The Collect Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Collect The image for this collect is that of Christ’s sojourn of salvation in the world to bring life, physical and spiritual. The readings over the three-year cycle at times relate to food or its lack in RCL B the people complain that they will starve, and a plague is sent. In RCL C the OT relates to the last day of the provision of manna when it was no longer needed. The other Gospel theme is salvation through Christ’s presence. In RCL A we have Christ’s healing of the man blind since birth. In RCL B we have John 3:16 and in RCL C the parable of the prodigal son who is driven home by starvation and welcomed with a feast. In each there is a rescue, in A of a blind man, in B the world and in C the prodigal son. The First Four weeks in Lent Reconciliation / Salvation Salvation. The primary meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words translated "salvation" is nonreligious and in a in military context means “victors” such as Gideon or ‘rescuer’ and in NT periods ‘healer.’ In the Gospel of John Jesus is identified as "savior," as an interpretation of his name. The object of salvation is frequently identified as "the world“ the created order now at enmity with God and therefore in need of salvation through Jesus. Salvation Eternal life in the fullness of God's love. Salvation is deliverance from anything that threatens to prevent fulfillment and enjoyment of our relationship with God. In the OT, God was experienced as the savior who delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt Salvation -The Episcopal Dictionary The fulfillment of the Kingdom of God is associated with the second coming of Jesus in power and glory. Our hope is that all humanity and all creation will be united in God's love in the fullness of time, and that "nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" “the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” The theme for the day! Sighted in the Light and Blind in the Dark. 1 Samuel 16:1-13 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, `I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." 1 Samuel 16:1-13 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
Introduction to 1 Samuel 1 Samuel presents an account of the origins of Israel's monarchy. Through God's reluctant agreement to kingship, then full oversight of it during Saul's reign. The turmoil of David's rise to prominence In 2 Samuel David becomes king. David represents the highest expression of Kingship refined through Moses, to define Israel. King David David is featured in: The Books of Samuel Kings Chronicles The Psalms The New Testament One of the best-known biblical characters. David is an elusive figure, carving out an empire unmatched in ancient Israel's history. He is known to generations of scripture readers as "the sweet psalmist of Israel" and the man whom God had chosen. Yet his story in the books of Samuel pivots on the episode of his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah. The New Testament David The New Testament shows little interest in the personality of David but rather in him as an idealized hero of the past. The account of Jesus' plucking of the ears of grain on the Sabbath explicitly recalls David's taking the holy bread from the priest at Nob. In the Gospels, Jesus is linked to the royal dynasty of Judah and to the Davidic covenant by both genealogy and name. He is called son of David. Above all, in the New Testament, David is author—and prophet—of the psalms which are interpreted where possible as messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus. David and Salvation David’s reign is the final chapter in a way of the salvation of Israel from Egyptian slaves to sovereignty. But as an earthly kingdom it was flawed and temporary and falls back into servitude. Jesus starts a new path from the ruins of New Testament Jerusalem towards a heavenly Kingdom – perfect and permanent. Attributed to Lorenzo Maitani (1275-1330)
Orvieto Cathedral: Exterior West Front Sculpture
Second pilaster: detail, the Unction of David, c. 1310-1330 French Gothic Illuminator, David anointed by Samuel; detail of the Morgan Crusader Bible, c. 1250
4 ½ x 5“ Pierpont Morgan Library, New York Claude Lorrain, David crowned by Samuel, 1647
Oil on Canvas, 1.19 x 1.50 m, Musée du Louvre, Andrea del Castagno,
The Youthful David, c. 1450
Tempera on leather on wood, width at bottom 115,6 x 41 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington Psalm 23 Dominus regit me 1 The LORD is my shepherd; * I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures * and leads me beside still waters. 3 He revives my soul * and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake. 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; * for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23 Dominus regit me 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; * you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. 6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, * and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psalm 23 The LORD is compared to a shepherd. Soul here means vitality, the individualized principle of life. Darkest valley: "shadow of death" is an ancient, but probably fanciful, rendering. The LORD is compared to a gracious host. Dwell in the house of the LORD means to worship in the temple. Ephesians 5:8-14 Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light-- for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, Ephesians 5:8-14 but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you." Introduction to the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians The language was probably drawn in part from Christian hymns and liturgies. The book’s theme is that reconciliation to God through the death of Christ that has broken the power of evil and specifically the longstanding separation between Jews and non-Jews. Some early manuscripts of this letter and some commentators in the early church make no reference to Ephesus. Nor does the author deal with the problems of a particular congregation Ephesians is widely regarded as a "circular letter" that was not written specifically for Ephesus, but was distributed to several churches in Asia Minor. Renounce Pagan Ways In this section Ephesians, Christians are called to renounce ‘pagan ways’ which meant fornication, impurity, greed, silly or vulgar talk. The reading is edited into a light / dark symbol. This same light / dark symbol is repeated in John. The hymn might have been based on Isaiah Isaiah 60 “The Ingathering of the Dispersed 1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Symbolism The symbol here is Light vs. Dark. Believers are called to the light out of the Dark. John 9:1-41 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. John 9:1-41 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, `Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." John 9:1-41 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet." John 9:1-41 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." John 9:1-41 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner." He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?" Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." John 9:1-41 The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out. John 9:1-41 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him. Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, `We see,' your sin remains." Word Play You have a Blind Man who can ‘see’ who and what Jesus is. Contrasted with the Phrases, who can see, but are blind to who and what Jesus is. The question is who is in fact blind? Context The common belief, then and now is that suffering or affliction such as blindness was attributed to sin, either of the parents or of the man prenatally. Jesus denies that the man’s suffering was a punishment for sin. Saliva was considered to have medicinal value and the Pharisees would consider making mud as work, a breach of Sabbath laws Priorities To Jesus the recovered sight was more important than Pharisaic tradition concerning the Sabbath. The accusation ‘You are his disciple’ is a classic example of the logical fallacy know as ‘ad hominem’ A regular ad hominem fallacy consists of saying that someone's argument is wrong purely because of something discreditable/not-authoritative about the person. Here that he is a disciple. The lesson If the lesson is that all suffering is because God is teaching some one lesson – it is as bad as the fallacy it refutes! The lesson – I hope – is that suffering is not a punishment for sin. We are by nature sinful. And, wealth and good luck are not a reward for piety. The Teaching If the lesson is not about good and bad luck, then what. Is there anything wrong about an OT Sabbath? The answer is of course not, it’s a good thing. But any good thing can be taken to extremes. Here the absolute enforcement of ‘rest’ resulting in suffering turns a good thing into a bad one. Love and Grace Here Pharisees who were devoted to God by adherence to rules had become blinded by the very rules they valued. Jesus through an act of love was reaching out to the Pharisees and teaching us that grace and love are greatest commandments. There is never a time when Grace and Love are not needed. The healing of the man blind from birth – The Gospel of John Today’s Gospel The Siloam Inscription, c. 726-722 BCE
The inscribed text commemorates the excavation of a tunnel between the spring of Gihon and the pool of Siloam inside the walls of Jerusalem; built under King Hezekiah, the tunnel brought water to the city while it was besieged by the Assyrians. Byzantine Mosaic, c. 500
Healing of the Blind Man of Jericho
Nave, north wall, upper level, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy Duccio di Buoninsegna, Healing of the Blind Man, 1308-11
Tempera on wood, 43 x 45 cm
National Gallery, London El Greco, Christ Healing the Blind, 1570-75
Oil on canvas, 50 x 61 cm, Galleria Nazionale, Parma
