{"id":891071,"date":"2023-08-13T20:00:52","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T00:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/?post_type=bible_study&#038;p=291071"},"modified":"2026-06-23T19:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T23:13:00","slug":"bible-study-pentecost-14-a-september-3-2023","status":"publish","type":"bible_study","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/bible_study\/bible-study-pentecost-14-a-september-3-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Bible Study: Proper 17 (A) \u2013 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/proper-17a\/\">RCL: Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Pr17-2023-Bible-Study-Graphic-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-291075\" style=\"width:512px;height:268px\" width=\"512\" height=\"268\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Exodus 3:1-15<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How fitting that after we pray this Sunday\u2019s collect, asking God to \u201cgraft in our hearts the love of [God\u2019s] Name,\u00bb we hear this breathtaking lesson of God\u2019s first intimate encounter with Moses that culminates in the revelation of the Divine Name. With Moses as our forerunner, we might well desire to emulate him in our encounter with this unfathomable story, removing our sandals and hiding our faces out of respect for the sheer holiness and otherness of God depicted in this text. Such a reaction would surely not be out of place!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But we would do well to note that God\u2019s radical otherness that Moses encounters in this story is neither that of a detached and distant deity nor is it of some artifact whose presence causes a face-melting Hollywood special effect. Exodus teaches us that neither of these all-too-human conceptions of the divine applies to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This God is not merely a disinterested observer of a creation God assembled long ago. No; this God has observed the misery of God\u2019s oppressed people, this God has heard their cry, this God knows their sufferings, and this God acts in loving freedom to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. No; even the most intimate revelation of this God\u2019s personal being\u2014the Divine Name\u2014does not annihilate the creature but reveals that God is for the creature\u2019s life and freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Does this passage challenge any popular ideas held in your context about who God is and what God is like?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have asked for the grace to love God\u2019s Name, we have heard God\u2019s Name, and now we praise God\u2019s Name. We might pause with Psalm 105 to wonder just why Holy Scripture teaches us to have a reverence for the Name of God \u2013 why does the psalmist teach with such insistence to call upon and glory in God\u2019s holy Name?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For us as well as for God, a name denotes individuality and particularity. This one is not another, but is this very one. This God has this Name, and as the psalmist lists, this God has done particular works, marvels, wonders, and judgments. This Name denotes a particular history and ongoing relation with particular humans: offspring of Abraham and children of Jacob, Moses, and Aaron. And again, as we learned from Exodus, we also learn again in the psalms, this particular God acts in history to vindicate his people, making his people fruitful, sending Moses and Aaron. Such a recollection can only culminate in the ancient praise-shout, as our psalm does in verse 45: Hallelujah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In what ways have you recently made God\u2019s deeds known among the peoples? Are there any opportunities for you to do so in the coming weeks?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Romans 12:9-21<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This section of St. Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans is justly famous. Love, mutual affection, hospitality, harmony\u2014it seems we are getting the greatest hits of Christian ethics. And it is always worth remembering that St. Paul is no great innovator here\u2014quotations from Deuteronomy and Proverbs feature prominently in this majestic list. As the 39 Articles put it, \u201cThe Old Testament is not contrary to the New\u201d (BCP 869). We can never remind ourselves of this too much, especially when reading St. Paul!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What strikes me most in this passage is verses 17 and following: \u201cNever avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God.\u00bb Whew! Nietzche and the many others who have critiqued Christianity for encouraging a passive submission to earthly oppression would have a field day with such a teaching\u2014and from much of the historical record, it seems like these critiques are not entirely misplaced. Love for one\u2019s enemies can be a dangerous teaching to the abused and oppressed, and we should not pretend its danger can be piously waved away. But I think there is something more than a merely passive acquiescence to evil being taught here. For those of us who have been addressed by St. Paul\u2019s exhortations, we are not meant to call the evil of abuse and oppression good, nor should we sweep uncomfortable truths under the rug. No; we must learn to be comfortable with hating what is evil and always holding fast to the good! This cannot and must not be a teaching that hinders any attempt at true justice and living peaceably with all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What is one of these exhortations that you find easy to practice? What is one that is more difficult?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Matthew 16:21-28<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is always a temptation to confidently read any of the bumbling apostles stories from our post-resurrection perspective. Unlike the silly disciples, we know what happens next; we wouldn\u2019t make their mistakes. But I think this attitude can often distort just how similar to the apostles we truly are, despite our supposedly enlightened position. How often do I\u2014like St. Peter\u2014desire a Lord who would destroy his executioners rather than forgive them with his dying breaths?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is perhaps telling that Jesus immediately references the effects that his death and resurrection will have on those who follow him, that they must also take up a cross. Perhaps this is why St. Peter and I tell Jesus \u201cGod forbid,\u201d when he goes to the cross\u2014we know what it will mean for our lives, and we cling to them as if we could save them by striving to gain the world. The redemption that Jesus promises is both more terrible\u2014according to merely human things\u2014and wonderful\u2014according to divine things\u2014than we could ask or imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What have you had to deny in taking up your cross and following Jesus?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-d7d60668-4a28-4742-8c7b-ed444abc9f86\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Proper-17-Bible-Study.docx\">Word \u2013 Proper 17 (A) Bible Study<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Proper-17-Bible-Study.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-d7d60668-4a28-4742-8c7b-ed444abc9f86\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-af8f85d9-e531-45e9-bc73-7d9fe01194cb\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Proper-17-Bible-Study.pdf\">PDF \u2013 Proper 17 (A) Bible Study<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Proper-17-Bible-Study.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-af8f85d9-e531-45e9-bc73-7d9fe01194cb\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RCL: Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28 Exodus 3:1-15 How fitting that after we pray this Sunday\u2019s collect, asking God to \u201cgraft in our hearts the love of [God\u2019s] Name,\u00bb we hear this breathtaking lesson of God\u2019s first intimate encounter with Moses that culminates in the revelation of the Divine Name&#8230;.<\/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":[103],"class_list":["post-891071","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-17a"],"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":103,"label":"Proper 17A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/891071","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\/891071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952152,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/891071\/revisions\/952152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}