This text is used for the Lectionary Year C on March 20, 2016.
Isaiah – Marc Chagall
This is not your typical Palm Sunday text. We prefer the celebration. Children waving branches as Jesus, mounted on a donkey, rides into the holy city. We join the parade singing “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” The congregation knows Good Friday will happen before we meet again. But on this day, we prefer to celebrate, sing, and dance.
Perhaps, breaking tradition is healthy every so often. The unwritten question resonating in the background of the Triumphal Entry asks, “Will these same people worship the Jesus on the donkey, when he is hanging on cross?” “Will they identify with the suffering one, just as they celebrate the one who comes as a king?” “Will we?” These questions are where Isaiah 50 and the Triumphal Entry find common ground this Palm Sunday.
This text is used for the Lectionary Year C on March 20, 2016.
Hermano Leon
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus used tables to announce the Kingdom of God. Table fellowship, which was an important act of hospitality for all people in the Mediterranean world, was absolutely essential for Jesus’ ministry and an indicator of how he understood the nature of God’s Kingdom. Jesus spends a great deal of time in this gospel teaching his disciples of table manners in the Kingdom. Don’t take the seats of honor. Don’t invite only those who can reciprocate. Over and over again, the table of Jesus is illustrative of the ways of the Kingdom. This Passover table in 22.14-23 – along with the one in Emmaus – should remind the reader of all the tables that have frequented the entire gospel.
It was at the table that Jesus announces Judas’ betrayal. One of Jesus’ own disciples betrayed him. One might expect betrayal from someone on the periphery, but for the betrayer to arise from Jesus’ inner circle intensifies the scandal. The betrayal occurred amidst a larger debate amongst his followers as to who was the greatest. In a gospel saturated with reversal stories, this argument over who is the greatest portrays the disciples as extremely dense. On the other hand, Judas’ betrayal and the disciples’ ignorance are not limited to that particular table or to the first century. To the degree that Jesus’ followers continue to have this argument, we continue to follow in Judas’ footsteps.
This text is used for the Lectionary Year C on March 13, 2016.
By the Water – Saryan
George Lakoff described the importance of linguistic framing in his book, Don’t Think of an Elephant. He describes an experiment. He recorded that when someone tells a listener not to think about an object, it frames the issue so that the listener now cannot avoid thinking about what you asked them not to think about. So whenever he asked people not to think of an elephant they were unable to not think about an elephant. Isaiah 43:16-21 invites the reader to disregard previous salvation history.
The passage (vv. 16-21) reframes the historical perception concerning the anticipated fall of the Babylonian Empire to Cyrus. The first section of this unit contains a description of God in history (vv. 16-17). The second section instructs and challenges the community to eschew remembrance of the past. The third section describes the “new age”(vv. 18-21).
This text is used for the Lectionary Year C on March 13, 2016.
Martha and Mary – Denis
This week’s lectionary passage continues with the theme of generous hospitality and extravagant love. Last week, a father celebrated the return of his prodigal son (Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32). This passage describes Mary’s generous act of anointing Jesus’ feet with costly perfume. The narrative begins with his return to Bethany. The Passover is now just six days away, an indication to the knowledgeable reader that the time of Jesus’ death is fast approaching. Jesus returns to the home of Lazarus whom he raised from the dead (John 11:1-44). This was a moving encounter in which Jesus grieved with his dear friends, Martha and Mary, and then restored their brother back to life. The experience certainly cemented the sisters’ devotion to Jesus. No doubt the entire family welcomed him back warmly into their home. In fact, they are giving a dinner in his honor. It is not hard to imagine the joyous reunion and precious fellowship shared between hosts and guests. This must have been an encouragement in the midst of a tense time when Jesus’ life is being threatened because of the act of raising Lazarus (John 11:53-57). Jesus’ relationship with the three siblings reminds us of his commitment to friendship, and the calling to love others even when it requires significant personal sacrifice and even risk. This is an important theme in John’s gospel (John 15:1-17).
On this occasion, Martha takes on her customary role of serving the meal, and Mary continues to defy societal expectations (Luke 10:38-42). Mary is pictured as a committed disciple whose focus continues to be on her love for her Lord. The act of anointing Jesus with expensive perfume is remarkable for a few reasons. First, the perfume is ridiculously costly. Nard would have been used to anoint those most worthy of honor. It was imported from India, and the narrative notes that it was pure, not watered down. Any practical soul would find a way to honor Jesus that did not require the use of an item costing approximately a year’s wages for the average day laborer. It would have been common to wash a guest’s feet, but to do so with a liquid that could have been used more sensibly (as Judas notes succinctly) seems highly questionable. The passage does not identify Mary’s motivation for this act. Perhaps she was overcome with gratefulness at the restoration of Lazarus and was simply so devoted to Jesus that she sought to her express her appreciation in the fullest way possible.
