Davison's Doodle

Paragraphs from SSCSJ

These are thoughts on the texts for September 2, 2012.  Subscribers of Sacred Steps: Children’s Sermon Journal receive exegesis, commentary, and ideas for crafting the children’s sermon based on the Lectionary each week.

Psalm 15
If we simply take the final form of Ps 15, the plot twist can still make sense.  While the one praying may begin the liturgy with an expectation of gaining access to a place, at the end she/he learns that worshiping God is best done in how one lives than in where one worships.  This is a lesson that Israel struggled to remember throughout the stories of the 1st Testament.  It is a reminder that prophets attempted to provide for the community throughout the generations.  We also need to be reminded of this important connection between our worship and our work, between our prayer and our practice.  What images do the “LORD’s tent” and “holy hill” call to mind for you?  What is a holy place in your life?  Is the sanctuary of your congregation such a space?  Who gets to enter the sanctuary?  Can you think of people who may not feel worthy to be in church because of the words spoken there?  How does your life reflect the God you worship?  How does your congregation live out their worship of God through service to the world?  Does the liturgy in your worship assure people of God’s enduring presence, so that they “shall never be moved”?

Song of Solomon 2:8-13
While the Lectionary has listed “Song of Solomon” as the name of this biblical book, that is a traditional title and not its actual name.  In Hebrew, this book is titled shir ha’shirim, which translates as “Song of Songs” (SoS).  This is the Hebrew way of expressing the superlative; this text is the song that is better than all other songs.  The next words in the Hebrew text are ‘asher le’shlomo, “which is of Solomon.”  Like the many superscriptions in the Psalms (e.g., le’david), this is not meant as a byline but rather probably indicates that the text is “in honor of” Solomon or “dedicated to” Solomon.  Since King Solomon was known for his many wives and concubines, one can see why this book of love poems would come to be associated with him.  One tradition suggested that Solomon wrote these poems about his relationship with the Queen of Sheba (see 1 Kgs 10 or 2 Chr 9), but there is no evidence to support this claim.2

SoS is found among the Ketuvim, “Writings”, the third portion of the Jewish Bible, which was the last section to be canonized (perhaps not until 200 CE).  Scholars think that SoS either was written at a late date (after the Babylonian Exile, no earlier than 5th century BCE) or was not accepted until late in the canonization process.  The subject matter of SoS is erotic love that is expressed within a non-marital context.  It contains no expressions of Israelite nationalism or of any explicit religious/ethical values.  It is suggested that the subject matter of SoS almost prevented it from making it into the canon, or it might have been questioned because the female has such a dominant voice; she is in control of her sexuality and not the possession of some male (which was common in many ancient cultures, including Israelite).  We know that the rabbis did debate its inclusion, and some believe that it was included only because of the traditional belief in Solomon’s authorship.  However, it is more plausible that SoS was kept in the Jewish canon because the rabbis understood that the Divine was a part of all life, including sexuality.  And we are indebted to them for this wise decision.

James 1:17-27
Are you “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger?”  Maybe a better way to consider the question is to think of settings in which you are likely to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, as compared to situations in which you are quick to anger, interrupt, and not listen to others.8  How does this reflect on who you are as a person that claims Christian faith?  Another way to ingest this text would be to evaluate your belief and practice as a “doer” or “hearer” of the word.  A first question would be, “Whose word or what word?”  Is it the “Word” proclaimed by the Gospel of John?  Is it the “Word” proclaimed by the Apostle Paul?  Is the “Word” the good news of God as proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth in the gospels as a whole?  The author of James provides a hint in vv. 23-24, though it is an awkward metaphor.  A translation note in the NISB provides another way to read and hear the text.

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
This is a good week to put a few of your congregation’s traditions, as well as a few traditions of Christianity, under a microscope and ask, “Why?”  Think about your worship service.  Where are communion, offering, and preaching placed in your order of worship?  Why do you have that order of worship?  Who is chosen from the congregation as deacon or elder?  How do you practice baptism, what do you ask a person who comes forward to join your congregation, and who is welcome into membership of your congregation?  This is not about questioning for questioning’s sake.  It is about determining the intentions of “traditions” and if those are consistent with the teachings of Jesus and your understanding of God.  It’s about recognizing when a person, congregation, or religion chooses tradition’s interpretation of a sacred text over what the sacred text says or does not say.  It is important to remember that the biblical witness was organized based on “tradition’s” power structures as well.  Many Christian siblings, who continue to believe and argue that women should not be ministers, do so even though all the gospels agree that Mary Magdalene was one of the first to experience Christ’s resurrection and, according to the Gospel of John, was told by the risen Christ to go and tell (preach) to the disciples the good news that he had risen.  Yet, the Roman Catholic Church and many Protestants deny women the process and the affirmation to answer their call to ordained Christian ministry, often based on church’s tradition.