PROPER 16
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
The first factor that is common to most of the texts selected for this occasion is interest in God's self-revelation. This is seen most clearly in the Exodus 6:2-8 account. As in many of Israel's psalms, God's self-revelation in Psalm 138 is apparent in the wonderful actions of Yahweh, particularly in Yahweh's steadfast love and faithfulness to the covenant with Israel. For Paul in Romans 11:33-36, the mysterious plan of salvation that God has designed for us is beyond all human comprehension. Finally, in Matthew 16:13-20 it is said that Jesus' Father in heaven (not human "flesh and blood") has revealed the theological identity of Jesus to Peter. Just as Exodus 6:2-8 is one of the texts that marks the transition from the "God of Our Fathers" stage of Israelite religion to its "Yahwism" stage, Matthew 16:13-20 is one of the most significant texts in the transition for followers of Jesus from their perception of Jesus as a Jewish prophet and religious reformer to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God who lives eternally.
Closely related to the factor of God's self-revelation in these texts is the human response of confession of faith and praise of God. According to Exodus 6:9, the people whose descendants would become the people of Israel could not yet respond to Yahweh with faith and praise because of their broken spirit caused by the cruel bondage that they had been experiencing as slaves of the Egyptians. Confession of faith and praise of Yahweh are abundant in Psalm 95 and in Psalm 138. The Apostle Paul breaks off his presentation of his opinion of the place of Israel in God's great plan of salvation to enter in Romans 11:33-36 into an enthusiastic acclamation of God, confession of faith, and praise. It is in Matthew 16:13-20, however, that we have the most pronounced human response of confession of faith and praise. The Matthean writers carried the Markan Gospel's confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ several steps farther. In Matthew 16:13-20, the Matthean editor-writers changed Mark's "Who do people say that I am?" to "Who do people say that the Son of man is?" and Mark's confession of faith of Peter, "You are the Christ!" is expanded to "You are the Christ, the Son of God who lives eternally." Therefore, if we base the message on these texts next Sunday, we shall put the emphasis on God's self-revelation and on the human response of confession of faith and praise.
Common:
Psalm 95
The transition from the national perception of Yahweh to the universal perception is clearly seen in this psalm that is so well known and heavily used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies. "Yahweh is a great God," the psalmist cries, "and a great King above all of the other gods!" The existence of the other gods is still recognized, but they are now subordinate to Yahweh not only in Israel but throughout the world. Yahweh is not only the God of Israel; Yahweh is the Maker, the Creator of everything and of everyone, in Israel and beyond Israel. Nevertheless, the special covenant relationship between Yahweh and Israel is guarded and cherished in this psalm. We in the church claim this same relationship, this same special covenant with the Lord. We even claim that our covenant is a "new" covenant. Is our perception of God large enough that we can be open to the possibility that God can have more than one covenant at the same time, or that perhaps God can have one covenant that has special significance for Jews, for Christians, and possibly also for Muslims and others?
The human response to God's self-revelation is expressed with great beauty in this psalm. "Come! Let us sing to the Lord ... with songs of praise!" "Let us come into the presence of the Lord with thanksgiving!" This invitation to worship is appropriate for any worship service, for Jews, for Christians, for Muslims, and for others. For our use, it may be best to break off the psalm in the middle of verse 7, as is done in the Venite.
Lutheran: Psalm 138
Roman Catholic: Psalm 138:1-3, 6, 8
The glory of the Lord is revealed to all of the kings of the earth. It is for the lowly, however, for persons such as the psalmist, that the Lord has the greatest regard! The only response that is adequate in view of the steadfast love and covenant-faithfulness of Yahweh is unconditional love and thanksgiving. The psalmist is grateful for the swiftness with which the Lord acts. "On the day that I called, you answered me!" No one can ask for more than that from God.
Common:
Exodus 17:1-7
The Lord (Yahweh) is proclaimed in this text as immediately responsive to the needs of the people of Israel as they migrated in the wilderness. When they had no water, the Lord provided fresh spring water from the rock for them. This is the most that anyone could ask from one's God. The proper response to this account within the Israelite experience is to say that if the Lord responded to meet the needs of our ancestors even though they murmured against the Lord, how much more will the Lord respond to our needs when we ask humbly and in grateful appreciation? That would be a proper response for us also.
Lutheran: Exodus 6:2-8
In this Priestly version of the burning bush revelation, it is said that God, who has been revealed to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai (God Almighty) but not as Yahweh, is now to their descendants who are soon to be rescued from slavery in Egypt to be known as Yahweh (the Lord) their God. The entire reading is presented as Yahweh's self-revelation. Together with the version of the burning bush incident that we have in Exodus 3, this text marks the transition from the "God of Our Fathers" stage of the Israelite religion to its "Yahwism" civil religion stage. To put it another way, the personal, familial, and tribal perception of God is now being replaced by a national perception of God. We should not suppose, however, that this transition was made for everyone at the same time or in the same way.
Roman Catholic: Isaiah 22:15, 19-23
This text was obviously selected to be used with Matthew 16:13-20 because of the reference to the "key of the House of David" being placed on the shoulder of Eliakim in Isaiah 22:22. The responsibility said to have been given to Peter in Matthew 16:19 to have in his care the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" is a New Testament counterpart to the Isaiah 22:22 account. Perhaps the Matthean editor-redactors of the Markan account used Isaiah 22:22 in composing additional material to supplement Mark 8:27-33.
Romans 11:33-36
These verses are beautiful even in isolation from their context in Paul's letter. They are most meaningful when it is seen that Paul's exclamation of adoration and respect for God was Paul's personal response to what he perceived to be God's marvelous, mysterious, incomprehensible grace, by which God declares righteous those who are guilty - followers of Jesus and perhaps ultimately "all Israel."
As Paul perceived it, God's marvelous plan of salvation is infinitely greater and better than anything that Paul himself would ever have devised. It is not a concept of universal salvation, of eternal life for everyone regardless of who they are or what they have done. We get the impression, however, that Paul would be pleased if ultimately everyone would be with him, declared free and sinless in the presence of God.
Matthew 16:13-20
In the most significant portion of the Matthean additions to the Mark 8:27-33 account, we see that the Matthean redactors were making a strong claim for Peter. In their "You are Peter," or partly in Greek "You are Petros, and upon this petra I shall build my Church ... and I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," we see that at the time of the Matthean redaction of the Markan material - approximately fifty years after Jesus had been crucified and perhaps twenty years after Peter's death - for some of the "mainline" followers of Jesus within the Synoptic Gospels traditions Peter had become a primary symbol of their own authority in what they now chose to call in the singular "the Church." They were making authority claims, in effect, for themselves, using the gospel genre vehicle that the Markan writer had developed. In this way, they were able to put their own authority claims into the context of Jesus' public and private ministry with "the Twelve." Careful analysis of the Four Gospel traditions indicates that the Jesus of history probably had far more than twelve close followers during his lifetime, and that there were many women who were as close to him as followers as any of the men were. The concept of "the Twelve" with Peter as their principal spokesperson was largely developed within the Synoptic communities, in part because Peter was remembered as being quick to speak and quick to act and in part out of a desire to have a group of twelve leaders for the "new Israel" that they were formulating.
Over against the claims of the Markan, Matthean, and Lukan Gospels and of the communities that used them, the Johannine Gospel traditions raised their own champion, the "Beloved Disciple," mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel and always presented there as "one-up" on Peter. At the final meal of Jesus with his disciples before he was crucified by the Romans, the Fourth Gospel placed Peter far from Jesus, so that Peter had to signal to the "Beloved Disciple" to ask what Jesus was saying. The "Beloved Disciple" is said in the Fourth Gospel to have followed Jesus as far as the courtyard of the high priest, while Peter was left standing at the gate. The "Beloved Disciple" outran Peter to the empty tomb, was the first to believe, was the first to recognize the Risen Christ on the shore, and at the conclusion to the Fourth Gospel in its canonical form it is suggested that the Risen Christ may want the "Beloved Disciple" to remain ln Jesus' place until Jesus would return to the earth. Finally, it should be noted that although the Synoptic traditions report that all of the male disciples fled and were not present at Jesus' crucifixion, the Fourth Gospel has the "Beloved Disciple" standing at the cross, and Jesus' mother standing near him. The Fourth Gospel has Jesus himself from the cross give his mother into the care of the "Beloved Disciple."
In view of our growing awareness of the ways in which the communities of early Christians who used the Synoptic Gospels and those who used the Fourth Gospel developed their own authority claims by lifting Peter and the "Beloved Disciple" respectively to the highest authority positions, perhaps it would be best for us next Sunday to acknowledge that it is not Peter with his "keys of the kingdom of heaven," and that it is not the "Beloved Disciple" upstaging Peter, but that it is Jesus Christ who is "The Church's One Foundation." Perhaps with the texts that we shall use next Sunday we should sing with the hymnwriter Samuel Wesley that "The Church's One Foundation Is Jesus Christ Her Lord," with the Welsh folk "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise," and with the Swede Carl Boberg "How Great Thou Art!" and put less emphasis on Peter and "the Keys." Not Peter, but Jesus Christ is the Church's One Foundation, and it is the Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise to whom we sing How Great Thou Art! Next Sunday it would be helpful if we would feel called to share some awareness with the members of the congregations in which we serve of the process by which the biblical accounts were formulated - a process not unlike our own preaching and teaching preparation process - and then boldly proclaim Jesus Christ as the Church's One Foundation and acclaim the greatness of God.
Finally, the illustration of Peter at the gate of heaven with the keys to heaven has been a delight to the cartoonists and to the jesters in "Christian" lands since the first century of the common era. The illustration is based, however, only on this Matthean redaction of the Markan account, and it was probably incorporated as it was in order to validate a Matthean Synoptic claim of primacy. We realize now belatedly that the only primacy within the Church should be the primacy of Jesus Christ. Of course, the Jesus of history may have said the words written in Matthew 16:18-19 and have given this special authority to Peter, but the basis for this is tenuous in the New Testament accounts. Although the words "Peter" and "rock" are identical as kepha only in Aramaic, the pun could certainly have been developed in Greek, since paronomasia is just as likely to be built on two words that have the same or similar sounds but different meanings as it is to be built on two different meanings of the same word. It is because the "Keys" saying is probably a development within the early Church in a situation of intrachurch rivalry that we should direct our attention for proclamation away from it and to the clear proclamation of Jesus Christ as the Church's One Foundation, since the latter but not the former runs consistently throughout the New Testament. Attention to the "Keys" passage in Matthew 16:18-19 is better given in adult study groups where there is time and opportunity for more extensive study and discussion.
Closely related to the factor of God's self-revelation in these texts is the human response of confession of faith and praise of God. According to Exodus 6:9, the people whose descendants would become the people of Israel could not yet respond to Yahweh with faith and praise because of their broken spirit caused by the cruel bondage that they had been experiencing as slaves of the Egyptians. Confession of faith and praise of Yahweh are abundant in Psalm 95 and in Psalm 138. The Apostle Paul breaks off his presentation of his opinion of the place of Israel in God's great plan of salvation to enter in Romans 11:33-36 into an enthusiastic acclamation of God, confession of faith, and praise. It is in Matthew 16:13-20, however, that we have the most pronounced human response of confession of faith and praise. The Matthean writers carried the Markan Gospel's confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ several steps farther. In Matthew 16:13-20, the Matthean editor-writers changed Mark's "Who do people say that I am?" to "Who do people say that the Son of man is?" and Mark's confession of faith of Peter, "You are the Christ!" is expanded to "You are the Christ, the Son of God who lives eternally." Therefore, if we base the message on these texts next Sunday, we shall put the emphasis on God's self-revelation and on the human response of confession of faith and praise.
Common:
Psalm 95
The transition from the national perception of Yahweh to the universal perception is clearly seen in this psalm that is so well known and heavily used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies. "Yahweh is a great God," the psalmist cries, "and a great King above all of the other gods!" The existence of the other gods is still recognized, but they are now subordinate to Yahweh not only in Israel but throughout the world. Yahweh is not only the God of Israel; Yahweh is the Maker, the Creator of everything and of everyone, in Israel and beyond Israel. Nevertheless, the special covenant relationship between Yahweh and Israel is guarded and cherished in this psalm. We in the church claim this same relationship, this same special covenant with the Lord. We even claim that our covenant is a "new" covenant. Is our perception of God large enough that we can be open to the possibility that God can have more than one covenant at the same time, or that perhaps God can have one covenant that has special significance for Jews, for Christians, and possibly also for Muslims and others?
The human response to God's self-revelation is expressed with great beauty in this psalm. "Come! Let us sing to the Lord ... with songs of praise!" "Let us come into the presence of the Lord with thanksgiving!" This invitation to worship is appropriate for any worship service, for Jews, for Christians, for Muslims, and for others. For our use, it may be best to break off the psalm in the middle of verse 7, as is done in the Venite.
Lutheran: Psalm 138
Roman Catholic: Psalm 138:1-3, 6, 8
The glory of the Lord is revealed to all of the kings of the earth. It is for the lowly, however, for persons such as the psalmist, that the Lord has the greatest regard! The only response that is adequate in view of the steadfast love and covenant-faithfulness of Yahweh is unconditional love and thanksgiving. The psalmist is grateful for the swiftness with which the Lord acts. "On the day that I called, you answered me!" No one can ask for more than that from God.
Common:
Exodus 17:1-7
The Lord (Yahweh) is proclaimed in this text as immediately responsive to the needs of the people of Israel as they migrated in the wilderness. When they had no water, the Lord provided fresh spring water from the rock for them. This is the most that anyone could ask from one's God. The proper response to this account within the Israelite experience is to say that if the Lord responded to meet the needs of our ancestors even though they murmured against the Lord, how much more will the Lord respond to our needs when we ask humbly and in grateful appreciation? That would be a proper response for us also.
Lutheran: Exodus 6:2-8
In this Priestly version of the burning bush revelation, it is said that God, who has been revealed to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai (God Almighty) but not as Yahweh, is now to their descendants who are soon to be rescued from slavery in Egypt to be known as Yahweh (the Lord) their God. The entire reading is presented as Yahweh's self-revelation. Together with the version of the burning bush incident that we have in Exodus 3, this text marks the transition from the "God of Our Fathers" stage of the Israelite religion to its "Yahwism" civil religion stage. To put it another way, the personal, familial, and tribal perception of God is now being replaced by a national perception of God. We should not suppose, however, that this transition was made for everyone at the same time or in the same way.
Roman Catholic: Isaiah 22:15, 19-23
This text was obviously selected to be used with Matthew 16:13-20 because of the reference to the "key of the House of David" being placed on the shoulder of Eliakim in Isaiah 22:22. The responsibility said to have been given to Peter in Matthew 16:19 to have in his care the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" is a New Testament counterpart to the Isaiah 22:22 account. Perhaps the Matthean editor-redactors of the Markan account used Isaiah 22:22 in composing additional material to supplement Mark 8:27-33.
Romans 11:33-36
These verses are beautiful even in isolation from their context in Paul's letter. They are most meaningful when it is seen that Paul's exclamation of adoration and respect for God was Paul's personal response to what he perceived to be God's marvelous, mysterious, incomprehensible grace, by which God declares righteous those who are guilty - followers of Jesus and perhaps ultimately "all Israel."
As Paul perceived it, God's marvelous plan of salvation is infinitely greater and better than anything that Paul himself would ever have devised. It is not a concept of universal salvation, of eternal life for everyone regardless of who they are or what they have done. We get the impression, however, that Paul would be pleased if ultimately everyone would be with him, declared free and sinless in the presence of God.
Matthew 16:13-20
In the most significant portion of the Matthean additions to the Mark 8:27-33 account, we see that the Matthean redactors were making a strong claim for Peter. In their "You are Peter," or partly in Greek "You are Petros, and upon this petra I shall build my Church ... and I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," we see that at the time of the Matthean redaction of the Markan material - approximately fifty years after Jesus had been crucified and perhaps twenty years after Peter's death - for some of the "mainline" followers of Jesus within the Synoptic Gospels traditions Peter had become a primary symbol of their own authority in what they now chose to call in the singular "the Church." They were making authority claims, in effect, for themselves, using the gospel genre vehicle that the Markan writer had developed. In this way, they were able to put their own authority claims into the context of Jesus' public and private ministry with "the Twelve." Careful analysis of the Four Gospel traditions indicates that the Jesus of history probably had far more than twelve close followers during his lifetime, and that there were many women who were as close to him as followers as any of the men were. The concept of "the Twelve" with Peter as their principal spokesperson was largely developed within the Synoptic communities, in part because Peter was remembered as being quick to speak and quick to act and in part out of a desire to have a group of twelve leaders for the "new Israel" that they were formulating.
Over against the claims of the Markan, Matthean, and Lukan Gospels and of the communities that used them, the Johannine Gospel traditions raised their own champion, the "Beloved Disciple," mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel and always presented there as "one-up" on Peter. At the final meal of Jesus with his disciples before he was crucified by the Romans, the Fourth Gospel placed Peter far from Jesus, so that Peter had to signal to the "Beloved Disciple" to ask what Jesus was saying. The "Beloved Disciple" is said in the Fourth Gospel to have followed Jesus as far as the courtyard of the high priest, while Peter was left standing at the gate. The "Beloved Disciple" outran Peter to the empty tomb, was the first to believe, was the first to recognize the Risen Christ on the shore, and at the conclusion to the Fourth Gospel in its canonical form it is suggested that the Risen Christ may want the "Beloved Disciple" to remain ln Jesus' place until Jesus would return to the earth. Finally, it should be noted that although the Synoptic traditions report that all of the male disciples fled and were not present at Jesus' crucifixion, the Fourth Gospel has the "Beloved Disciple" standing at the cross, and Jesus' mother standing near him. The Fourth Gospel has Jesus himself from the cross give his mother into the care of the "Beloved Disciple."
In view of our growing awareness of the ways in which the communities of early Christians who used the Synoptic Gospels and those who used the Fourth Gospel developed their own authority claims by lifting Peter and the "Beloved Disciple" respectively to the highest authority positions, perhaps it would be best for us next Sunday to acknowledge that it is not Peter with his "keys of the kingdom of heaven," and that it is not the "Beloved Disciple" upstaging Peter, but that it is Jesus Christ who is "The Church's One Foundation." Perhaps with the texts that we shall use next Sunday we should sing with the hymnwriter Samuel Wesley that "The Church's One Foundation Is Jesus Christ Her Lord," with the Welsh folk "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise," and with the Swede Carl Boberg "How Great Thou Art!" and put less emphasis on Peter and "the Keys." Not Peter, but Jesus Christ is the Church's One Foundation, and it is the Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise to whom we sing How Great Thou Art! Next Sunday it would be helpful if we would feel called to share some awareness with the members of the congregations in which we serve of the process by which the biblical accounts were formulated - a process not unlike our own preaching and teaching preparation process - and then boldly proclaim Jesus Christ as the Church's One Foundation and acclaim the greatness of God.
Finally, the illustration of Peter at the gate of heaven with the keys to heaven has been a delight to the cartoonists and to the jesters in "Christian" lands since the first century of the common era. The illustration is based, however, only on this Matthean redaction of the Markan account, and it was probably incorporated as it was in order to validate a Matthean Synoptic claim of primacy. We realize now belatedly that the only primacy within the Church should be the primacy of Jesus Christ. Of course, the Jesus of history may have said the words written in Matthew 16:18-19 and have given this special authority to Peter, but the basis for this is tenuous in the New Testament accounts. Although the words "Peter" and "rock" are identical as kepha only in Aramaic, the pun could certainly have been developed in Greek, since paronomasia is just as likely to be built on two words that have the same or similar sounds but different meanings as it is to be built on two different meanings of the same word. It is because the "Keys" saying is probably a development within the early Church in a situation of intrachurch rivalry that we should direct our attention for proclamation away from it and to the clear proclamation of Jesus Christ as the Church's One Foundation, since the latter but not the former runs consistently throughout the New Testament. Attention to the "Keys" passage in Matthew 16:18-19 is better given in adult study groups where there is time and opportunity for more extensive study and discussion.
