What are our priorities?
Commentary
As we come to the end of the Pentecost season with Thanksgiving on the horizon, it is appropriate that this Sunday focuses on the theme of our response to God’s goodness.
Judges 4:1-7
The First Lesson relates part of the story of Deborah (a prose/narrative version of the hymn about her in chapter 5). This book is probably a compilation of ancient stories of tribal experiences under local leaders in the period from the death of Joshua to the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. These stories were collected perhaps by the 8th century BC, edited a century later by the Deuteronomist -- one of the oral traditions responsible for the Pentateuch (a 7th-century BC oral tradition emerging from a religious reform under King Josiah).
The lesson begins by noting that after Judge Ehud’s death the Israelites sinned (v. 1). They were sold to King Jabin of Canaan, and the Israelites cried out for help (vv. 2-3a). In these dire circumstances, Yahweh is said to have raised up Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, as a prophetess who came to function as a judge in Israel (vv. 4-5). For a woman to function as a judge in the pre-monarchy era was unprecedented. It is all the more remarkable, then, that it is reported that she summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam, to take possession of Mount Tabor. She prophesies the conquest over Jabin’s army (vv. 6-7). Reluctantly Barak agrees, but only if Deborah will go with him (v. 9). After the lesson ends we learn of Barak’s conquest of Jabin (vv. 23-24).
God’s use of Deborah is a wonderful testimony to the egalitarian nature of the faith, that God raises up women as leaders. And so sermons on this theme are suggested. There is certainly need to hold up God’s use of women leaders like Deborah in sermons. According to the Pew Research Center, only 11% of American congregations are served by women. And though we all know of the pay gap dividing men and women (women earning 83 cents of every dollar earned by men), the gap is worse in ministry positions. Women pastors only earn 76 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts!
Another sermon angle is to understand God’s use of Deborah as another example of God working outside the box, working through the poor and marginalized (themes of modern liberation theology [Gustavo Gutierrez, Frontiers of Theology in Latin America, pp. 8-9). We certainly need this message: UNICEF reports that 767 million people worldwide live in poverty, 13 million of them in the U.S. Concerning the theme of care for the poor, it is implicit in the account of God’s use of Deborah. In the hymn of Deborah which follows in the fifth chapter, celebrating the victory of Barak over the enemies, it is celebrated that through the victory the peasants have prospered (v. 7). A God who uses Deborah and those of us who respond like her is a God who seeks prosperity for all of us.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
The Second Lesson is taken from one of the authentic Letters of Paul, written to a church comprised mostly of Gentiles threatened by social pressures and some persecution to return to values of the surrounding culture. The letter may be the earliest piece of New Testament literature, written in the early 50s. In this lesson the apostle addresses questions about the Lord’s second coming. He notes first that an eschatological timetable is not necessary, for the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (vv. 1-2). Paul uses a common image of a pregnant woman to illustrate the suddenness of Jesus’ return (v. 3; cf. Isaiah 13:8; Jeremiah 6:24). The faithful are not in darkness about this matter, he claims, for they are children of light and not of darkness/gloom (vv. 4-5). Paul proceeds to urge that we keep awake and be sober. Likewise, with drunkenness (vv. 6-7). In being sober, the faithful are to put on the breastplate of faith and love, of the hope of salvation as a helmet (v. 8). This reference to armor suggests that Christian life must be understood as a struggle. Paul adds that God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through Christ who dies for us, so that whether awake or asleep we may live with him (vv. 9-10). He urges mutual encouragement in closing (v. 11).
The lesson demands sermons on the future and our response to it. Though a sermon on the second coming of Christ would be appropriate, in keeping with the theme of the day, the focus would be better on our response to the future. It is not a promising one for the majority of Americans. A poll done in January of this year by CNN and ORC found that the majority of us (57%) are pessimistic about the future. We need the kind of hope for the future that this lesson offers. When we live with Christ in view, it keeps us awake and makes us sober. We will not be asleep to new options, for we will be aware that in any instant Christ may be involved and present (realized eschatology). Preachers will want to make clear to the flock that we do not want to miss the moment (any moment), for that might be the chance to engage Christ. And yet we will want to remind hearers that this sense of urgency must be mixed with the word of sobriety and realism, that we not buy into the latest promising or alluring trend without giving it critical attention.
Matthew 25:14-30
Our gospel from Matthew was likely based on oral traditions about Jesus. We have already noted in an earlier column the unlikelihood that it was written by Matthew, the disciple of Jesus. In fact, it may well not have been written until the last third of the first century in Antioch, for Bishop Ignatius seems to quote it as early as 110 AD. That it is written in Greek seems to rule out the disciple as the author. Yet there are some Hebraic and Aramaic influences reflected in the Greek text, which could suggest dependence on the original apostles of Jesus, if not Matthew himself. In any case, scholars are fairly certain that the gospel was written to Jewish Christians who were experiencing tensions with the Jewish community (see 24:20).
The account begins with Jesus telling of a man on a journey who gave five talents (a talent was worth more than 15 years’ wages of a laborer) to one of his slaves/servants, two to another, and one to a third, each according to his ability (vv. 14-15). (The image of a journey may suggest a foreshadowing of Jesus’ pending absence from his disciples.) The one who received five talents went and traded with them, making five more talents. The one who received two talents did the same, earning two more (vv. 16-17). But the slave with one talent dug a hole, hiding the master’s money (v. 18). After a long time the master returns and settles accounts with them (probably a reference to the delay in Christ’s second coming) (v. 19). Each servant reports the results. Those who had raised more are praised, but the one who buried the talent notes how harsh the master was (vv. 20-25). The master calls this slave wicked and lazy, for he is accustomed to reap where he did not sow. The slave, he contends, should have invested the master’s money in the bank (vv. 26-27). The master takes the slave’s one talent and gives it to the slave with ten. He claims that to all who have more will be given, but from those with nothing that will be taken away (vv. 28-29). The slave who had just one talent is said to be worthless and is thrown into darkness where there is nothing but sadness (v. 30).
Sermons on this lesson are bound to have some attention to stewardship, to using the talents God has given us. The parable makes it clear that God wants us to do something with our talents. This is a relevant message for today, because we Americans are not using our talents, not ordering our priorities very well. A 2016 Nielsen report indicated that the average American spends 10 hours and 39 minutes of his/her day in front of a screen. Don’t we have better things to do? There is other data about how poorly Americans use their talents. A 2017 CNBC poll found that 75% of us are in debt. If we’re not spending more than we have in order to get the latest trinket, we may be squandering our relationships for sex. Surveys indicate that 22% of married men and 14% of married women have had sex outside of marriage. And 60% of college students have reportedly experienced at least one hookup. By contrast, neuroscientists have observed that setting the right priorities, as Jesus suggests in the parable, not being paralyzed to act like the slave in the parable, requires slowing down the basal ganglia (the part of the brain in the brain’s center that integrates feelings, thought, and movement). But meditation and spiritual exercises (following Jesus) does precisely that by activating the prefrontal cortex of our brains, which in turn slows down the activity of the basal ganglia to a healthy level (Daniel Amen, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, pp. 82-84, 99ff). Sermons on this parable, explaining how focusing on the Jesus and the gifts he has given us to invest in good things, can help your parishioners’ brain functions.
All these lessons witness to the importance of showing thanksgiving to God for what he has done for us, leading us into fresh, surprising directions, keeping us alert to the future, and correctly ordering our priorities and talents.
Judges 4:1-7
The First Lesson relates part of the story of Deborah (a prose/narrative version of the hymn about her in chapter 5). This book is probably a compilation of ancient stories of tribal experiences under local leaders in the period from the death of Joshua to the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. These stories were collected perhaps by the 8th century BC, edited a century later by the Deuteronomist -- one of the oral traditions responsible for the Pentateuch (a 7th-century BC oral tradition emerging from a religious reform under King Josiah).
The lesson begins by noting that after Judge Ehud’s death the Israelites sinned (v. 1). They were sold to King Jabin of Canaan, and the Israelites cried out for help (vv. 2-3a). In these dire circumstances, Yahweh is said to have raised up Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, as a prophetess who came to function as a judge in Israel (vv. 4-5). For a woman to function as a judge in the pre-monarchy era was unprecedented. It is all the more remarkable, then, that it is reported that she summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam, to take possession of Mount Tabor. She prophesies the conquest over Jabin’s army (vv. 6-7). Reluctantly Barak agrees, but only if Deborah will go with him (v. 9). After the lesson ends we learn of Barak’s conquest of Jabin (vv. 23-24).
God’s use of Deborah is a wonderful testimony to the egalitarian nature of the faith, that God raises up women as leaders. And so sermons on this theme are suggested. There is certainly need to hold up God’s use of women leaders like Deborah in sermons. According to the Pew Research Center, only 11% of American congregations are served by women. And though we all know of the pay gap dividing men and women (women earning 83 cents of every dollar earned by men), the gap is worse in ministry positions. Women pastors only earn 76 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts!
Another sermon angle is to understand God’s use of Deborah as another example of God working outside the box, working through the poor and marginalized (themes of modern liberation theology [Gustavo Gutierrez, Frontiers of Theology in Latin America, pp. 8-9). We certainly need this message: UNICEF reports that 767 million people worldwide live in poverty, 13 million of them in the U.S. Concerning the theme of care for the poor, it is implicit in the account of God’s use of Deborah. In the hymn of Deborah which follows in the fifth chapter, celebrating the victory of Barak over the enemies, it is celebrated that through the victory the peasants have prospered (v. 7). A God who uses Deborah and those of us who respond like her is a God who seeks prosperity for all of us.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
The Second Lesson is taken from one of the authentic Letters of Paul, written to a church comprised mostly of Gentiles threatened by social pressures and some persecution to return to values of the surrounding culture. The letter may be the earliest piece of New Testament literature, written in the early 50s. In this lesson the apostle addresses questions about the Lord’s second coming. He notes first that an eschatological timetable is not necessary, for the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (vv. 1-2). Paul uses a common image of a pregnant woman to illustrate the suddenness of Jesus’ return (v. 3; cf. Isaiah 13:8; Jeremiah 6:24). The faithful are not in darkness about this matter, he claims, for they are children of light and not of darkness/gloom (vv. 4-5). Paul proceeds to urge that we keep awake and be sober. Likewise, with drunkenness (vv. 6-7). In being sober, the faithful are to put on the breastplate of faith and love, of the hope of salvation as a helmet (v. 8). This reference to armor suggests that Christian life must be understood as a struggle. Paul adds that God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through Christ who dies for us, so that whether awake or asleep we may live with him (vv. 9-10). He urges mutual encouragement in closing (v. 11).
The lesson demands sermons on the future and our response to it. Though a sermon on the second coming of Christ would be appropriate, in keeping with the theme of the day, the focus would be better on our response to the future. It is not a promising one for the majority of Americans. A poll done in January of this year by CNN and ORC found that the majority of us (57%) are pessimistic about the future. We need the kind of hope for the future that this lesson offers. When we live with Christ in view, it keeps us awake and makes us sober. We will not be asleep to new options, for we will be aware that in any instant Christ may be involved and present (realized eschatology). Preachers will want to make clear to the flock that we do not want to miss the moment (any moment), for that might be the chance to engage Christ. And yet we will want to remind hearers that this sense of urgency must be mixed with the word of sobriety and realism, that we not buy into the latest promising or alluring trend without giving it critical attention.
Matthew 25:14-30
Our gospel from Matthew was likely based on oral traditions about Jesus. We have already noted in an earlier column the unlikelihood that it was written by Matthew, the disciple of Jesus. In fact, it may well not have been written until the last third of the first century in Antioch, for Bishop Ignatius seems to quote it as early as 110 AD. That it is written in Greek seems to rule out the disciple as the author. Yet there are some Hebraic and Aramaic influences reflected in the Greek text, which could suggest dependence on the original apostles of Jesus, if not Matthew himself. In any case, scholars are fairly certain that the gospel was written to Jewish Christians who were experiencing tensions with the Jewish community (see 24:20).
The account begins with Jesus telling of a man on a journey who gave five talents (a talent was worth more than 15 years’ wages of a laborer) to one of his slaves/servants, two to another, and one to a third, each according to his ability (vv. 14-15). (The image of a journey may suggest a foreshadowing of Jesus’ pending absence from his disciples.) The one who received five talents went and traded with them, making five more talents. The one who received two talents did the same, earning two more (vv. 16-17). But the slave with one talent dug a hole, hiding the master’s money (v. 18). After a long time the master returns and settles accounts with them (probably a reference to the delay in Christ’s second coming) (v. 19). Each servant reports the results. Those who had raised more are praised, but the one who buried the talent notes how harsh the master was (vv. 20-25). The master calls this slave wicked and lazy, for he is accustomed to reap where he did not sow. The slave, he contends, should have invested the master’s money in the bank (vv. 26-27). The master takes the slave’s one talent and gives it to the slave with ten. He claims that to all who have more will be given, but from those with nothing that will be taken away (vv. 28-29). The slave who had just one talent is said to be worthless and is thrown into darkness where there is nothing but sadness (v. 30).
Sermons on this lesson are bound to have some attention to stewardship, to using the talents God has given us. The parable makes it clear that God wants us to do something with our talents. This is a relevant message for today, because we Americans are not using our talents, not ordering our priorities very well. A 2016 Nielsen report indicated that the average American spends 10 hours and 39 minutes of his/her day in front of a screen. Don’t we have better things to do? There is other data about how poorly Americans use their talents. A 2017 CNBC poll found that 75% of us are in debt. If we’re not spending more than we have in order to get the latest trinket, we may be squandering our relationships for sex. Surveys indicate that 22% of married men and 14% of married women have had sex outside of marriage. And 60% of college students have reportedly experienced at least one hookup. By contrast, neuroscientists have observed that setting the right priorities, as Jesus suggests in the parable, not being paralyzed to act like the slave in the parable, requires slowing down the basal ganglia (the part of the brain in the brain’s center that integrates feelings, thought, and movement). But meditation and spiritual exercises (following Jesus) does precisely that by activating the prefrontal cortex of our brains, which in turn slows down the activity of the basal ganglia to a healthy level (Daniel Amen, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, pp. 82-84, 99ff). Sermons on this parable, explaining how focusing on the Jesus and the gifts he has given us to invest in good things, can help your parishioners’ brain functions.
All these lessons witness to the importance of showing thanksgiving to God for what he has done for us, leading us into fresh, surprising directions, keeping us alert to the future, and correctly ordering our priorities and talents.
