Tuesday, March 17 – Law and Righteousness
Romans 2:12-8:17
Matthew 5:17-20
1. This week we are dipping into Paul's Epistle (letter) to the Christians in Rome. He has many deep and interesting things to say about the relationship of Jesus to the Law of Moses. For instance, Paul argues that the Law is not something you can just hear and claim for your own--you actually have to follow it. You can't even merely "embody" the Law by being circumcised--you have to really mean it.
2. Jesus claims in Matthew not merely to uphold but to fulfill the Law. What does this mean? What does it mean, especially in light of the fact that Mosaic Law required (animal) sacrifice, that (as far as I know) Christians have never been known to sacrifice animals?
3. All sorts of Old Testment characters pop up. What does it mean that Abraham was justified by works and righteous before God? Why does David bless the forgiven sinner? (Think about what you know about David.) What is Jesus' relationship to Adam?
4. What does it mean "sin is not taken into account when there is no law"? (Romans 5:13) Better yet, meditate on Romans 7:7-25.
5. I also want to share with you now is an article Michael sent me about Jesus cleansing the Temple. This story can be found in all four Gospels: Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-22. In the first three, the Synoptic Gospels, this event takes place at the end of Jesus' ministry, during Holy Week. Congregations following the Revised Common Lectionary will hear the version from John this Sunday, which is why I'm thinking about it.
The article below is also about the Gospel of John, in which the story happens at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. It sort of fits with our readings for Tuesday in so far as sacrifice was required under Mosaic law, but Paul (and the author of John) argue that Jesus is changing/replacing the Law.
Mark R. Bredin, "John's account of Jesus' demonstration in the temple: violent or nonviolent?" Biblical Theology Bulletin (Summer 2003):
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LAL/is_2_33/ai_103673630
If you don't get a chance to read the article for this week, I will re-post it when we come back to this story at the end of the semester.
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5 comments:
I couldn't think of a good 'redemption' hymn last week, but I did write a blog about my adventures with the text of 'What Wondrous Love is This' at
http://www.pianonoise.com/Godmusic.htm
Michael
Howard preached on the John text from today. He mentioned that it has different meaning for John: connection to Passover when everyone is cleaning their homes, but the Temple is filled with dirty animals; his act would have been seen as a prophetic act, so he's asked to give a sign; Zechariah could give prophetic image drawn from in this gospel.
Wes preached on it, too, and instead of a purity route he argued for the closed or openness of the Temple to worship.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this specific bible study! I'm finding some of the material challenging! However, you are a wonderful group! I'm re-reading the Romans reading from last week!
re: Michael's musing
We've been singing that hymn in worship at wesley during Lent as a confession/pardon(?) response and the Doxology.
Hymns are often changed for theological and doctrinal reasons. That's why hymns/verses/phrases/words are kept or omitted. If you take a look at the New Century Hymnal for the United Church of Christ, you'll find a lot of hymnody modifications for various reasons (for example, masculine gender language for God was changed and militaristic hymns found the chopping block). For many this isn't a problem until they discover some of their sacred ground trampled on; indeed, I'm told some popular Advent and Christmas hymns saw some changes in the NCH. United Methodists will likely see more changes in the new hymnal due in the next five years.
Personally, I would rather sing a hymn that had good theological footing. I may not agree with some of the theological positions in our hymns, but I know they've found their way into our hymnal after deliberation and with the recognition that the UMC is a denomination housing many theological viewpoints. Much of the Pop Christian music industry has failed to reach me in this respect, for its filters are determined by fundamentalist or conservative evangelical theologies and doctrines.
As we look toward a new hymnal, I hope the denomination embraces a reality I see within the American context. Hymns as books are outdated. A hymn committee should be something that meets regularly and updates the hymn selections. It should be open ended (a 3 ring binder approach to the hymnal). Cokesbury's web site could house a hymnTunes store that would make hymns available in various media (powerpoint, print, etc.). I've digressed quite a bit though.
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