READINGS: 01/23/2022 ~ Third Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Known in Some
Traditions as the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19;
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21 ~ VIDEO OF COMPLETE SERVICE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj1xHIM-5tA.
Understanding
Rev. Joseph Connolly
South Freeport Congregational Church
January 23, 2022
“So they, the Levities, read from the book, from the Torah of God, with interpretation.
They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” — Nehemiah 8:8.
When I was in my last year at Bangor Seminary a well known New Testament scholar,
the Rev. Dr. David Trobish, took over the reigns of the New Testament Department.
Trobish came to Bangor from Heidelberg University in Germany.
Was it strange that a scholar with an international reputation might choose to come to a
small Seminary in a rural State? No. Why? Dr. Trobish filled the slot of the late Rev.
Dr. Burton Throckmorton, the professor with whom I studied the New Testament, a
scholar with an international reputation.
This is just one of Burt’s books, The Gospel Parallels. [1] Often used in college and
seminary courses on the New Testament, the book lays out the three synoptic Gospels,
Mark, Matthew and Luke while referencing the original, ancient Greek manuscripts. In
three columns it shows where the words of the Gospels are, indeed, in parallel--
meaning the underlying Greek is the same word and where they are not in parallel.
Back to Dr. Trobish— I was never in a classroom with him since I was in my final
semester when he arrived but we spoke, shared meals— that happens at a small
Seminary. Just in doing that I heard many fascinating stories. This is one.
In Germany everyone is taxed by the government to support churches. Hence, seminaries
are paid for by the state. Mind you, I think there is actually more separation of church
and state in Germany than there is here, but that’s a topic for a 3 hour lecture, not a
sermon, so I think you’re probably glad I am not going there.
In Germany, if a person wants to be a pastor at a state supported church, even someone
whose background is fundamentalist, that person has to go to a state sponsored seminary.
David started a New Testament Survey Course at Heidelberg by asking students to
examine ancient Greek manuscripts. There are thousands.
Each manuscript of exactly the same passage has many words which are different from
one manuscript to another to another. It was at that point, when the students who
thought Scripture should be taken literally, said David, that he could see the scales of that
idea fall from their eyes.
In short, it is impossible to read Scripture literally once you examine ancient manuscripts.
The reality is, in order to understand what is there, the text needs to be interpreted.
Meaning is not obvious. Meaning needs to be gleaned. (Slight pause.)
This is what we hear in Nehemiah: “So they, the Levities, read from the book, from the
Torah of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood
the reading.” (Slight pause.)
One of the great precepts of the Protestant revolution is everyone should be able to read
Scripture in the vernacular, in their own language. Before that time people died, were
burned at the stake, for simply trying to translate the text into another language.
But one of the things we fail to ask about the era in which this idea, that anyone should
be able to read the Bible in their own language was promulgated, is ‘who could read?’
Those who could read were a fairly small percentage of the population.
Further, if you could read, odds were you could also read Greek. Why? That literate
people studied Greek was a given back then and the Scriptures were available in Greek.
Indeed, when Calvin came to the pulpit in Geneva Scripture passages were read in
Greek. It was assumed everyone there would know what was being said.
Now, you may have noticed I do not say Jesus Christ. I say Jesus, the Christ. Why?
Jesus holds the office of the Christ, the Messiah. I say it that way because that’s what the
Greek means, that Jesus is the Christ, and most people don’t know Greek.
So one of things we need to consider when we, today, read Scripture is there may be a
need for some extra information about the underlying documents and information about
the eras in which the texts were composed. Hence, I always recommend when Scripture
is read privately it’s good to have a reputable commentary next to the Bible you’re
reading.
Why? In order to understand what’s there, the text needs to be interpreted. Meaning is
not necessarily obvious. Meaning needs to be gleaned. A little more show and tell: this
is a reputable one volume commentary. [2]
And please don’t worry about the books I’ve displayed and what they are. The text
verison of this sermon published on the church web site will have footnotes where the
books are named. (Don’t tell anyone; I even put an AMAZON link in there. You could
buy them.)
Back to Nehemiah— as we just heard, the Hebrews in the Fifth Century Before the
Common Era, were no different than we are today. Scripture needed to be interpreted; to
draw a modern parallel, the Levites were the Rabbi’s, the teachers of that era, and it was
the Levites who helped interpret Scripture.
There is something else to consider. How do we interpret Scripture? With what premise
do we start? Theologian Bruce Epperly says many have forgotten about the reality of
Scripture and portray God as a distant, coercive power, Whose Word will separate
humankind from lifeless nature.
Therefore, many turn away from the biblical vision of the goodness of creation. Many
turn from our vocation as God’s agents of Shalom, God’s agents of justice, God’s agents
of love.
But, says Epperly, our call as beloved children of God is to repair breaches, to strive to
mend the world, to use our intelligence to work out healing. God invites us to use our
intelligence and experience God’s wisdom and love. God invites us use our intelligence
to live in harmony with the world rather than see the world as a place to be afflicted with
domination.
Indeed, It is up to us to use our intelligence to be agents of God, to take action. What
action? The actions of peace, justice, equity, freedom, joy, hope, love.
Where are these actions made explicit? These actions are made explicit in Scripture...
when we read it with understanding. Let us pray that we are up to the task.
Amen.
01/23/2022
South Freeport Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, South Freeport, Maine
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before
the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “A couple
weeks ago I said we need to study the Bible. This week I tried to explain how we can do
it and why we need to do it. Last, I have an aphorism to share. Theologian Walter
Brueggemann said this: ‘The Gospel is a dangerous idea. Our task is to see how much
danger we, ourselves, wish to perform in our own lives.’ I might be wrong but I suspect
the dangerous idea in the Gospel to which Brueggemann refers are actions. We know
these actions as peace, justice, equity, freedom, joy, hope, love.”
BENEDICTION: Through God’s grace, by being attentive to God’s will, our deeds and
our words will change our world for we will discover ways to proclaim release from the
bondage of narrowness. Let us seek the God of Joy. Let us go in peace to love and serve
God.
Amen.
[1] Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels, New Revised Standard
Version; ISBN-13: 978-0840774842.
Amazon Link:
https://smile.amazon.com/Gospel-Parallels-Comparison-Synoptic-Standard/dp/08407748
42/ref=sr_1_2?crid=BJ666OCZLTXJ&keywords=gospel+parallels+5th+edition+%2C+b
urton+h.+throckmorton+jr&qid=1642962727&sprefix=the+gospel+parallel+Burton+thr
ockmorton%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-2
[2] The New Interpreter's Bible One-Volume Commentary, Abingdon Press; ISBN-13:
978-0687334117.
The Amazon Link:
https://www.amazon.com/New-Interpreters-Bible-One-Commentary/dp/068733411X/ref
=sr_1_1?crid=24YR9F0A3EOMY&keywords=new+interpreter%27s+bible+commentar
y&qid=1642816291&sprefix=new+interpreter%27s+bible+commentary%2Caps%2C269
&sr=8-1
Traditions as the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19;
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21 ~ VIDEO OF COMPLETE SERVICE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj1xHIM-5tA.
Understanding
Rev. Joseph Connolly
South Freeport Congregational Church
January 23, 2022
“So they, the Levities, read from the book, from the Torah of God, with interpretation.
They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” — Nehemiah 8:8.
When I was in my last year at Bangor Seminary a well known New Testament scholar,
the Rev. Dr. David Trobish, took over the reigns of the New Testament Department.
Trobish came to Bangor from Heidelberg University in Germany.
Was it strange that a scholar with an international reputation might choose to come to a
small Seminary in a rural State? No. Why? Dr. Trobish filled the slot of the late Rev.
Dr. Burton Throckmorton, the professor with whom I studied the New Testament, a
scholar with an international reputation.
This is just one of Burt’s books, The Gospel Parallels. [1] Often used in college and
seminary courses on the New Testament, the book lays out the three synoptic Gospels,
Mark, Matthew and Luke while referencing the original, ancient Greek manuscripts. In
three columns it shows where the words of the Gospels are, indeed, in parallel--
meaning the underlying Greek is the same word and where they are not in parallel.
Back to Dr. Trobish— I was never in a classroom with him since I was in my final
semester when he arrived but we spoke, shared meals— that happens at a small
Seminary. Just in doing that I heard many fascinating stories. This is one.
In Germany everyone is taxed by the government to support churches. Hence, seminaries
are paid for by the state. Mind you, I think there is actually more separation of church
and state in Germany than there is here, but that’s a topic for a 3 hour lecture, not a
sermon, so I think you’re probably glad I am not going there.
In Germany, if a person wants to be a pastor at a state supported church, even someone
whose background is fundamentalist, that person has to go to a state sponsored seminary.
David started a New Testament Survey Course at Heidelberg by asking students to
examine ancient Greek manuscripts. There are thousands.
Each manuscript of exactly the same passage has many words which are different from
one manuscript to another to another. It was at that point, when the students who
thought Scripture should be taken literally, said David, that he could see the scales of that
idea fall from their eyes.
In short, it is impossible to read Scripture literally once you examine ancient manuscripts.
The reality is, in order to understand what is there, the text needs to be interpreted.
Meaning is not obvious. Meaning needs to be gleaned. (Slight pause.)
This is what we hear in Nehemiah: “So they, the Levities, read from the book, from the
Torah of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood
the reading.” (Slight pause.)
One of the great precepts of the Protestant revolution is everyone should be able to read
Scripture in the vernacular, in their own language. Before that time people died, were
burned at the stake, for simply trying to translate the text into another language.
But one of the things we fail to ask about the era in which this idea, that anyone should
be able to read the Bible in their own language was promulgated, is ‘who could read?’
Those who could read were a fairly small percentage of the population.
Further, if you could read, odds were you could also read Greek. Why? That literate
people studied Greek was a given back then and the Scriptures were available in Greek.
Indeed, when Calvin came to the pulpit in Geneva Scripture passages were read in
Greek. It was assumed everyone there would know what was being said.
Now, you may have noticed I do not say Jesus Christ. I say Jesus, the Christ. Why?
Jesus holds the office of the Christ, the Messiah. I say it that way because that’s what the
Greek means, that Jesus is the Christ, and most people don’t know Greek.
So one of things we need to consider when we, today, read Scripture is there may be a
need for some extra information about the underlying documents and information about
the eras in which the texts were composed. Hence, I always recommend when Scripture
is read privately it’s good to have a reputable commentary next to the Bible you’re
reading.
Why? In order to understand what’s there, the text needs to be interpreted. Meaning is
not necessarily obvious. Meaning needs to be gleaned. A little more show and tell: this
is a reputable one volume commentary. [2]
And please don’t worry about the books I’ve displayed and what they are. The text
verison of this sermon published on the church web site will have footnotes where the
books are named. (Don’t tell anyone; I even put an AMAZON link in there. You could
buy them.)
Back to Nehemiah— as we just heard, the Hebrews in the Fifth Century Before the
Common Era, were no different than we are today. Scripture needed to be interpreted; to
draw a modern parallel, the Levites were the Rabbi’s, the teachers of that era, and it was
the Levites who helped interpret Scripture.
There is something else to consider. How do we interpret Scripture? With what premise
do we start? Theologian Bruce Epperly says many have forgotten about the reality of
Scripture and portray God as a distant, coercive power, Whose Word will separate
humankind from lifeless nature.
Therefore, many turn away from the biblical vision of the goodness of creation. Many
turn from our vocation as God’s agents of Shalom, God’s agents of justice, God’s agents
of love.
But, says Epperly, our call as beloved children of God is to repair breaches, to strive to
mend the world, to use our intelligence to work out healing. God invites us to use our
intelligence and experience God’s wisdom and love. God invites us use our intelligence
to live in harmony with the world rather than see the world as a place to be afflicted with
domination.
Indeed, It is up to us to use our intelligence to be agents of God, to take action. What
action? The actions of peace, justice, equity, freedom, joy, hope, love.
Where are these actions made explicit? These actions are made explicit in Scripture...
when we read it with understanding. Let us pray that we are up to the task.
Amen.
01/23/2022
South Freeport Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, South Freeport, Maine
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before
the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “A couple
weeks ago I said we need to study the Bible. This week I tried to explain how we can do
it and why we need to do it. Last, I have an aphorism to share. Theologian Walter
Brueggemann said this: ‘The Gospel is a dangerous idea. Our task is to see how much
danger we, ourselves, wish to perform in our own lives.’ I might be wrong but I suspect
the dangerous idea in the Gospel to which Brueggemann refers are actions. We know
these actions as peace, justice, equity, freedom, joy, hope, love.”
BENEDICTION: Through God’s grace, by being attentive to God’s will, our deeds and
our words will change our world for we will discover ways to proclaim release from the
bondage of narrowness. Let us seek the God of Joy. Let us go in peace to love and serve
God.
Amen.
[1] Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels, New Revised Standard
Version; ISBN-13: 978-0840774842.
Amazon Link:
https://smile.amazon.com/Gospel-Parallels-Comparison-Synoptic-Standard/dp/08407748
42/ref=sr_1_2?crid=BJ666OCZLTXJ&keywords=gospel+parallels+5th+edition+%2C+b
urton+h.+throckmorton+jr&qid=1642962727&sprefix=the+gospel+parallel+Burton+thr
ockmorton%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-2
[2] The New Interpreter's Bible One-Volume Commentary, Abingdon Press; ISBN-13:
978-0687334117.
The Amazon Link:
https://www.amazon.com/New-Interpreters-Bible-One-Commentary/dp/068733411X/ref
=sr_1_1?crid=24YR9F0A3EOMY&keywords=new+interpreter%27s+bible+commentar
y&qid=1642816291&sprefix=new+interpreter%27s+bible+commentary%2Caps%2C269
&sr=8-1