Wednesday March 15 Lent 3
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Psalm 119 Part 5
Psalm 119 is a meditation on responding to God’s call to justice. Each of the 176 verses is a variation on the theme of what it means to follow God’s call to justice, using terms such as “command”,”law”, “word”, “statute”, and the like. The psalm is arranged in 22 groups of eight verses—one group for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Within a group, each of the eight verses starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the groups are in Hebrew alphabetical order. So the first group of eight verses all start with A, the second group all start with B and so on. The first seven verses mirror the seven days of creation, with the eighth sometimes pointing to the next group. This very careful construction mirrors God’s creating the universe by overcoming chaos with order.
In the human world, justice, dignity and fulfilment – the outcomes of justice—are the human expressions of order. Thus the human world and the rest of creation are united in the same foundation. Today’s three sections begin with the letters M, N, and S (in Hebrew alphabetical order). As you read them, imagine the effect of each line in today’s first section beginning with “M” and so on.
Jeremiah 8: 18—9:6 What’s Jeremiah about?
As the catastrophe of their enslavement comes closer, Jeremiah offers an astonishing image: God is in grief, wailing like a bereaved mother, that the poor have not been cared for and that the people are corrupt and have turned on each other. To imagine God in grief about those without power or respect, but not about the fate of the impressive powerful king and courtiers, is a revolutionary new idea of God, and expresses the ancient Jewish understanding of God’s commitment to justice and inclusion for all.
John 8: 12-20 What’s John about?
John continues these conversations which explore the significance of Jesus. Jesus uses a new image about himself—that he is light for the world which otherwise will walk in darkness. The opposition replies that he is saying this to give himself status, his claim about himself is invalid without someone else to corroborate his claim. Jesus responds that if they knew God they would see God in him and that would provide the necessary two witnesses—himself and God. But since his opponents do not know the character of God they don’t take him seriously.
Then Jesus’ opponents raise, not for the first time, the accusation that Jesus has no father, implying that his mother doesn’t know who his father is, thus throwing at him an insulting implication. John, the gospel writer, uses the insult to insist that Jesus’ true father is God. But an additional possibility is that since this rumour was still circulating nearly a hundred years after his birth, there are extraordinary implications if it were true. What if the “Son of God” was indeed a “bastard?” After we get over the shock of what is being said, we realize that this may be the ultimate act of inclusive justice—those who are insulted and demeaned and without respect or status are raised to glory! This is hope for all whom society disparages.
A final accusation being raised against the new faith in Jesus was that he was of no particular significance and that his execution was simply about being caught up in the politics of the time. So John concludes this passage by saying that the process is under God’s control.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life,
may we always thirst for you,
the spring of life and source of goodness;
through him who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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