THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT "A"
Introduction: This Sunday we hear the story of the Samaritan woman at
the well. Before considering the story in detail it is important also
to consider it in the context and sequence of the Gospel.
We note a great contrast here. Nicodemus is a pharisee in the south city of Jerusalem in Judea. He is a male representative of the Jewish religious establishment. In today’s Gospel we have a unnamed Samaritan woman. She is a representative of an enemy people a foreign woman. She is surprised that Jesus talks with her. The Disciples too are surprised that Jesus talks with her.
John sets up this story in a dramatic form.
l. WHO: Divide up into parts: l) Narrator, 2) Jesus, 3) Samaritan
woman, 4) disciples, 5) town's people.
2. WHERE: Three stages:
l) main stage (Jesus and Woman) (Jesus and Disciples).
2) back stage: town (where disciples go, where
woman goes).
3) middle stage: townspeople coming to Jesus.
3. WHAT: (1-4) Introduction: Jesus leaves Judea for Galilee to the
north. En route he passes through Samaria, where at Shechem he rests at
noon next to Jacob's well.
(5-26) First dialogue:
a) living water (7-l5)
(a) (7) Jesus, (9) woman, (l0 Jesus)
(b) (ll-l2) Woman, (l3-l4) Jesus, (l5)
woman.
b) worship in Spirit and truth
(a) (l6) Jesus, (l7) Woman, (l8) Jesus
(b) (l9-20) Woman, (2l-24) Jesus, (25)
Woman, (26) Jesus.
(27-30) Change of scenery: Disciples return, woman left, towns
people on way coming to Jesus.
(31-38) Second dialogue:
a) Jesus' food
(3l) disciples, (32) Jesus, (33) Disciples.
b) the harvest (34-38) Jesus.
(39-42) Conclusion: belief of the Samaritans
4. Progression in faith knowledge: l) (9) Jew, 2) (12) greater than
Jacob? 3) (19) prophet, 4) (29) could this be the Messiah? 5) (42)
Savior of the world.
5. Things to watch for:
l) why at noon? isolation. (possible a play on light, brightness)
2) stage directions: disciples leave, woman
leaves.
3) stage prop, left her water jar at well.
4) living water, not the water of a cistern or a
well (dead) but water of a running spring or stream.
6.WHY:
Applications:
l) This episode presents the Samaritan Woman as the
first missionary. (NJBC p. 956) (also Brown, Community of Beloved
Disciple, Woman in John)
2) The Samaritan woman is offered to us as a person really meeting Jesus: growth in faith, from isolation to faith, to mission. Jesus a person who knows the heart, is receptive and non-judgmental.
3) Obstacles to meeting persons: prejudices, race,
family, past disagreements, sex of the person, other things that put us
off, sarcasm, abrasive, etc.
4) Emphasis of commentators on immorality of woman,
doesn't occupy Jesus. Seeing her raising question of place of worship
as a way to deflect conversation from her personal life. So taken by
Jesus (prophet) that addresses to him the question preoccupying
Samaritans.
5) As true missionary, helps people to come to Jesus.
Her importance decreases as they come into personal contact with Jesus.
True disciple and missionary.
6) The challenges of the Samaritan woman are ours: to
come to recognize who it is that speaks when Jesus speaks, and must ask
Jesus for living waters.
7) Jesus never gets a drink from her, but she gets
living water from him.
8) Our faith journey like Samaritan woman's includes
questions: Greater than Jacob? Could this be the Messiah?
9) Emotions of Samaritan woman: suspicion, fear (9),
to almost brassy defiance (ll-l2), to a complex mix of intelligent
curiosity and blank misunderstanding, to half-hearted deviousness (l5),
to total & selfless enthusiasm and commitment.
======================================
Development of Homily: Samaritan woman.
l) Go through the various names or titles that the woman uses for Jesus.
2) Go through the various attitudes the woman reveals at the different
moments of the encounter, meeting.
3) What does it mean for us?
a) In life we have many different meetings every day, the majority
of them are routine, superficial. Good morning. How are you? I'm
fine, how are you? I'm fine. Have a good day. I hope that all of us
have some more profound meetings in our life.
b) The meeting of Jesus and the Samaritan woman is more than a
superficial or routine meeting. Why? What accounts for this?
(a) it isn't as though this meeting is without obstacles. What
are some of the obstacles here? Prejudice, racial (that person is an
anglo, that person is a Mexican, Bosnia Herzegovina (Serbs and Muslims),
South Africa (black, white), etc. etc. , sexual (you can't reason with
her she's just a dumb woman/ You can't talk with him, he's so macho.).
Misunderstandings (a word means one thing to one person and something
different to another). Getting beyond attitudes that might put us off,
her brassiness, confrontational style, abrasiveness.
(b) the difference between a monologue and dialogue. Here we
have a genuine exchange. Jesus speaks, woman listens, woman speaks,
Jesus listens. Genuine exchange.
c) If our human exchanges are superficial, it is probable that our
exchanges with God are superficial. Someone has said that the depth of
our human meetings, encounters with others is the measure of the depth
of our encounter with God.
(a) the danger of speaking always when we pray. We do all the
talking.
(b) but to be quiet and listen to God is also dangerous, we may
hear that God is calling us to something in our life that needs to be
changed, some conversion that we are being called to.
(c) the woman is willing to change.
(d) notice that the woman goes from no faith, to questioning, to
some faith, to committed faith. Her experience with Jesus leads her
beyond herself to tell other people about Jesus. She becomes the first
missionary in John's Gospel.
(e) the challenges of the Samaritan woman are ours: come to
recognize who it is that speaks when Jesus speaks and we must ask Jesus
for living water.
(f) each of us has the ability to be truly present to another
person. This is very often an unused ability. When we have met a
person who radiates this ability we become changed in the encounter. The
kiss of peace at Mass can be another chance meeting, carelessly or
routinely dealt with or we can look at the other person and with the
eyes of faith see a person of extraordinary possibilities (una mirada de
fe) and have a different kind of exchange.
(g) we won't meet someone by a well this week but maybe at a
water cooler, or desk or locker, or some other ordinary place.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Lent 2 A
Second Sunday of Lent "A"
Introduction: The Image of a journey for our life is often times used.
In today's first reading, Abraham is called to go on a journey. His
attentiveness to the call of God is also followed by a number of
promises. In the Gospel we hear of a stopping off place on the journey
of Jesus, the Mountain of Transfiguration.
For Catholics throughout the world we are on the Lenten Journey.
Last Sunday we paused with Jesus on the Mt. of Temptation. Today we
pause at the mountain of Transfiguration. On the following Sundays of
Lent this year we will pause with Jesus at the Well of the Samaritan
woman, will pause with the man born blind, will pause at the tomb of
Lazarus, will pause to listen again to the Passion story.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The sermon today will have three points: l) consider the story of
the transfiguration as told by Matthew; 2) look at the life of Jesus
according to Matthew in view of the five different mountains that are
mentioned; 3) try to apply the meaning of the Transfiguration to our
life.
l) We have the story of the transfiguration in three Gospels, Mark,
Luke and Matthew. The sequence these three Gospel writers follow is similar. Jesus exercises his ministry in Galilee, he makes his first passion prediction, (In Matthew and Mark, Peter objects) and then we have the
story of the transfiguration.
But the story is slightly different in these three Gospels. Let us
look carefully at the differences according to Matthew. First of all
Matthew is the only one of the three to describe this experience
with the word, "vision." When Matthew describes what happened to Jesus
he says, "His face became as dazzling as the sun." This specific
description of what happened to Jesus is only in Matthew. We recall
Exodus 34:29 "As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets
of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his
face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. 33 "he put a
veil over his face." And in the vision of Daniel (l0:6) the heavenly
person is described, "his face shone like lightning."
In Matthew’s account when Peter speaks after the appearance of Moses and Elijah he refers to Jesus as Lord. In Mark Peter refers to Jesus as Rabbi, In Luke as Master. Peter also portrays a submissive attitude before God for Matthew says, "with your permission..." After the voice speaks from the
cloud Matthew tell us, "When they heard this the disciples fell forward
on the ground, overcome with fear." NABR "they fell prostrate and were
very much afraid." These emphases of Matthew turn the picture of Jesus
to accent his divine majesty. When we pray for mercy at the beginning
of Mass we address Jesus as Lord have mercy, we do not pray teacher or rabbi have mercy.
But the other addition of Matthew gives another particular emphasis
to the Transfiguration scene as Matthew paints the picture. Only
Matthew informs us, "Jesus came toward them and laying his hand on them,
said 'Get up! Do not be afraid." NABR "But Jesus came and touched them
saying, 'Rise and do not be afraid.'" Matthew is careful to portray
this Jesus in his majesty but also in his tender compassion.
2) Our second point is to look at the story of Jesus in Matthew's
Gospel with reference to the different mountains he considers.
(1) As we heard last Sunday the first mountain is the mountain of temptation. Jesus is alone with Satan. He must make a decision. Satan tempts him to be the
Messiah of popular expectations. Jesus rejects this temptation. It is
a turning point in Jesus’ life. When he comes down from this mountain
he moves from the south in Judea to the North in Galilee to the region
near the lake of Galilee and the city of Caparnaum. He begins his
ministry of teaching, proclaiming, and healing.
(2) The second Mountain is the Mountain on which Jesus gives the
Sermon on the Mount. In chapters five to seven we have important
teaching of Jesus. When he comes down from this mountain he also does a
number of miracles. He is either accepted by people or rejected. He
finally predicts that he must go up to Jerusalem to suffer and die and
rise from the dead. This is not the type of Messiah the disciples
desire.
( 3) This leads to the third mountain, the mountain of
Transfiguration. Though Peter would like to stay on this mountain Jesus
goes down from the mountain with the disciples. Following this
experience the miracles of Jesus decrease. Jesus tries mightily to
convince his disciples of the kind of Messiah he must be, to give his
life for others.
(4) This leads to the fourth mountain (the mount of Olives followed
by) Mount Calvary. Here Jesus dies for us. What he taught in words in
the sermon on the Mount he now teaches in deed. But the journey does
not end, this time his body is taken down and laid in a tomb. But death
does not triumph over Jesus. On the third day he rises from the dead.
He appears to the apostles.
(5) This leads to the fifth mountain, the mountain of commissioning.
The apostles gather and Jesus commissions them to continue his mission
of teaching to the ends of the earth. They are to baptize and he
promises to be with them till the end of time.
3) Lessons or applications for us from this Sunday. The first lesson is
that for the Christian ashes, the human condition, sin are a part of our
life and experience. But for us the promise of transfiguration,
grace and glory are also to be part of our experience. What happened
to Jesus can also happen to us. Transfiguration of Jesus also assures
us that within each of us there are extraordinary possibilities,
potentials for good. God can also shine through us.
The human being, in whose body all of creation is summed up, has these two possible destinies: annihilation or resurrection. The first is the destiny created by intelligence at the service of power (the transforming power of the atom bomb). The second is discovered by intelligence at the service of love (the Transfiguration of Jesus and its promise of the possibility of transformation in us).
A psychologist Abraham Maslow said that part of the experience of a
well adjusted person is what he called, "peak experiences." These
experiences frequently involve wonder, awe, feeling of oneness with the
universe, and a loss of self. As we look at the mountain experiences of
Jesus we can see that though different each one was special. This
Sunday we are called perhaps to reflect on the mountain or peak
experiences in our lives. Jesus had to come down from the mountain each
time, except for the last time. Our life too alternates between highs
and lows. Many times we return to a valley of tears. But the promise
of Transfiguration is also ours. This is the reason we have the
penitential season of Lent to call ourselves to ever greater conversion.
The Transfiguration experience as described by Matthew reminds us
that in Jesus we have a person of divine majesty. He has the power and
ability to change us and situations in our life. But we also have a
Jesus of tender compassion. He wishes to touch each of us and tell us
not to be afraid.
There is nothing magic about Lent or Ashes. If we do nothing during
Lent we will come to the end of Lent and will experience nothing. Lent
is a time to deepen our understanding of the teachings of Jesus, perhaps
to read each day from the Gospel of Matthew. We cannot call ourselves
Christians if we do not know what are the teachings of Christ. If we
undertake Lenten practices, the promise is we will experience
transformation and transfiguration in us too.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
rom America magazine:
Introduction: The Image of a journey for our life is often times used.
In today's first reading, Abraham is called to go on a journey. His
attentiveness to the call of God is also followed by a number of
promises. In the Gospel we hear of a stopping off place on the journey
of Jesus, the Mountain of Transfiguration.
For Catholics throughout the world we are on the Lenten Journey.
Last Sunday we paused with Jesus on the Mt. of Temptation. Today we
pause at the mountain of Transfiguration. On the following Sundays of
Lent this year we will pause with Jesus at the Well of the Samaritan
woman, will pause with the man born blind, will pause at the tomb of
Lazarus, will pause to listen again to the Passion story.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The sermon today will have three points: l) consider the story of
the transfiguration as told by Matthew; 2) look at the life of Jesus
according to Matthew in view of the five different mountains that are
mentioned; 3) try to apply the meaning of the Transfiguration to our
life.
l) We have the story of the transfiguration in three Gospels, Mark,
Luke and Matthew. The sequence these three Gospel writers follow is similar. Jesus exercises his ministry in Galilee, he makes his first passion prediction, (In Matthew and Mark, Peter objects) and then we have the
story of the transfiguration.
But the story is slightly different in these three Gospels. Let us
look carefully at the differences according to Matthew. First of all
Matthew is the only one of the three to describe this experience
with the word, "vision." When Matthew describes what happened to Jesus
he says, "His face became as dazzling as the sun." This specific
description of what happened to Jesus is only in Matthew. We recall
Exodus 34:29 "As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets
of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his
face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. 33 "he put a
veil over his face." And in the vision of Daniel (l0:6) the heavenly
person is described, "his face shone like lightning."
In Matthew’s account when Peter speaks after the appearance of Moses and Elijah he refers to Jesus as Lord. In Mark Peter refers to Jesus as Rabbi, In Luke as Master. Peter also portrays a submissive attitude before God for Matthew says, "with your permission..." After the voice speaks from the
cloud Matthew tell us, "When they heard this the disciples fell forward
on the ground, overcome with fear." NABR "they fell prostrate and were
very much afraid." These emphases of Matthew turn the picture of Jesus
to accent his divine majesty. When we pray for mercy at the beginning
of Mass we address Jesus as Lord have mercy, we do not pray teacher or rabbi have mercy.
But the other addition of Matthew gives another particular emphasis
to the Transfiguration scene as Matthew paints the picture. Only
Matthew informs us, "Jesus came toward them and laying his hand on them,
said 'Get up! Do not be afraid." NABR "But Jesus came and touched them
saying, 'Rise and do not be afraid.'" Matthew is careful to portray
this Jesus in his majesty but also in his tender compassion.
2) Our second point is to look at the story of Jesus in Matthew's
Gospel with reference to the different mountains he considers.
(1) As we heard last Sunday the first mountain is the mountain of temptation. Jesus is alone with Satan. He must make a decision. Satan tempts him to be the
Messiah of popular expectations. Jesus rejects this temptation. It is
a turning point in Jesus’ life. When he comes down from this mountain
he moves from the south in Judea to the North in Galilee to the region
near the lake of Galilee and the city of Caparnaum. He begins his
ministry of teaching, proclaiming, and healing.
(2) The second Mountain is the Mountain on which Jesus gives the
Sermon on the Mount. In chapters five to seven we have important
teaching of Jesus. When he comes down from this mountain he also does a
number of miracles. He is either accepted by people or rejected. He
finally predicts that he must go up to Jerusalem to suffer and die and
rise from the dead. This is not the type of Messiah the disciples
desire.
( 3) This leads to the third mountain, the mountain of
Transfiguration. Though Peter would like to stay on this mountain Jesus
goes down from the mountain with the disciples. Following this
experience the miracles of Jesus decrease. Jesus tries mightily to
convince his disciples of the kind of Messiah he must be, to give his
life for others.
(4) This leads to the fourth mountain (the mount of Olives followed
by) Mount Calvary. Here Jesus dies for us. What he taught in words in
the sermon on the Mount he now teaches in deed. But the journey does
not end, this time his body is taken down and laid in a tomb. But death
does not triumph over Jesus. On the third day he rises from the dead.
He appears to the apostles.
(5) This leads to the fifth mountain, the mountain of commissioning.
The apostles gather and Jesus commissions them to continue his mission
of teaching to the ends of the earth. They are to baptize and he
promises to be with them till the end of time.
3) Lessons or applications for us from this Sunday. The first lesson is
that for the Christian ashes, the human condition, sin are a part of our
life and experience. But for us the promise of transfiguration,
grace and glory are also to be part of our experience. What happened
to Jesus can also happen to us. Transfiguration of Jesus also assures
us that within each of us there are extraordinary possibilities,
potentials for good. God can also shine through us.
The human being, in whose body all of creation is summed up, has these two possible destinies: annihilation or resurrection. The first is the destiny created by intelligence at the service of power (the transforming power of the atom bomb). The second is discovered by intelligence at the service of love (the Transfiguration of Jesus and its promise of the possibility of transformation in us).
A psychologist Abraham Maslow said that part of the experience of a
well adjusted person is what he called, "peak experiences." These
experiences frequently involve wonder, awe, feeling of oneness with the
universe, and a loss of self. As we look at the mountain experiences of
Jesus we can see that though different each one was special. This
Sunday we are called perhaps to reflect on the mountain or peak
experiences in our lives. Jesus had to come down from the mountain each
time, except for the last time. Our life too alternates between highs
and lows. Many times we return to a valley of tears. But the promise
of Transfiguration is also ours. This is the reason we have the
penitential season of Lent to call ourselves to ever greater conversion.
The Transfiguration experience as described by Matthew reminds us
that in Jesus we have a person of divine majesty. He has the power and
ability to change us and situations in our life. But we also have a
Jesus of tender compassion. He wishes to touch each of us and tell us
not to be afraid.
There is nothing magic about Lent or Ashes. If we do nothing during
Lent we will come to the end of Lent and will experience nothing. Lent
is a time to deepen our understanding of the teachings of Jesus, perhaps
to read each day from the Gospel of Matthew. We cannot call ourselves
Christians if we do not know what are the teachings of Christ. If we
undertake Lenten practices, the promise is we will experience
transformation and transfiguration in us too.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
rom America magazine:
Jesus’ transforming experience also resonates with that of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who on the night before he was assassinated declared that he had been to the mountaintop and had seen the promised land. He set aside all fear and assured his followers that even if he were killed, as a people they would get to the promised land. God’s transformative love radiates through a face determined to love no matter what the other’s response. As Jesus had taught his disciples from a mountaintop about transforming enmity through love, so King reminded his followers to disarm police forces through loving, nonviolent confrontation and to answer firehoses with “a certain kind of fire that no water could put out.”
King urged his listeners to continue to struggle for justice here and now, not just wait for “long white robes over yonder.” So too, Jesus’ radiant clothes in the Gospel are not simply a glimpse of his own divine status but a vision of the way in which each beloved child of God is to be clothed here and now. King urged his followers to give themselves to this struggle until the end, saying, “Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point.” For Jesus, nothing would have been more tragic than to stop with teaching, preaching and healing in the Galilee. To bring transfigured life to completion for all, he continues on toward Jerusalem
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Lent 1 A ADAM AND EVE
ADAM AND EVE
Genesis: two creation accounts:
I.Chapter 2-3 older version:
YAHWEH who walks in the Garden and converses with Adam.
The earthling is fashioned or formed.
2: 7“The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.”
Wes Howard Brook, Come Out My People, p.28 “inspired earth” 2:15 “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it.” (Contrast with “dominion in the chapter 1 account, vs. 26,28a,28b “subdue the earth))
2:18 “It is not good that the earthling should be alone. I will make him a helper as his partner” (NRSV), Wes H. Brook, p. 27 “counterpart”, Amy Jill Levine, “some one who can match him.”
“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air,” Adam names the animals. “No partner fit for him.”
Woman’s creation from man’s “side” or “rib”
One Midrash (rabbinic story) states that woman was not taken from man’s head, lest she lord it over him, nor his feet, lest he walk all over her. She is from his side, and they are partners.
Her formation from the man’s rib, rather than from his head, for instance, is seen by the rabbis as symbolic of her essentially inferior status, lest she be proud or ‘that she should be modest.” Passion and Compassion, p. 48
Man and woman question their assigned roles in the Garden.
The snake initiates a dialogue with a question: “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” (3:16)
Come out My People. p 29 “..the woman both omits from and adds to the divine word, rendering the question of obedience to the command confused and risky. First, she omits the divine emphasis on the availability of the tree food. Second, she omits the name of the one tree expressly prohibited, focusing on its relative location rather than its nature..Next, she adds a prohibition to God’s command: “nor shall you touch it.” Finally, she omits the link between the immediacy of the consequence and of disobedience and death.” (3:2,3)
The snake proceeds with three half truths. 1) you will not die 2) your eyes will be opened 3) you will be like God knowing good and evil. (3:4,5)
The woman’s decision is thoughtful: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and she ate.”(3:6) She does not tempt man. “She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.” 1 Tim. 2:14 “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” That is, Adam was not seduced; his choice was one of conscious solidarity with his partner (Amy Jill Levine).
“Missing the nature of the tree, she miscalculated the degree of the risk. Missing the boundary of prohibition, she went with the evidence of her senses and mind against the divine Word.
As a result of the transgression, the couple experiences not death, but loss of innocence or shame (“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves” (3:7) .
“ Adam complains in (3:8) The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit and ate.” Adam tried to shift the blame to Eve and then to God.
This loss is compounded by punishments.
For the woman, 3:16 “I will greatly increase your work and your pregnancies; along with work you shall give birth to children.” Women’s lot is thus to work in two spheres: procreation and production.
“Yet your desire shall be for your man (husband) and he shall rule over you”
Wes H. Brook, p. 27"The “curse” of this was not the “pain of parenting” but the reality that childbearing was the single biggest cause of early death for women until modern medicine. Thus, in a very literal way, the development of surplus agriculture killed countless women. (Book is reading this account against his supposition that it is written against the scene at the Babylonian captivity.)
The second part of the woman’s “curse” is the breaking of the egalitarian relationship between herself and the man. No longer will women be “counterparts” (Gen. 2:18), but instead, the man will “rule” over the woman. In other words, part of the “curse” is the establishment of the patriarchal family structure. Carol Meyers notes, “in light of an understandable reluctance of women to enter into the risks of pregnancy and birth, and because of the social and economic necessity that she do so frequently, the male’s will within the realm of sexuality is to be imposed on the will of the female.”
For the man” the text moves on to the curse of the other person, who is called once again adam (human) rather than ish (man). The man’s punishment (takes up three verses Gen. 3:17,18,19) is prefaced by a rationale that is missing for the other two (snake and woman): 17 “ To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life.
18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return."
The punishment of the man continues: the man is to wrestle food from the cursed ground. The Hebrew word itstsavon describes both the woman’s pain and the man’s pain, although the specific task (childbearing, agriculture) differs. He is to eat the plants of the field in contrast to the tree fruit given by God (2:16) p. 28
The second detail is in the naming of the food that will come from this sweaty, painful work: “you shall eat bread until you return to the ground.” Bread is not a “natural” food but one manufactured from agricultural grains. Childbirth leading to pain and death, patriarchy, and agricultural labor leading to death: this is the divinely ordained judgment in Genesis on the development of surplus agriculture. ...it is only one step from this to “the city”.
20
(4) The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
21
For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them.
Yahweh alone can remove humanity’s guilt and shame. This is symbolized at the end of the story (v.21) when Yahweh makes garments for the man and the woman. (Collegeville commentary)
II. Chapter 1 (later version):
Elohim a distant transcendent God.
God who creates ex nihilo.
The first commandment is a positive one, “be fertile...”
26 ( 4) Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
27
God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth."
Genesis: two creation accounts:
I.Chapter 2-3 older version:
YAHWEH who walks in the Garden and converses with Adam.
The earthling is fashioned or formed.
2: 7“The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.”
Wes Howard Brook, Come Out My People, p.28 “inspired earth” 2:15 “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it.” (Contrast with “dominion in the chapter 1 account, vs. 26,28a,28b “subdue the earth))
2:18 “It is not good that the earthling should be alone. I will make him a helper as his partner” (NRSV), Wes H. Brook, p. 27 “counterpart”, Amy Jill Levine, “some one who can match him.”
“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air,” Adam names the animals. “No partner fit for him.”
Woman’s creation from man’s “side” or “rib”
One Midrash (rabbinic story) states that woman was not taken from man’s head, lest she lord it over him, nor his feet, lest he walk all over her. She is from his side, and they are partners.
Her formation from the man’s rib, rather than from his head, for instance, is seen by the rabbis as symbolic of her essentially inferior status, lest she be proud or ‘that she should be modest.” Passion and Compassion, p. 48
Man and woman question their assigned roles in the Garden.
The snake initiates a dialogue with a question: “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” (3:16)
Come out My People. p 29 “..the woman both omits from and adds to the divine word, rendering the question of obedience to the command confused and risky. First, she omits the divine emphasis on the availability of the tree food. Second, she omits the name of the one tree expressly prohibited, focusing on its relative location rather than its nature..Next, she adds a prohibition to God’s command: “nor shall you touch it.” Finally, she omits the link between the immediacy of the consequence and of disobedience and death.” (3:2,3)
The snake proceeds with three half truths. 1) you will not die 2) your eyes will be opened 3) you will be like God knowing good and evil. (3:4,5)
The woman’s decision is thoughtful: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and she ate.”(3:6) She does not tempt man. “She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.” 1 Tim. 2:14 “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” That is, Adam was not seduced; his choice was one of conscious solidarity with his partner (Amy Jill Levine).
“Missing the nature of the tree, she miscalculated the degree of the risk. Missing the boundary of prohibition, she went with the evidence of her senses and mind against the divine Word.
As a result of the transgression, the couple experiences not death, but loss of innocence or shame (“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves” (3:7) .
“ Adam complains in (3:8) The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit and ate.” Adam tried to shift the blame to Eve and then to God.
This loss is compounded by punishments.
For the woman, 3:16 “I will greatly increase your work and your pregnancies; along with work you shall give birth to children.” Women’s lot is thus to work in two spheres: procreation and production.
“Yet your desire shall be for your man (husband) and he shall rule over you”
Wes H. Brook, p. 27"The “curse” of this was not the “pain of parenting” but the reality that childbearing was the single biggest cause of early death for women until modern medicine. Thus, in a very literal way, the development of surplus agriculture killed countless women. (Book is reading this account against his supposition that it is written against the scene at the Babylonian captivity.)
The second part of the woman’s “curse” is the breaking of the egalitarian relationship between herself and the man. No longer will women be “counterparts” (Gen. 2:18), but instead, the man will “rule” over the woman. In other words, part of the “curse” is the establishment of the patriarchal family structure. Carol Meyers notes, “in light of an understandable reluctance of women to enter into the risks of pregnancy and birth, and because of the social and economic necessity that she do so frequently, the male’s will within the realm of sexuality is to be imposed on the will of the female.”
For the man” the text moves on to the curse of the other person, who is called once again adam (human) rather than ish (man). The man’s punishment (takes up three verses Gen. 3:17,18,19) is prefaced by a rationale that is missing for the other two (snake and woman): 17 “ To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life.
18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return."
The punishment of the man continues: the man is to wrestle food from the cursed ground. The Hebrew word itstsavon describes both the woman’s pain and the man’s pain, although the specific task (childbearing, agriculture) differs. He is to eat the plants of the field in contrast to the tree fruit given by God (2:16) p. 28
The second detail is in the naming of the food that will come from this sweaty, painful work: “you shall eat bread until you return to the ground.” Bread is not a “natural” food but one manufactured from agricultural grains. Childbirth leading to pain and death, patriarchy, and agricultural labor leading to death: this is the divinely ordained judgment in Genesis on the development of surplus agriculture. ...it is only one step from this to “the city”.
20
(4) The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
21
For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them.
Yahweh alone can remove humanity’s guilt and shame. This is symbolized at the end of the story (v.21) when Yahweh makes garments for the man and the woman. (Collegeville commentary)
II. Chapter 1 (later version):
Elohim a distant transcendent God.
God who creates ex nihilo.
The first commandment is a positive one, “be fertile...”
26 ( 4) Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
27
God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth."
Friday, March 4, 2011
Lent A 1st Sunday
Lent A First Sunday
The reading from Genesis takes us into the Garden, the Gospel reading takes us into the desert.
The issues are control and allegiance. Who will determine the actions of Adam, Eve, Jesus, me?
The First reading for the First Sunday of Lent takes us to the Garden (a literary device keeps the story moving) we meet the serpent, the woman and the man (when God enters the Garden this order is reversed, man first, woman, then the serpent) when God punishes the order is serpent, woman, then man.
The serpent first gets the woman’s attention by a question that initiates a dialogue.. He then proceeds with three half truths: 1) “you will not die” 2) “your eyes will be opened” 3) “you will be like God knowing good and evil”.
The woman’s decision is thoughtful: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and she ate” She does not tempt man: “She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.” 1 Tim.2:14 “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” That is, Adam was not seduced; his choice was one of conscious solidarity with his partner. (Amy Jill Levine),
1) They do not die, yet they become subject to death and will eventually die. 2) Now they become aware of the experience of guilt and shame. They know that they are naked. 3) They become like God, knowing good and evil, but not in the way they had expected.
Collegeville Bible Commentary
p. 43 “The story of Gen 3 says nothing about the serpent’s motives in tempting the man and the woman. Indeed, the source of evil itself is left a mystery in Gen. 3. What the story does tell us is that the presence of evil in the world is due to humanity’s decision to oppose God’s command.”
p.44 “Chapter 3 of Genesis says that God wished to retain the knowledge of what was best for human creation. The problem is that humanity overstepped the limit imposed by God and appropriated that knowledge. Now humanity exists in the position of deciding for itself what is best. It defines itself in rebellion against its Creator...
Who knows what is best for the creature–the One who created it or the creature itself? Humanity makes its own decisions, but its decisions lack the breadth and depth of God’s wisdom.
Yahweh alone can remove humanity’s guilt and shame. This is symbolized as the end of the story (v.21) when Yahweh makes garments for the man and the woman. ”
The Gospel reading takes us into the desert with Jesus and the Devil.
Jesus by the Spirit is led into the wilderness; by the Devil to be tempted .
Immediately previous to this Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. He heard a voice come from the heavens, “This is my beloved Son...”
1st temptation: the Devil seeks to control Jesus through obedience, seek sensual pleasure. Jesus rejects the offer, says he will obey the word of God.
2nd temptation: Jesus taken from the margins of the wilderness to the center, the holy city. Jesus will gain honor by assenting to the devil, he rejects him he will not test God..
3rd temptation: to gain power through worship of the devil. Jesus rejects the offer, states that worship belongs to God. (The temptation to control by obedience and worship is still very active.)
Away with you Satan. Here we have a name change. The new name underlines the adversarial nature of the scene by evoking Satan’s accusatory role in the heavenly council (1 Chr. 21:l; Job 1; Zech 3:1-2).
Jesus is victorious over Satan. His resurrection which we will celebrate at the end of Lent is the culmination of his victory.
This Lent: What sensual pleasure am I being seduced by?
What am I being tempted to do to gain honor in the sight of others?
What temptations do I have to increase my power?
Am I aware that I am a creature of the Creator? Do I give over control and allegiance to God or to something or someone else?
Who or What is determining my actions?
We must examine ourselves against the topics of today’s Psalm: my offense, my guilt, my sin, I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
My prayer: Steadfast spirit of fervor. (Mantra)
The reading from Genesis takes us into the Garden, the Gospel reading takes us into the desert.
The issues are control and allegiance. Who will determine the actions of Adam, Eve, Jesus, me?
The First reading for the First Sunday of Lent takes us to the Garden (a literary device keeps the story moving) we meet the serpent, the woman and the man (when God enters the Garden this order is reversed, man first, woman, then the serpent) when God punishes the order is serpent, woman, then man.
The serpent first gets the woman’s attention by a question that initiates a dialogue.. He then proceeds with three half truths: 1) “you will not die” 2) “your eyes will be opened” 3) “you will be like God knowing good and evil”.
The woman’s decision is thoughtful: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and she ate” She does not tempt man: “She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.” 1 Tim.2:14 “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” That is, Adam was not seduced; his choice was one of conscious solidarity with his partner. (Amy Jill Levine),
1) They do not die, yet they become subject to death and will eventually die. 2) Now they become aware of the experience of guilt and shame. They know that they are naked. 3) They become like God, knowing good and evil, but not in the way they had expected.
Collegeville Bible Commentary
p. 43 “The story of Gen 3 says nothing about the serpent’s motives in tempting the man and the woman. Indeed, the source of evil itself is left a mystery in Gen. 3. What the story does tell us is that the presence of evil in the world is due to humanity’s decision to oppose God’s command.”
p.44 “Chapter 3 of Genesis says that God wished to retain the knowledge of what was best for human creation. The problem is that humanity overstepped the limit imposed by God and appropriated that knowledge. Now humanity exists in the position of deciding for itself what is best. It defines itself in rebellion against its Creator...
Who knows what is best for the creature–the One who created it or the creature itself? Humanity makes its own decisions, but its decisions lack the breadth and depth of God’s wisdom.
Yahweh alone can remove humanity’s guilt and shame. This is symbolized as the end of the story (v.21) when Yahweh makes garments for the man and the woman. ”
The Gospel reading takes us into the desert with Jesus and the Devil.
Jesus by the Spirit is led into the wilderness; by the Devil to be tempted .
Immediately previous to this Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. He heard a voice come from the heavens, “This is my beloved Son...”
1st temptation: the Devil seeks to control Jesus through obedience, seek sensual pleasure. Jesus rejects the offer, says he will obey the word of God.
2nd temptation: Jesus taken from the margins of the wilderness to the center, the holy city. Jesus will gain honor by assenting to the devil, he rejects him he will not test God..
3rd temptation: to gain power through worship of the devil. Jesus rejects the offer, states that worship belongs to God. (The temptation to control by obedience and worship is still very active.)
Away with you Satan. Here we have a name change. The new name underlines the adversarial nature of the scene by evoking Satan’s accusatory role in the heavenly council (1 Chr. 21:l; Job 1; Zech 3:1-2).
Jesus is victorious over Satan. His resurrection which we will celebrate at the end of Lent is the culmination of his victory.
This Lent: What sensual pleasure am I being seduced by?
What am I being tempted to do to gain honor in the sight of others?
What temptations do I have to increase my power?
Am I aware that I am a creature of the Creator? Do I give over control and allegiance to God or to something or someone else?
Who or What is determining my actions?
We must examine ourselves against the topics of today’s Psalm: my offense, my guilt, my sin, I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
My prayer: Steadfast spirit of fervor. (Mantra)
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