to a stewardship sermon. One gives in response to God’s bounty as they are able to give at the given time (8:15). In this case, the Jerusalem church is need of support. Paul is not pressuring the people of Corinth toward generosity in giving, but simply reminding them of the Hebrew Bible heritage of those who were taken care of in terms of sustenance and food during the time of the wilderness wanderings in Exodus 16:18.
Paul appeals to Christians setting a good example as one principle of giving by their own self-initiative. Second, he suggests that reciprocity may or probably may not occur from the Jerusalem church. As the people of Corinth share, they are empowering other believers in other communities to be faithful witnesses to the one gospel. By the world’s standards, such an ethic might be foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18-20), but in Paul’s world, giving of oneself results in power (1 Corinthians 1:25). Giving to other Christian communities in need is one way to move forward the gospel Paul preaches.
One example might be a congregation who struggles financially. Their women’s group is still able to sew blankets for their church’s third-world ministry efforts. Also, there could be a person who is homebound for some reason yet is able to donate financially to the local church’s Christian education ministry. Each of these acts of sharing does produce new life in the gospel. [source: F.F. Bruce, The New Century Bible Commentary: I & II Corinthians (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971)]
Mark 5:21-43
This text uses the framing of one narrative within another narrative, which is a literary method Mark likes to exercise to make his points. Consider that both narratives have a way of interpreting the other. So Jairus, the more wealthy supporter of the synagogue, requests that Jesus heal his daughter (probably around 12 years of age, 5:42), which is the same length of time the woman who is hemorrhaging blood is in need. She is more aggressive than Jairus in seeking healing, to the point where she came up behind Jesus “and touched his cloak” (5:27). The older woman held the popular belief of that time that touching a person with holy power would allow that power to be transmitted to her for relief of the oppressive ailment. Her faith was not a matter of believing in the right words about Christology, soteriology, or eschatology. She touches his cloak in the faith that Jesus heals people in need. The point Mark wants to make is Jesus’ presence has the potential to awaken faith in a person. Both Jesus’ presence and the woman’s faith worked toward her restoration of health. By the standards of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, she is clean (Leviticus 5:25; 12; and 15:25).
Jesus is most human in Mark’s gospel in that he asks questions (5:30), but he also exercises his divinity in his realization that a woman has touched him and that “power had gone forth from him” (5:30). Also note the Greek word euthos for “immediately” used here, as it occurs 42 times in this gospel. For those in our congregations who are always pressed by time, Mark 5 is a reminder that there is a time for healing.
In keeping with the ancient Hebrew traditions of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17:19-22; 2 Kings 17:32), Jesus will rise from the dead the daughter of Jairus. She has been dead, as the mourners are present for immediate funeral services due to the lack of embalming technology in that time. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him so as to witness this event, as they would accompany him on the mountain during the transfiguration. This supports the claim that these three disciples had a special status as leaders. This text might point beyond itself to the Christ being resurrected report in Mark 16:6. This epiphany of God’s power is to remain secret in Mark’s gospel until the disciples witness the true nature of Jesus’ mission and discipleship in the crucifixion (Mark 15:21-39). Two healings occur within one another in Mark 5. Jesus can heal those who have more influence and money, as well as the needy. Death remains the great equalizer, but faith in Jesus has its own power. [source: Eugene Boring, The New Testament Library: Mark (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)]
Application
How does healing occur these days? The hemorrhaging woman’s reliance on technology of that day has let her down. Where do people of faith go if/when their medical plan will not pay for a certain medical procedure? Possibly, a case can be made here for alternative medicines. Despite the inevitability of death itself, how aggressive does one want to pursue life-preserving measures? Is it a matter of quality vs. quantity of life? Is it a matter of completing one’s mission they believe God has sent them on this earth to accomplish? Pressing this text a bit further, do we as modern Christians still believe in the power of healing from other than the medical community, or is it simply the “placebo effect”?
One direction to go might be to consider where we as people of faith receive “empowerment.” All three texts suggest that barriers might include mourning a loss, greed, and lack of faith. The respective lectionary texts would provide the antidote here. Power can be life-giving if one has death, with denial of certain losses, facing them ? and only then consider the next step or chapter. Also, one who believes their life lacks meaning only needs to look at the Corinthian church, which is living in a relative time of a good economy. Here is an opportunity to make a difference in simply sharing (2 Corinthians 8:7-15).
Alterative Application
With numerous scandals occurring in churches in recent years, what sort of “touch” can church leaders engage in? Some clergy might be afraid to hug parishioners during the “passing of the peace.” Then again, some European-rooted churches have a reputation of being cold and unfriendly. Where does “touch” fit into ministry in a time when larger denominational churches are vulnerable to lawsuits, insurance coverage being cancelled, and discipline for “boundaries violations”?
