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 offer a choice in Track 1 between Proverbs and Wisdom. The third reading is from Track 2 and is from Isaiah. The last two readings are the same in both Tracks.

 

Proverbs 1:20-33 

Reading

20 Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice.

21 At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

23 Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you.

24 Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,

25 and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,

26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you,

27 when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

30 would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof,

31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices.

32 For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

33 but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Commentary

In Christian Bibles, the Book of Proverbs is included in the “Wisdom Literature,” but in the Jewish Bible (the “TaNaK”), it is part of the “Writings.”  The other two parts of the Jewish Bible are the Torah and the Prophets. The name “TaNaK” is an acronym for the first letters of the Hebrew words for each of these sections: the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim.

Although Proverbs claims (v.1:1) to be written by Solomon who reigned from 965-928 BCE, most scholars agree that these sayings were compiled over a lengthy period and put in their final form around 450 BCE. In fact, two Chapters of Proverbs (22:17 to 24:34) are copied almost word-for-word from Egyptian wisdom literature (the “Instruction of Amenemope”) dating to about 1100 BCE.

Most sayings in Proverbs are presented as teachings from the elders and are aimed at young men. They advise that moral living (diligence, sobriety, self-restraint, selecting a good wife, honesty) would lead to a good life.

The authors of Proverbs suggested that attention to the Wisdom of the past and employing powers of reason would be sufficient to know what to do and what to avoid. In this sense, Proverbs has an approach that is different from those portions of the Hebrew Bible which emphasized divine revelation and the Law.

The usual translation of a recurring theme in Proverbs is that “fear” of YHWH (translated as LORD – all capital letters in the NRSV) is the beginning of wisdom. Many scholars suggest that “awe of YHWH” or “reverence for YHWH” better captures the sense of the authors of the sayings in Proverbs.

Today’s reading presents Lady Wisdom as a female prophet who speaks publicly in the city streets, in the squares and at the gates (which were the busiest places in the city). The New Oxford Annotated Bible says: “The simple (v.22) are considered teachable but scoffers and fools are generally represented as fatally resistant to instruction.” She will scorn (“laugh at”) the fools when they need her most — when there is a “calamity” (vv. 26 and 27). Those who have ignored her will “eat the fruit of their way” (v.33) – the natural consequences of their evil acts.

The Jewish Study Bible says: “Lady Wisdom does bear some similarities to ancient Near Eastern goddesses but in Proverbs she is a literary figure created as a vivid and memorable way of speaking about human wisdom.”

 

Wisdom 7:26-8:1

Reading

26 For wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.

27 Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

28 for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

29 She is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
30 for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

8:1 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
and she orders all things well.

Commentary

The Book of Wisdom, also known as “The Wisdom of Solomon,” is not part of the “Canon” (accepted books) of the Hebrew Bible. It is, however, included as part of the Hebrew Scriptures in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church Bibles as “deutero-canonical” – part of a “second” Canon. In Protestant Bibles, Wisdom is not included in the Hebrew Scriptures but is part of the Apocrypha (“hidden books”).

This difference in treatment arises because in the period from 300 to 200 BCE, the existing Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek (the common language of the time). Compilations of these translations were called the “Septuagint” represented as the LXX. The Book of Wisdom was included in most versions of the Septuagint, but this book (among others) was not included in the Canon of the Hebrew Bible (the “TaNaK”) when it was codified around 100 CE by the Pharisees/Rabbis after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

Jerome included “Wisdom” and the other books that were part of the Septuagint in the Vulgate (the Latin translation of the Hebrew and the Christian Scriptures around 405 CE). Jerome wrote prefaces to some books that they were not in the Jewish Canon of the Hebrew Bible. Later compilers overlooked Jerome’s prefaces, and the Council of Trent in 1546 decreed that the Roman Catholic Canon of the Old Testament included all the books that were in the Septuagint.

Luther and other Protestants followed the Jewish Canon of the Hebrew Bible and put books that were only in the Septuagint (such as Wisdom) in a separate section called the Apocrypha.

The Wisdom of Solomon purports to be written by Solomon (who reigned in Israel from 965 to 930 BCE). It was actually written in Greek by an anonymous Hellenistic Jew in the late First Century BCE or the early First Century CE. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary suggests that the place of composition was Alexandria, the great intellectual and scientific center of the Mediterranean world, and one of the largest centers the Jewish diaspora, and the author was familiar with Hellenistic philosophy, rhetoric and culture.

The author’s intent was to show to his fellow Jews the superiority of Judaism in terminology that was relevant to persons familiar with both the Hebrew Scriptures (likely the LXX) and Greek philosophy. For this reason, there is an emphasis on Platonic ideas such as immortality and the guiding force of Sophia (Wisdom). As The NOAB points out, the description of wisdom as a pure emanation or reflection of God (v.26) reflects the influence of philosophical concepts.

 

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Reading

4 The LORD GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens — wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.

5 The LORD GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward.

6 I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.

7 The LORD GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8 he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me.

9a It is the LORD GOD who helps me; who will declare me guilty?

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were made from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE, and then assembled into a single book.

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Israel and Judea to repent in the years before Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE and Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to the Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

Today’s reading is part of Second Isaiah and is often seen as one of the “Suffering Servant” songs, the longest of which is Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12.  The identity of the  “Suffering Servant” is sometimes understood as the prophet Isaiah (as in today’s reading) but is more commonly is seen as Judea itself, whose suffering in the Exile (as the servant of YHWH) would lead to vindication by YHWH in the restoration to Jerusalem after 539 BCE. The JSB notes that the prophet “sets a model that the nation as a whole should follow, since the whole nation has a prophetic role to the world at large.” It adds: “Deutero-Isaiah, like all Israelites, suffered in the Exile. But Deutero-Isaiah knows the punishment meted out to the exiles was just, accepts it, and awaits the vindication that surely follows.”

The NJBC notes: “Like the prophets before him, the servant is ignored and even maltreated (v.6). It also notes that the prophet used “courtroom terminology” (vv.8-9).

The author of the Gospel According to Mark used many of the Suffering Servant themes to describe the sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth and for the representation that “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) 

 

James 3:1-12

Reading

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue– a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Commentary

Although the authorship of this epistle is not known, it has traditionally been attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, who is presented in Acts of the Apostles as the leader of the Jesus Follower community in Jerusalem.

This James (sometimes called “James the Just”) is distinguished from “James the Great” (the apostle, brother of John, and son of Zebedee) and “James the Less” (apostle and son of Alphaeus).

The letter is seen by some scholars as the expansion of a sermon likely delivered by James prior to his martyrdom in 62 CE. Because of the high quality of the Greek in the letter, however, scholars believe the sermon was edited and expanded by someone well versed in Judaism and skilled in Hellenistic rhetoric.

It was edited and distributed in the late 80’s or 90’s, was addressed to Jewish Jesus Followers, and emphasized the importance of good works. It mentions Jesus of Nazareth only twice in the letter. The NOAB says: “The letter alludes to both the Hebrew Bible and the Jesus tradition (particularly that of Matthew and Luke) and there may also be references to Paul’s teaching (2.14-26)”

This emphasis on works in the letter has been understood by some (including Luther) as being opposed to Paul’s position (particularly in Romans) that one is justified (or attains a right relationship with God) by Faith alone.

The NOAB notes: “Paul and James each interpret a verse from the Hebrew Bible – ‘And he [Abraham] believed the LORD and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness’ (Gen 15.6) – to support his own view (Paul in Gal 3.6-14. James in Jas 2.21-24). For Paul, the believer’s justification comes through faith, not works (Rom 4.16-5.2) but for James ‘faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead’ (2.17). The conflict, however, is more apparent than real. For Paul, faith is primarily trust in God (Rom 4.5), a sense of the word that James also shares (1.5); but, in his critique of faith, James means by it essentially the assent to ideas about God without any personal relationship or commitment to inform them: ‘Even demons believe’ (2.9). James sees works as acts that spring from the love of the believer for God (2.14) whereas for Paul, works are the external observations of ritual, like circumcision, regarded in isolation from any connection to one’s relationship to God.”

In other words, these positions are not opposed and can be reconciled by recognizing that salvation/wholeness (however defined and understood) is the byproduct of the combination of Faith (understood as trust in God) that leads to Faithfulness in doing good works.

Today’s reading emphasizes the responsibilities of those who teach (v.1) and discusses the importance of disciplined speech. Although the human tongue is small (v.5), our speech can have a significant influence on others and on ourselves. The author asserts that what we say will be pleasing to God if we avoid unwholesome speech. 

The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out that many of the admonitions in today’s reading are reflections of materials in Proverbs and in Jewish Wisdom Literature.

 

Mark 8:27-38 

Reading

27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

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 (which were written around 85 – 90 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.” 

The scene of today’s reading is Caesarea Philippi, an area in the northernmost area of Israel. (In the next Chapter, Jesus was transfigured on a mountain, and although the mountain is not identified in the text, the largest mountain in Israel was Mount Hermon in the north of Israel.)

The response of the disciples that Jesus might be John the Baptist or Elijah (v.28) is not surprising and represented the notion that was prevalent in the First Century that famous persons of the past might be reincarnated in others who resembled them.

Peter’s statement (v.29) that Jesus is the Messiah led Jesus to say that the Son of Man (“The Human Being”) would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes (v.31). From this point on in Mark’s Gospel, the Pharisees were no longer presented as being opposed to Jesus. This is a significant difference from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke in which the Pharisees were seen as the primary opponents of Jesus – a reflection of the later date of those two Gospels.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes: “The messianic secret is most explicit here; Jesus speaks quite openly about what will happen to him, but only to his disciples.” Regarding the rebuke of Peter (vv. 32-33), The JANT says: “See Zech 3.2 where, in the presence of the high priest Joshua – Jesus in Greek! – God rebukes Satan with similar language. Peter cannot imagine a messiah who suffers and dies, and Jesus’ sharp response defines this passage as a central, defining moment in the Gospel.”

The notion that the Messiah would suffer was not common in Jesus’ lifetime, but for the audience of Mark’s Gospel, the “future” suffering of the Son of Man (v.31) was already past and confirmed by history. Mark appropriated the Suffering Servant texts from Isaiah and used them (along with Psalm 22) to describe Jesus and his Passion.

In the second part of the reading, Jesus told not only the disciples but also the crowd (v.34) of the need to deny oneself and “take up their cross and follow me.”  The footnote in The NOAB states: “The Romans used crucifixion as a gruesome means of terrorizing subject peoples by hanging rebels and agitators from crosses for several days until they suffocated to death. They required condemned provincials to carry the crossbeam on which they were about to be hung.” 

The statement about the Son of Man coming with his holy angels (v.38) was a reference to Daniel 7:13 (“I saw one like a human being [Son of Man] coming with the clouds of heaven, and he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.”) The NOAB interprets this verse: “How the followers stand towards Jesus and his gospel when facing trial will determine how the Son of Man will stand toward them when, in God’s final condemnation of the oppressive empire, he comes in judgment as well as restoration of the people.”