week 22

Psalm: Psalm 126  
Old Testament: Job 42:1-6
Gospel : Mark 10:46-52
Epistle : Hebrews 7:23-28

I am going to do something a little bit different this week and maybe tell you for the first time or remind you a little bit of the history of the Church of the Nazarene.  I thought about this because in our Gospel reading this week, the blind man, Bartimaeus, hears that it is Jesus the Nazarene who is coming.  In fact, throughout the Gospels and Acts, Jesus is referred to as the Nazarene and even his followers are called Nazarene in Acts 24:5.  This is distinguished from what Jesus’ followers were called at Antioch--Christians. (Acts 11:26) To be called a Christian implies a Greek-speaking people.  The Jews would have called Jesus “the Messiah”, not “the Christ.”  We all know the story of Christianity and that eventually the Gentiles became the majority party of the Church and their terms become dominant, so much so that the New Testament was written in Greek.

week 21

Psalm: Psalm 91

Old Testament: Isaiah 53:4-12

Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

Epistle: Hebrews 5:1-10

This week we are dealing with the idea of service.  I was first struck with the idea of reading Isaiah 53 even though it isn’t advent.  If you remember, Chapter 53 is one of the suffering servant songs where the Messiah is prophesied.  It includes lines like, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities…and by his wounds we are healed.”  If you read it, then you will know that this passage gets its moment in advent and is then put aside until next year.  Of course, it has its place during advent, but, lucky me, I wrote a note in my Bible that said Mark 10:43--which just so happens to be our Gospel reading today.  I am so glad I was able to learn under Pastor Steve at Southeast to give me these insights.  In verse 12, after the servant has been counted among the sinners and killed, the writer then says, “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great.”

week 20

Psalm: Psalm 90:12-17
Old Testament : Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Gospel : Mark 10:17-31
Epistle : Hebrews 4:12-16

Let us begin this week with a look at Amos. I wanted to do a word study of justice, but I don’t own the right book.  So, we’ll just keep it simple for now.  What Amos is describing in chapter 5 is the day of the Lord.  This was supposed to be the day when the Lord’s justice would reign and everything would be made right.  It was this hope that many before Jesus were waiting for.  Certainly, there have been many times in the Jews’ history when they needed an intervention from the Lord and “A day of the Lord.”  For example, the Babylonian exile which Amos was prophesying about, the Roman occupation during the New Testament, their treatment at times in Medieval Europe, and again, in the Holocaust. 

week 19

Psalm: Psalm 8
Old Testament: 2:18-24
Gospel: Mark 10:2-16
Epistle: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

This week in Genesis we read the story of the creation of woman from the man’s rib.  We all know this story.  The man couldn’t find a suitable helper from among the animals, so God created an equal helper.  Notice a few things.  First, the play on words of the Hebrew which is similar to English.  In Hebrew, the word for man is ‘ish’ and woman is ‘isha.’  They are related in name as well as substance, since the woman was created from the side of the man.  Second, notice that the woman is created from the side.  She is not subservient to the man, but they are equal and she is to help the man.  Finally, in marriage, the two become one flesh.  There is no sense in which the man is over and against the woman in this statement.  They are one and act as one.  One flesh doesn’t leave any room for subjugation, abuse, or maltreatment.