varoom
Below are the readings for Sunday, 25 August. Rather than my more usual thing of commenting on them in some hopefully helpful way, I enjoyed picking through them and at them, noting things that interest me even though I'm aware that I know just enough to know that I know nothing.
But here goes.
In the Joshua lesson, Joshua is challenging the Israelites to choose Y'hvah God of Israel over other gods. (Yes, I know that the usual spelling is Yahweh, but the way the Hebrew word יְ֭הוָה is pointed, and with the "ah" sound under the Vav, it sure looks like Y'hvah to me; or we could follow convention and say Adonai, but I don't like to follow convention all the Time, it's Y'hvah). We like to say "There's only One God, there are no other gods" but that's not what the Bible says, God himself commands "You shall worship no other gods but me," and many people have other gods than our God.
We'd respond that those aren't really gods, but the fact is that they are, for the people who honor and worship them. There are indeed other gods. Somewhere around here I have, left over from spiritual reflections that we used to do in EfM, Ganesha, the Hindu elephant god, who is honored with prayer before taking on any significant endeavor like a trip or a business venture. I could say, "Ganesha is no god," but a Hindu could counter that Ganesha indeed is, but Y'hvah is not. Who will decide if one of us is right and one wrong, or both wrong, or both right? In the Joshua lesson it is clear that there are other gods; and the point is that the Israelites are told they must choose either Y'hvah God of Israel or those other gods. Instead of this Sunday snippet, you should read all of Joshua chapter 24, it's a really interesting back and forth between Joshua and the people.
It bothers me, not much, but a little, that we don't call our God by his name, which the lesson says is יְ֭הוָה Y'hvah, meaning I AM or HE IS (I AM that I AM, but tell them that HE IS sent you). We follow the Hebrew rule that it's forbidden to speak God's Name, so they call Him Adonai (Lord) or Hashem (the Name), and we go along with it and just say the Lord. I think God means for us to be more personal with him, on a Name basis, not just a title.
All of this sometimes gets confusing in the New Testament, where Y'hvah is rendered (including from the Septuagint) as Kyrie (Lord) and sometimes you can't tell whether it's talking about God the Father or Jesus, who in the NT is also called Lord. In the Ephesians lesson it ways "Be strong in the Lord (Kyrie) - - is the writer talking about God the Father or about the Lord Jesus?
See, I like to fiddle with this stuff, it's why I call all my pondering and writing "my nonsense." I mean, I could be waxing my car, right?, or cleaning my bathroom to get it ready for Joe's visit when he arrives Monday afternoon, but I'm messing around doing this.
Speaking of, Joe's coming, from Louisville to Raleigh to Panama City and back, on his motorcycle. So, I have to keep my mind occupied, nomesane? If you've ever had a son with a motorcycle, you know.
In the Ephesians lesson the writer tells his audience to pray in the Pneumatos/Pneumati, the Spirit. It's a neuter noun, so the Hagios Pneumatos, the Holy Spirit, is not a male noun but a neuter noun that/who should be "It," not "He." The Holy Spirit is not He, but It. Matter of fact, my theology professor in seminary defined the Holy Spirit as "the love between God the Father and God the Son" - - which would perceive the Holy Spirit as a power, a force, a connection, maybe like the electric wire between two telephones; or the wireless power, energy, between your cell phone and my cell phone.
OMG, I have more: in our gospel lesson from John 6 (Jesus' Bread of Life discourse) Jesus mentions τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (ton Huion tou anthropou) the Son of Man. It's not really man as in male, because anthrōpos refers to both genders, male and female. So the Son of Man figure is the son of humanity, or the son of a human (actually, the Daniel 7 passage says "one LIKE a son of man," meaning one like a son of a human being, or simply one like a human being. In fact, some modern Bible translations render it that way. What way is good, better, best, Son of Man, or Human Being?
This is the kind of nonsense that rattles around in my head, both during this week ahead, and especially as the lesson is being read aloud to us in church on Sunday mornings. I give myself credit for being half wacky, but actually it's what comes of knowing just a tiny bit about a lot of things and trying to understand deep things with a minimum of knowledge and expertise.
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It's 9:20 Thursday evening. I'm going to find a picture to go with it, and post this nonsense as my Friday blogpost, and go to bed.
RSF&PTL
T88&c
Old Testament: Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says יְהוָה֮ the Lord, אֱלֹהֵ֣י Elohe God of Israel:
“Now therefore revere יְהוָ֛ה the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve יְהוָ֛ה the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve יְהוָ֛ה the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve יְהוָ֛ה the Lord.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake יְהוָ֛ה the Lord to serve other gods; for it is יְהוָ֛ה the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and יְהוָ֛ה the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve יְהוָ֛ה the Lord, for he is our God.”
The Psalm: Psalm 34:15-22
15 The eyes יְ֭הוָה of the Lord are upon the righteous, * and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face יְ֭הוָה of the Lord is against those who do evil, * to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, וַיהוָ֣ה and the Lord hears them * and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 יְ֭הוָה The Lord is near to the brokenhearted * and will save those whose spirits are crushed.
19 Many are the troubles of the righteous, * but יְהוָֽה the Lord will deliver him out of them all.
20 He will keep safe all his bones; * not one of them shall be broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked, * and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 יְ֭הוָה The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, * and none will be punished who trust in him.
The Epistle: Ephesians 6:10-20
Be strong in Κυρίῳ the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor Θεοῦ of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor Θεοῦ of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Πνεύματος Spirit (a neuter noun, wind, breath, spirit), which is ῥῆμα Θεοῦ the word of God.
Pray in the Πνεύματι Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
The Gospel: John 6:56-69
Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου the Son of Man (anthrōpos relates to both genders, male and female) ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Κύριε Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are ὁ Ἅγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ the Holy One of God.”