Sunday School Class handout notes
BCP Psalm 1
1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2 Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
and they meditate on his law day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; * everything they do shall prosper.
4 It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
KJV Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so:
but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
LXX Septuagint Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (verse 1)
1 μακάριος ἀνὴρ ·
Hebrew (verse 1) ah-sherey ha-eesh אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ <- happy (is) the man
אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי
ah-sherey - - happiness, blessedness
הָאִ֗ישׁ
ha-ish’ - - the man (male)
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Today’s readings have good news and bad news, blessings and curses, happiness and woe. Objectives of today’s session:
From 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, to talk about death, life after death? resurrection?
From Psalm One and the Gospel, to sort of nail down the word blessed, happy (at peace, happiness, feeling blest as a state of being, NOT a sanctification as in “the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son … ) as it transits from Hebrew to Greek (LXX) to English. Blessed does NOT mean saintly, sanctified, blessed as in Blessed Joan of Arc or the Blessed Virgin Mary; it means satisfied; for English, “happy” is a better word.
From Psalm One, to realize that Bible translations have agenda; e.g., both KJV and its successors including the NRSV are “word for word” translations, but the NRSV has the agenda of modern gender-sensitive political/social correctness. Thus, in this case, the Hebrew and Greek words for man that specifically mean a male human are translated “man” in the KJV, but the NRSV renders as “they”. I point these things out in class, not because I object, but as a Bible student I find it important to realize that such changes are made, and to consider the reasons, including whether “inspired Scripture” should be “corrected” to accommodate the sensitivities of various cultures over the ages.
From the Gospel, to note that the “Beatitudes” in Matthew 5 and Luke 6 seem to come from their common source, “Sayings Gospel Q”, and that they also appear in the Gospel of Thomas, though not in the tidy “list format” that Matthew and Luke present; that being simple and straightforward (and coincidentally (?) most like Thomas), Luke’s Beatitudes are likely closer to what Jesus actually said than Matthew’s that Matthew embellishes, adding to Jesus’ words. And that only Luke adds the “Woes”, which suggests to many scholars that the Woes are not Jesus’ words but Luke’s own composition. Why might Luke add these Woes?
Gospel: Luke 6:17-26 (NRSV) (excerpts from Gk NT & Vulgate Latin)
17 Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
20 “Blessed are you who are poor, [Gk Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοί] [Latin beati pauperes]
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Mt 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
GThomas 54) Jesus said: Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
21a “Blessed are you who are hungry now, [Gk μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες] [Latin beati qui nunc esuritis] for you will be filled.
Mt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
GThomas 69:2 Blessed are they that hunger, that they may fill the belly him who desires.
21b “Blessed are you who weep now, [GK μακάριοι οἱ κλαίοντες νῦν][Latin beati qui nunc fletis] for you will laugh.
Mt 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, [Gk Μακάριοί ἐστε ὅταν μισήσωσιν ὑμᾶς οἱ ἄνθρωποι] [Latin: beati eritis cum vos oderint homines ], and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”
Mt 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mt 5:11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
GThomas (68) Jesus said: Blessed are you when they hate you, and persecute you, and do not find a place in the spot where they persecuted you.
GThomas (69:1) Jesus said: Blessed are they who have been persecuted in their heart; these are they who have known the Father in truth.
24 "But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25a "Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
25b "Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
New Testament 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ--whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.