EASTER 7
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
The theme of "Power and Glory" permeates these six readings, as is appropriate on this Sunday After the Ascension. In Psalm 68:1-10 Yahweh, God of Israel, is said to be able to bring rain in abundance, to cause the mountain at Sinai to tremble, to destroy the wicked, and yet to be the gentle protector of orphans and widows. All power and glory are ascribed to Yahweh as the King of the Universe in Psalm 47, and in Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8 the psalmist seeks the face of Yahweh, which is light and salvation to the psalmist. In Acts 1:1-14 it is said that the eleven disciples will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come to them. According to the 1 Peter 4 selection, the God of all grace, whose glory is revealed in the Christ and in the Spirit of God, has called those to whom 1 Peter is addressed into God's eternal glory in Christ Jesus. In John 17:1-11, the Johannine Jesus asks the Father to glorify the Son, so that the reciprocating glory that the Father and the Son are said to have shared before the world was made may be shown through the members of the Johannine Community.
Common:
Psalm 68:1-10
The power attributed to Yahweh (God perceived in a personal sense as the God of Israel) in Israelite traditions is requested for the present. Yahweh is perceived as awesome in power and at the same time as gentle and caring. This is basically the same way in which we as Christians perceive Jesus as the Christ raised from the dead. We too want those who are wicked and oppressive to perish and the righteous to be joyful. If this is what we want, certainly we should not be wicked and oppressive ourselves in any way.
Lutheran: Psalm 47
As we read this psalm, we can trace its usage and development from its origins in acclamations of Deity symbols carried by ancient Bedouins, through Israelite liturgical ceremonies associated with the ark of the covenant (particularly at the time of the empire of David and Solomon when Yahweh was proclaimed as the Ruler over all the "nations" that had been brought under the control of that empire), to the time when Yahweh was visualized as a great king, like but much greater than the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek period potentates, sitting on a "holy" throne high above the subjected people. Since the time of the latter decades of the first century of the common era, followers of Jesus have also pictured the risen and ascended Christ as seated at "the right hand of the Father" in power and glory. We continue to use this throne symbol of power even though our symbols of power have changed to power symbols such as "the power of the oval office" and "the power of nuclear weapons."
Roman Catholic: Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8
There can be no doubt that the psalmist is portrayed as frightened in this psalm. It is said in 27:10 that even the father and mother of the psalmist have forsaken the psalmist. Therefore, the psalmist seeks the face of Yahweh in the temple of Yahweh. It is there that the beauty of Yahweh can be seen, since, in the Israelite Scriptures, beauty is something that God gives through the manifestations of Yahweh's power and glory. There is beauty even when God does not manifest God's power and glory, since the faithful believer sees beauty in the anticipation of the manifestation of God's power and glory. Is it not basically the same for us?
Common:
Acts 1:6-14
Lutheran: Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14
Roman Catholic: Acts 1:12-14
With its emphasis on power to be received from the Holy Spirit and used by those who shall be witnesses to Jesus Christ as Lord "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth," Acts 1:8 provides the programmatic theme of the entire document Acts of Apostles. Then, the Lukan writer supplied in Acts 1:9-11 a vivid literary drama scene, in which the expectations of the followers of Jesus that he would come again in the clouds of heaven as the Son of man to usher in the end of the present age were combined with the obvious situation of no continuous presence of the risen Lord Jesus in physical form. This Acts 1:9-11 Ascension account, therefore, paved the way for the Lukan writer's Christian Pentecost drama that would follow in Acts 2. Acts 1:9-11 is also a literary drama expansion of the Lukan writer's less developed account in Luke 24:50-53.
As in Luke 24, the divine message is relayed in Acts 1:9-11 by "two men" who in the Acts account promise that this Jesus will come again in the same manner as the disciples saw him going up into the sky. There is no doubt of the effectiveness of the vivid literary drama scene of Acts 1:9-11. It fixes in our minds the way in which Jesus left the earth and will come again. Nevertheless, we cannot be limited to it in our expectations regarding eschatology. It should be considered within the context of other biblical and post-biblical Christian anticipations of the "last things."
We note, finally, that Acts 1:12-14 ties the eleven disciples closely to the women who are said to have been the first to experience the empty tomb, to Mary the mother of Jesus, and to Jesus' brothers. This should be compared to the Fourth Gospel tradition, which claims the mother of Jesus for itself, which in its high Christology and narrow exclusiveness removes all references to Jesus' brothers and depicts Mary as taken into the care of the Beloved Discple, its principal symbol of itself.
Common:
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
Lutheran: 1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11
Roman Catholic: 1 Peter 4:13-16
Reflections over the significance of what it means to "share in the sufferings of the Christ" provide much of the reason for the writing of 1 Peter, and our interest in what "sharing in the sufferings of the Christ" meant during the last decades of the first century and what it should mean for us during the last decades of the twentieth century is increasing. We are beginning to see that "sharing in the sufferings of the Christ" meant during the last decades of the first century boldly and openly proclaiming that Jesus raised from the dead rather than Caesar is Lord and then as prominent leaders in the early Church being crucified or otherwise martyred by oppressive advocates of Roman Civil Religion, just as Jesus had been crucified by Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem for proclaiming boldly and publicly that Yahweh rather than Caesar is Lord, thus giving hope to his oppressed fellow-Jews in Palestine. For our time, Hans KUng in On Being a Qiristian (New York: Doubleday, 1976), pp. 576-581, suggests that suffering by bearing the cross of the Christ means that we are called to relieve the sufferings of others, that we should not complain when we suffer because of our own transgressions, and that when we suffer because we live as Christians we should seek to find meaning in that suffering. We should not tolerate needless and meaningless suffering for ourselves or for others, but when we can do nothing to alleviate that suffering, we should look forward with curiosity to see how God will make good use even of that suffering, as when for example we face our own inevitable death.
John 17:1-11
Within this prayer of the Johannine Jesus for unity between the Father, the Son, and the Johannine Community of believers, the Weltanschauung of the Johannine Community as a sectarian group of followers of Jesus is readily apparent. In this prayer the Johannine Jesus does not pray for the world, since, even though God loved the world and sent the Son to die for the world, the world has rejected the Johannine Jesus. Although the Johannine Jesus is no longer in the world, the members of the Johannine Community must be in the world. Unlike the Apostle Paul, who in Romans 8 expresses great love and concern for the world, the Johannine Community in this John 17 prayer of the Johannine Jesus rejects the world. What shall be our relationship to the world as we close out another Easter Season and enter into the observance of the Christian Pentecost?
Common:
Psalm 68:1-10
The power attributed to Yahweh (God perceived in a personal sense as the God of Israel) in Israelite traditions is requested for the present. Yahweh is perceived as awesome in power and at the same time as gentle and caring. This is basically the same way in which we as Christians perceive Jesus as the Christ raised from the dead. We too want those who are wicked and oppressive to perish and the righteous to be joyful. If this is what we want, certainly we should not be wicked and oppressive ourselves in any way.
Lutheran: Psalm 47
As we read this psalm, we can trace its usage and development from its origins in acclamations of Deity symbols carried by ancient Bedouins, through Israelite liturgical ceremonies associated with the ark of the covenant (particularly at the time of the empire of David and Solomon when Yahweh was proclaimed as the Ruler over all the "nations" that had been brought under the control of that empire), to the time when Yahweh was visualized as a great king, like but much greater than the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek period potentates, sitting on a "holy" throne high above the subjected people. Since the time of the latter decades of the first century of the common era, followers of Jesus have also pictured the risen and ascended Christ as seated at "the right hand of the Father" in power and glory. We continue to use this throne symbol of power even though our symbols of power have changed to power symbols such as "the power of the oval office" and "the power of nuclear weapons."
Roman Catholic: Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8
There can be no doubt that the psalmist is portrayed as frightened in this psalm. It is said in 27:10 that even the father and mother of the psalmist have forsaken the psalmist. Therefore, the psalmist seeks the face of Yahweh in the temple of Yahweh. It is there that the beauty of Yahweh can be seen, since, in the Israelite Scriptures, beauty is something that God gives through the manifestations of Yahweh's power and glory. There is beauty even when God does not manifest God's power and glory, since the faithful believer sees beauty in the anticipation of the manifestation of God's power and glory. Is it not basically the same for us?
Common:
Acts 1:6-14
Lutheran: Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14
Roman Catholic: Acts 1:12-14
With its emphasis on power to be received from the Holy Spirit and used by those who shall be witnesses to Jesus Christ as Lord "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth," Acts 1:8 provides the programmatic theme of the entire document Acts of Apostles. Then, the Lukan writer supplied in Acts 1:9-11 a vivid literary drama scene, in which the expectations of the followers of Jesus that he would come again in the clouds of heaven as the Son of man to usher in the end of the present age were combined with the obvious situation of no continuous presence of the risen Lord Jesus in physical form. This Acts 1:9-11 Ascension account, therefore, paved the way for the Lukan writer's Christian Pentecost drama that would follow in Acts 2. Acts 1:9-11 is also a literary drama expansion of the Lukan writer's less developed account in Luke 24:50-53.
As in Luke 24, the divine message is relayed in Acts 1:9-11 by "two men" who in the Acts account promise that this Jesus will come again in the same manner as the disciples saw him going up into the sky. There is no doubt of the effectiveness of the vivid literary drama scene of Acts 1:9-11. It fixes in our minds the way in which Jesus left the earth and will come again. Nevertheless, we cannot be limited to it in our expectations regarding eschatology. It should be considered within the context of other biblical and post-biblical Christian anticipations of the "last things."
We note, finally, that Acts 1:12-14 ties the eleven disciples closely to the women who are said to have been the first to experience the empty tomb, to Mary the mother of Jesus, and to Jesus' brothers. This should be compared to the Fourth Gospel tradition, which claims the mother of Jesus for itself, which in its high Christology and narrow exclusiveness removes all references to Jesus' brothers and depicts Mary as taken into the care of the Beloved Discple, its principal symbol of itself.
Common:
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
Lutheran: 1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11
Roman Catholic: 1 Peter 4:13-16
Reflections over the significance of what it means to "share in the sufferings of the Christ" provide much of the reason for the writing of 1 Peter, and our interest in what "sharing in the sufferings of the Christ" meant during the last decades of the first century and what it should mean for us during the last decades of the twentieth century is increasing. We are beginning to see that "sharing in the sufferings of the Christ" meant during the last decades of the first century boldly and openly proclaiming that Jesus raised from the dead rather than Caesar is Lord and then as prominent leaders in the early Church being crucified or otherwise martyred by oppressive advocates of Roman Civil Religion, just as Jesus had been crucified by Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem for proclaiming boldly and publicly that Yahweh rather than Caesar is Lord, thus giving hope to his oppressed fellow-Jews in Palestine. For our time, Hans KUng in On Being a Qiristian (New York: Doubleday, 1976), pp. 576-581, suggests that suffering by bearing the cross of the Christ means that we are called to relieve the sufferings of others, that we should not complain when we suffer because of our own transgressions, and that when we suffer because we live as Christians we should seek to find meaning in that suffering. We should not tolerate needless and meaningless suffering for ourselves or for others, but when we can do nothing to alleviate that suffering, we should look forward with curiosity to see how God will make good use even of that suffering, as when for example we face our own inevitable death.
John 17:1-11
Within this prayer of the Johannine Jesus for unity between the Father, the Son, and the Johannine Community of believers, the Weltanschauung of the Johannine Community as a sectarian group of followers of Jesus is readily apparent. In this prayer the Johannine Jesus does not pray for the world, since, even though God loved the world and sent the Son to die for the world, the world has rejected the Johannine Jesus. Although the Johannine Jesus is no longer in the world, the members of the Johannine Community must be in the world. Unlike the Apostle Paul, who in Romans 8 expresses great love and concern for the world, the Johannine Community in this John 17 prayer of the Johannine Jesus rejects the world. What shall be our relationship to the world as we close out another Easter Season and enter into the observance of the Christian Pentecost?
