During this Pentecost Season, there are two “Tracks” of Scriptures that are offered, and congregations may choose which Track they will follow. The first two readings presented are the readings from Tracks 1 and 2, respectively. The third and fourth readings are the same in both Tracks.
1 Samuel 1:4-20
Reading
4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb. 6 Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
9 After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the LORD. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. 11 She made this vow: “O LORD of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”
12 As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.
19 They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 20 In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the LORD.”
Commentary
The Book of Samuel is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. These books are a “didactic history” that covered the period from just before the entry into the Promised Land (c.1220 BCE, if the account is historical) to the beginning of Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE). The books were written in the period from 640 BCE to 550 BCE and continued to be revised even after that.
The authors of the Deuteronomic Books artfully wove their stories from numerous sources. They then used the stories in these books to demonstrate that that God controls history and to assert that it was the failures of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judea to worship YHWH and obey God’s commands that led to the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrians and the conquest of Judea by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (The conquests were not seen as the result of the Assyrians’ and Babylonians’ greater wealth and more powerful armies.)
The Book of Samuel (to the extent it may be historical) covers from the end of the time of the Judges (c.1030 BCE) to the last years of the Reign of David (c. 965 BCE). Most scholars agree that it was compiled from multiple sources by multiple authors. For this reason, there are at least nine stories in the Book that are repeated but in a different (and sometimes contradictory) form. The Jewish Study Bible says: “These sometimes contradictory stories were probably included in the book of Samuel because they were not seen as different versions of the same story but as accounts of different events, or because of the light they shed on the protagonists.” It continues: “Consistency was not considered essential.”
At the end of the Book of Judges, Israel was in political and moral disarray. Today’s reading introduced Samuel, one of the most important persons in the Hebrew Bible. Samuel was a transitional figure – the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. The circumstances of his birth were extraordinary – his mother, Hannah, was barren until the priest Eli told her that God heard her petition. As The JSB notes: “Fertility is understood throughout the Bible as a divine gift. Barrenness was considered a disgrace causing great distress to the woman concerned.”
The New Oxford Annotated Bible notes: “The story of a barren woman who bears a child as a favor from God appears several other times in the Bible: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, the mother of Samson, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.”
Hannah promised YHWH that if she could have a son, he would be a nazirite – a person consecrated to God who did not drink alcohol, did not cut his hair, and refrained from actions that would make him ritually unclean such as touching a dead body. The other named nazirite in the Hebrew Bible was Samson (who did not fulfill his vows). In the Christian Scriptures, John the Baptist is presented in Luke 1:15 as a nazirite.
Daniel 12:1-3
Reading
1 The Lord spoke to Daniel in a vision and said, “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
Commentary
The Book of Daniel is part of the Prophets in the Christian Bible and is placed after the three Major Prophets and before the 12 Minor Prophets. In the Hebrew Bible, Daniel is not included with the Prophets and instead is part of the Writings. It is placed after Esther and before Ezra and Nehemiah (all of which are included among the Historical Books in the Christian Bible).
The Jewish Study Bible suggests that this different treatment of Daniel arose because the First (and early Second) Century, Rabbis were aware that early Christianity saw a prefiguration of the Christ and resurrection in the Book of Daniel. Accordingly, it was not placed with the Prophets.
The Book of Daniel has two distinct parts. Chapters 1 to 6 are six “court legends” — stories of Daniel in the Court of the Babylonian Kings and the Persian Kings before, during and just after the Exile (587-539 BCE). Because these kings are presented as ignorant (but not malevolent), scholars date these six chapters to the time when Judea was under the generally benevolent rule of the Persians (539 to 333 BCE) and the Greeks (333 to 281 BCE).
Chapters 2 to 7 of the Book were written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. (Aramaic was the common language of the Middle East from the time of the Babylonian Exile until the Hellenistic period.) The folktales in these chapters emphasized personal piety and divine intervention and provided encouragement to Jews living under foreign rule.
Chapters 7 to 12 were written later – during the oppression of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BCE) whose desecration of the Temple led to the Maccabean Revolt in 167 BCE. These chapters contain four apocalyptic visions told in the first person. They depict hostility to foreign governments and presented visions of situations so dire that an external intervention (such as by God) was needed to put things right. Like other apocalyptic writings, the Book of Daniel used strong images to describe the conflict between good and evil. In the first six chapters, Daniel was an interpreter of dreams, but in the second part he was seen as a visionary himself.
These later chapters presented an apocalyptic vision – a situation so dire that an external intervention (such as by God) was needed to put things right. Like other apocalyptic writings, the Book of Daniel used images to describe the conflict between good and evil.
In today’s reading, at the time of the final victory over evil forces, Michael was presented as the great prince who will battle on behalf of Judea and God. This reading referred to a “book” in which human deeds were recorded and was the first explicit reference in Scripture to the ideas of resurrection, final judgment, and afterlife.
The Jewish Study Bible notes: “The doctrine of resurrection and judgment probably came about during the persecutions of Antiochus IV as a means to effect justice at a time when pious people, the knowledgeable, were being martyred. Unlike Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones (Ezek. ch 37), the resurrection here is not a metaphor for the rebirth of Israel but individual resurrection for judgment. Whether bodily resurrection or some form of spiritual resurrection is intended is not stated.”
Hebrews 10:11-25
Reading
11 Every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” 13 and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,” 17 he also adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Commentary
The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers which urged them to maintain their Faith in the face of persecution.
Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 63 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explored the word of God spoken through the Son.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament observes that Hebrews has a Platonic philosophical orientation resembling that of Philo of Alexandria and that it contains the New Testament’s most sophisticated Greek.
The NOAB and The JANT agree that the author sought to ground his arguments in scripture (using the Septuagint) to argue that Jesus is superior to the Jewish traditions. The JANT states: “Hebrews offers a distinct and elevated Christology. As the Son of God, Jesus is superior to all other beings, including angels — he is uncreated, immortal, and permanent. He is also superior to all biblical heroes, including Moses and Abraham, as well as institutions like the Levitical priesthood. As both perfect sacrifice and heavenly priest who intercedes for humans, Jesus supersedes the Jewish sacrificial system, rendering it obsolete.”
The JANT continues: “Because Hebrews argues for Jesus’ superiority over all else and the obsolescence of the covenant God made with Moses at Mount Sinai, it expresses what scholars call supersessionist theology. Supersessionism is the idea that Christ’s entry into human history replaces all that has come before, including God’s unique covenant bond with Israel. The same idea is sometimes referred to as rejection/replacement theology.”
The author interpreted the life, death, and heavenly role of Jesus through the category of the “high priest’ who perfected the ancient sacrificial system of Judaism (which ended when the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE).
The Letter emphasized that Jesus (as high priest) was able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he (as a human) had been tested as we are. The presentation of Jesus as high priest in the Letter to the Hebrews is unique in the Christian Scriptures and reflected the continuing process in early Christianity of developing images to describe who and what Jesus of Nazareth was (and is). The JANT points out that in the First Century, the high priest was chosen by Roman authorities and served at their pleasure.
Today’s reading concluded the theme of Jesus of Nazareth as the great high priest and the once-and-for-all sacrifice. The Holy Spirit is said to paraphrase (vv.15-18) Jer. 31:33-34 in which a new covenant is written in the hearts of the people (v.16) and assures the full forgiveness of sins.
The humanity of Jesus is the means for approaching God, and the author encouraged hearers of the letter to maintain their hope (undergirded by their faith) as they await the Second Coming (the “Day”)(v.25).
Mark 13:1-8
Reading
1 As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2 Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Mark was the first Gospel that was written and is usually dated to the time around the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and forms the core for the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke (both of which were written around 85 CE). Over 50% of the material in those two Gospels is based on Mark. Because these three Gospels follow similar chronologies of Jesus’ life and death, they are called “Synoptic Gospels” for the Greek words meaning “Same Look/View.”
Today’s reading contains a prediction of the destruction of the Temple (v.2) and a prophetic warning about the need to be discerning about those who predict an imminent end (vv.5-6). Although this passage is often called the “Markan Apocalypse,” it was a caution couched in apocalyptic language against apocalyptic interpretation of the historical crises of resistance, repression, and reconquest under Roman imperial rule.
The author of the Gospel was aware of the major Jewish revolt against Rome that began in 66 CE. This revolt was initially quashed but then appeared to be successful when the Roman army was recalled to Rome in 68 CE because of unrest in Rome after the death of Nero. After the unrest in Rome was subdued, the Roman army returned to Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 CE. In the next three years, the Roman army defeated other Jewish insurgent groups, culminating with the conquest of the fortress at Masada in 73 CE.