One of my seminary professors is fond of discussing Jeremiah 1:8 as a comforting yet terrifying thought. \u201c\u2018Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,\u2019 says the Lord.\u201d On one hand, it is a promise of deliverance; on the other hand, it is a promise that Jeremiah is being sent into a situation from which he will need to be delivered! Read in this light, this passage takes on a slightly different meaning than that which is often attached in the modern American milieu.<\/p>\n\n
There is a tendency to read God\u2019s promises of deliverance as a bland assurance that life will be comfortable: bills paid, late model car, and so forth. That is not Jeremiah\u2019s context. At the same time, this particular passage has often been quoted in the last half century in the debate over abortion. Whatever one\u2019s feelings about that issue, neither is that Jeremiah\u2019s context. God\u2019s statement about knowing the prophet in the womb is an assurance that God knows what God is doing \u2013 an assurance that might be necessary given the unpleasant circumstances that would confront Jeremiah.<\/p>\n\n
This portion of the psalter displays competing pictures of God. God is a rock, a fortress, a stronghold \u2013 as in the hymn \u201cA mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing.\u201d But God is also portrayed as tenderly bringing a new child into the world, taking the place of a midwife and a nurse: \u201cUpon you have I leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother\u2019s womb.\u201d Insisting on either of these images without recognizing the richness of the other is to miss part of the divine picture. God is prepared to shelter someone who is looking for protection, but God is also ready to cradle someone looking for loving embrace.<\/p>\n\n
In contrast to the psalm, there is no ambiguity in God\u2019s persona in this passage. \u201cOur God is a consuming fire.\u201d It is rather a rather dire image, one that has historically been employed as it was probably originally intended: to terrify persons into accepting and holding fast to the faith.<\/p>\n\n
In the context of the letter to the Hebrews, the argument runs something like this: (1) The \u201cold\u201d covenant is only a shadow of the new one; (2) God punished Israel for not being obedient to that covenant; so (3) now that the \u201cnew and improved\u201d covenant is here, you\u2019ll be in much worse shape if you reject it.<\/p>\n\n
It is a compelling argument, enhanced by plenty of rhetorical flourish and vibrant imagery. It is also an extremely troubling argument, because it is founded on a deep Christian supersessionism that intended to replace Judaism entirely. The interpretation of this letter, along with other parts of Christian scripture, has led to a troubling history of anti-Jewish oppression and violence. If we are to acknowledge and renounce that history, we must take a second look at the rhetoric and the motivation of passages such as this one.<\/p>\n\n
The woman in today\u2019s gospel reading doesn\u2019t ask to be healed. In other contexts, Jesus makes people ask for what they want before he gives it; in this case, he calls her over and heals her without even asking for her permission!<\/p>\n\n
He should have known this was going to be an issue. Such a Sabbath healing has happened before in this gospel, in Luke 6:6-11, right after Jesus\u2019 famous pronouncement that \u201cthe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.\u201d That healing generated a firestorm of controversy, and so did this one.<\/p>\n\n
The leader of the synagogue is indignant, and we can imagine his speech: \u201cThis is a church! This is a holy day! Take care of your problems some other time!\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Knowing that Jesus was aware of the ramifications, we are led to a couple of conclusions: Either he was spoiling for a fight, or he was so moved with compassion for the woman that he couldn\u2019t help himself. I prefer the latter, but given the confrontational personality of the Synoptic Jesus, I suspect the former is in play as well.<\/p>\n\n
One view of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) is of a Jewish teacher who is consistently given to interpret Torah in a way that is most beneficial for life and health. Torah is a force for good, and therefore, should not be a constraint against healing or life-giving activity \u2013 even on the Sabbath. Or put another way, \u201cthe Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath\u201d (Mark 2:27).<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jeremiah 1:4-10 One of my seminary professors is fond of discussing Jeremiah 1:8 as a comforting yet terrifying thought. \u201c\u2018Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,\u2019 says the Lord.\u201d On one hand, it is a promise of deliverance; on the other hand, it is a promise that Jeremiah…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,52,33,3],"tags":[342],"class_list":["post-766732","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-16c"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":342,"label":"Proper 16C"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952143,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766732\/revisions\/952143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}