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Pentecost 21

October 24, 2004

Joel 2: 23-32

Psalm 65

2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16 -18

Luke 18: 9-14

Joel 2: 23-32[I would start at verse 21]: Like many of the ‘minor prophets’ it is not clear when this was written - possibly late on [c 370 BCE] during a period of stability after the return from exile. If this is correct Joel¹s message is for a comfortable people. Their complacency had been shattered by a devastating drought [ 1: 17 -20] and plague of locusts [1: 4 and 7]. Joel says: ‘watch out, the Day of the Lord will be as unexpected and devastating as the drought’. In our passage Joel proclaims the power of God to restore a faithful and purified nation. The land and people together will rejoice in God¹s blessing and bounty. As the early church searched the scriptures [the

‘Old Testament’ or ‘Hebrew Testament’] for explanations of what was happening to them, they found in verses 28 and 29 an expression of their own experience of the work of God in bringing new life out of a religion which had become preoccupied with obeying the Law of Moses and its extensions. We must be aware that keeping the machinery of church life running [‘maintenance’] is not where new life will come from; we need to be alert - as was Joel - to the work that God is calling the church to [‘mission’].

Psalm 65: A beautifully crafted song of praise which may have originated in a particular event; a time of drought seems to have raised the scary possibility of a famine but prayers have been answered and the believing community is gathered in the Temple to respond to God in praise. The song writer envisages God¹s saving action in bringing rain in the widest possible context of the redemptive work of God. In verses 1-4 the gifts of grace to be found in the house of God [the Temple] are praised; verses 5-8 praise the saving works of God in creation [natural history[ and in human history – a common theme in the psalms; and the remainder of the psalm applauds the blessing of fertility with which God crowns the year. To the poet ‘the same goodness of God is in question whether he confers earthly blessings or forgives human sin, whether he favours the godly with the communion of his presence in the house of God or makes the nations testify to his glory.’ [Artur Weiser, 1962, ‘The Psalms’, p466]. Verses 1-4 could be used as a call to worship.

2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18: These may have been the last words that Paul wrote as he awaited death. He is lonely and mentions in verse 11 that only Luke is with him. In Jewish Temple worship an offering of wine was poured over the foot of the altar before the daily sacrifices began; Paul, in verse 6, envisages his death as an offering to God. ‘The good fight’ in verse 7 is probably a wrestling bout - the sport itself is noble and Paul sees his ministry as a missionary as the noble contest in which he has been engaged. There are parallels with the death of Jesus who forgave the disciples who deserted him and who trusted in God as death approached. Paul is confident that the Lord will save him through his death. He has continued to preach the Good News at his trial [verse 17] and in prison, is confident that God will enable him to continue to live faithfully until his last breath is drawn and then will welcome him to his ‘heavenly kingdom’ [verse 18].

Luke 18: 9 - 14: Kenneth Bailey gives an excellent treatment of this parable in his ‘Through Peasant Eyes’, pages 142 - 156. Much of the parable¹s impact is lost if we don¹t understand its setting. The first point to note is that public worship, not private prayer, is indicated. The Pharisee is a pious ‘24/7’ observer of the Law whereas the tax-collector is a breaker of the Law and an outcast. The Pharisee stands by himself [verse 11] for two reasons - he considers himself superior to other worshippers and he does not want to risk contact with anyone who is ritually unclean; he seems also to be praying aloud and is preaching to the ordinary and less righteous people within earshot. The tax-collector also stands apart - he cringes from public recognition while longing to be among the worshippers. The acceptable posture for public prayer is to stand, cross the hands over the chest and cast the eyes down. But the tax-collector beats his chest as a gesture of extreme distress. This is an action characteristic of women, not men, and implies utter and complete humiliation for him.

The message is clear - the original self-righteous audience is challenged by Jesus to reconsider how righteousness is achieved. Jesus declares that righteousness [ right relationship with God] is a gift from God to be received by those [like the tax-collector] who approach in humility as sinners, trusting in God¹s grace rather than in their own achievements, status and piety; in other words, in their own self-righteousness.

Directions for Preaching:

1. The parable invites a sermon on pride verses humility; the preacher needs to be careful in standing with the people in the shoes of the tax-collector and not those of the pharisee Any success in ministry must be handed over to God in praise, rather than feeding the personal ego. The parable lays out a pattern for prayer - focus on God in humility, hope and expectation. Self-righteousness inevitably distorts vision - the pharisee saw only the sinner to be avoided instead of the repentant man accepted by God.
2. Periodically I need to remind both myself and congregation of the broad and comprehensive love of God for all living things. Joel 2: 23-32 and Psalm 65 remind us that humans are not the centre of the universe but are part of the natural planetary order. An ecological sermon on the need to cease exploiting global resources and confusing ‘need’ with ‘greed’ would be appropriate. The Old Testament Jew, with no scientific understanding, attributed all natural events to a God who either blessed or cursed, who rewarded or punished; we, with our scientific and technological knowledge need to be humbly aware that ‘the more we know, the more we realise that wedon¹t know.’