Pentecost 19

Sunday, October 23, 2011
Lectionary 30
Proper 25
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Ken Klassen

INTRODUCTION
Jesus' summary of the law in today's gospel echoes our first reading from Leviticus. We are called not only to love God with heart, soul, and mind, but also to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is out of such deep care that Paul shares the gospel with the Thessalonian community. In the confession of sins, we acknowledge that we have not loved God, neighbor, and self; yet we gather to hear the word of forgiveness and to be strengthened by word and meal to be signs of God's love and mercy in the world.

James of Jerusalem, martyr, died around 62
One of three early-church leaders named James, this man is identified in the New Testament and by a historian of the time as a brother of Jesus. Scholars are uncertain whether this means a blood brother. He was a leader of the church in Jerusalem.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (ELW)

O Lord God, you are the holy lawgiver, you are the salvation of your people. By your Spirit renew us in your covenant of love, and train us to care tenderly for all our neighbors, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

FIRST READING

Leviticus 19:1–2, 15–18

The holiness code in Leviticus urges people to be holy because God is holy. Holiness is lived out in partiality for and consideration of the poor and the weak. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. God's people exercise justice and love in their dealings with one another.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
²Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. ¹⁵You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. ¹⁶You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
¹⁷You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. ¹⁸You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

PSALM (ELW)

Psalm 1

Their delight is in the law of the LORD. (Ps. 1:2)

¹Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel ^| of the wicked,

nor lingered in the way of sinners,

nor sat in the seats ^| of the scornful!

²Their delight is in the law ^| of the LORD,

and they meditate on God's teaching ^| day and night. R

³They are like trees planted by streams of water,

bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that ^| do not wither;

everything they ^| do shall prosper.

⁴It is not so ^| with the wicked;

they are like chaff which the wind ^| blows away.

⁵Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when ^| judgment comes,

nor the sinner in the council ^| of the righteous.

⁶For the LORD knows the way ^| of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked shall ^| be destroyed. R

SECOND READING

1 Thessalonians 2:1–8

Paul uses maternal imagery to depict the caring and nurturing relationship he shares with the Thessalonian Christians. When he first came to their city it was not to benefit himself but to share the gospel with them, which was his responsibility as an apostle of Christ.

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, ²but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. ³For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, ⁴but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. ⁵As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; ⁶nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, ⁷though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. ⁸So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

GOSPEL

Matthew 22:34–46

Put on the spot by the Pharisees, Jesus displays wisdom by summarizing the law of God in just two commandments and by demonstrating the Messiah must be more than the son of David.

³⁴When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? ³⁷He said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
⁴¹Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ⁴²What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he? They said to him, "The son of David." ⁴³He said to them, "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
⁴⁴'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet" '?
⁴⁵If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" ⁴⁶No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Reflection

Prior to reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, the verse in this week's Gospel reading, 'love your neighbor as yourself' was a stretch goal in my life. Lewis' viewpoint has been helpful for me and I'd like to share it with you. Here is my paraphrasing of his thoughts on 'love your neighbor as yourself'.

How exactly do I love myself? While I do love myself, I don't always feel affection for myself and I don't always enjoy being with myself. So apparently 'love your neighbor' does not mean 'have affection for him' or 'wanting to be with him'.

Do I think I am a good person? Well I am afraid that sometimes I do and this is the worst possible version of me. But that is not why I love myself. In fact it is the reverse; it is my self-love that makes me think that I am a good person. So loving my neighbor does not mean I must think that they are a good person either. That is an enormous relief; for some people believe that loving your neighbor means thinking that they are not so bad after all - when clearly they are. Go a step further. In my most clear-sighted moments not only do I think myself not a good person, but I know that I am a very mean one. I can look at some of the things I have done with disgust and hate. So apparently I am allowed to loathe some of the things my neighbors do.

Clearly Lewis is casting a dark shadow to emphasize his point. The 'love' that is being called for is not emotion; it is not 'liking' or 'getting along with'. The 'love' Jesus is talking about here is trust, loyalty, enduring devotion. You may actually hate your neighbor, but you will still be loving them in the Biblical sense if you continue to act for their well-being and refuse to cut off your relationship with them.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we pray for wisdom and the patience to understand your scriptures. Help use to make loving our neighbor more than a stretch goal in our lives. Give us tolerance for those who don't meet our expectations. And above all else, help us to listen to your voice.

We ask that your protecting hand will be on all of those who serve our country and work for peace. Teach us compassion for the sick, the suffering, and those in need.