Proper 11 – Year C
Sermon Notes from the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People
RCL Readings[1] – Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42
ACNA Readings – Genesis 18:1-14; Psalm 15; Colossians 1:21-29; Luke 10:38-42
Seasonal Introduction. This season is often called “Ordinary Time,” a term derived from ordinal, meaning “numbered” or “in sequence.” However, there is nothing ordinary about this time. Rather, it is a time when we may reflect on how God (starting on Trinity Sunday and ending with Christ the King Sunday) has been at work in our own lives, the lives of his people, and how he will continue to work in the days to come. Ordinary Time is a season when we are invited to perceive the mystery of God at work in our daily lives, in the ordinary, in the mundane.
Common Theme. Hospitality and listening to God, followed by faith, are both important themes in the readings.
Hebraic Context. Today, we don’t value the importance of inheritance as it’s spoken of in the Bible—generally, it’s just seen as a sad, and divisive, means to money. However, God’s covenant with Abraham, including his inheritance of the land of Canaan, which is one of the eternal covenants God has made, “And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”[2]
Deuteronomy is written in relation to the wandering Israelites finally coming to their promised inheritance. Deuteronomy 6:4-5, one of the most significant passages in all of the Scriptures (insofar as all Scripture is God-breathed) is the beginning of a discourse on how to act in the land they are taking possession of. Even the Ten Commandments are partly written in relation to the land of Israel, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”[3] This isn’t about a generic land but about the inheritance God promised to Abraham.
Solomon, in his dedication of the Temple, included a prayer about the land of Israel and potential exile and restoration to it.[4] Significant portions of the prophets speak to the eternal covenant of land, including both Israel and Jerusalem specifically.[5] On the one hand, the land would vomit the people out if they continued to disobey God.[6] On the other hand, the land is still part of their inheritance.
Not only was inheritance of the land to the children of Abraham important, but inheritance on an individual basis is also shown to be important. The manipulation and lies of Rebekah and Jacob, along with the grief and anger of Esau after having his inheritance stolen, broke Isaac’s family apart.[7] The inheritance laws regarding women, as seen in Numbers 27:1-11, shows their inclusion in the inheritance of the land.[8] Inheritance laws, often ignored, are still part of God’s Torah, “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine.”[9]
The story of Ahab and Naboth shows that God’s laws on land inheritance are important enough to change the course of history. Naboth, in obedience to Torah, told the king, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”[10] When King Ahab and Jezebel conspired to kill Naboth and steal his inheritance, God declared judgment on Ahab: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.” This set into motion the downfall of the Omride dynasty, the most stable and powerful period in Northern Israel’s history.
But the land of Canaan wasn’t the only inheritance that was important. There was another inheritance that is even greater. The Levites received no territorial inheritance, only individual towns that protected the cultural and military borders of Israel; instead, God declared that “I am your portion and inheritance.”[11] But this inheritance wasn’t for the Levites only. The Psalms repeat that “The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words,” and “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”[12] In the midst of mourning, Jeremiah turns to God in a time of destruction in his homeland and declares, “The LORD is my portion,...therefore I will hope in Him.”[13]
Peter states that we have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”[14] What is this inheritance? Yes, there will be the water of life flowing from God and trees with wondrous fruit. There will be beautiful streets and walls. But there will also be living stones—the redeemed community, our brothers and sisters. And the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb will be on the throne.[15] Surely that is the greatest portion we could ask for.
Genesis 18:1-10a.[16] “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases.”[17] God’s mercy is continuously shown as He redeems those who are troubled. Genesis 18:1 is one such example, traditionally referred to as גמילות חסדים (gemilut ḥasadim, acts of loving kindness). In Genesis 17, God establishes an everlasting covenant with Abram—the sign of which is circumcision. Abraham was circumcised when he was ninety-nine. Naturally, this would cause a significant amount of pain and discomfort. And so God came and visited Abraham while he was sick.
God’s judgment is often shown to hinge on whether we visit the sick, as well as clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and visit those who are in prison—all acts of loving kindness that God has done. This moment became a significant prooftext of God’s mercy and reminds us that we should live our lives fulfilling God’s call to walk after Him in doing acts of loving kindness.
Despite his discomfort, when Abraham saw three men before him that needed his mercy, Abraham acted with haste to serve them. The details within the story, the heat of the day and the location near Hebron, is significant. In the summer months, particularly in the south of Israel, water is scarce and dehydration and heat-stroke are real dangers. But Abraham didn’t do the minimum to make sure the travelers didn’t die on the road, providing a little water to drink and cool down along with rest in the shade of a tree. Likely still in pain, Abraham rushed to provide a feast: cheese and milk along with fine pita[18] and veal.[19] Even as God was acting in love and mercy, so was Abraham.
When Jesus told His disciples to preach the gospel and receive hospitality from whoever would provide it, one of the ways to reciprocate their hospitality was healing. “Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”[20] This pattern of hospitality and healing runs throughout the Bible and Jewish texts. Genesis 18:1-11, 21:1-3, tell us how God visited Sarah and opened her womb—healing both her body and her shame in providing a son.[21] In I Kings 17:8-24 and II Kings 4:1-37, Elijah and Elisha are shown hospitality (one foreign, one Israelite) and later heal their sons. Finally, Tobit 11:7-15 tells the story of an angel who was shown hospitality for several weeks before Tobit was healed of blindness.[22]
God does not require us to provide healing. In the rabbinic discussions and biblical judgments surrounding the gemilut ḥasadim,[23] the emphasis is on visiting the sick and offering hospitality to the homeless and the stranger alike, rather than on healing them. Nor can we assume that obeying God in one area of our life will result in healing. Indeed, God had already promised Abram and Sarai a son and they had to wait for decades before Isaac was born. Yet God keeps His promises and His steadfast love is everlasting.
Psalm 15. The Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant had been raided in the time of Samuel’s youth as Shiloh was sacked by the Philistines.[24] It wasn’t until Solomon was king that the Temple was built, but it was David who prepared the material for the Temple and it was David who brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (where he had prepared a tent for it). In Psalm 15, David described the character qualities that are required for a worshipper to access the presence of the Lord: to walk blamelessly, to do what is right, and to speak truth. We should not walk into the presence of God while gossiping and harming the innocent.
Isaiah 33:13–16 echoes the same themes found in Psalm 15 and Psalm 24:3–5—texts that describe the kind of person who may enter the holy place of God. “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?” Psalm 24 asks. “He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” While the Psalms may sound inviting, emphasizing access to God’s presence, Isaiah reminds us of the weightiness of that invitation. “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?” he asks. “Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” We are coming before a holy God—if we wish to dwell with Him we are to walk blamelessly.
The characteristics for those who want to come into God’s presence involve the heart, tongue, and sacrificial righteousness. I Chronicles 15 describes the procession bringing the Ark to the Holy Hill—Mount Zion. David had been reminded that God’s statutes were important—it was only Levites who could carry the ark. So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves according to the word of God. But David did not mention being a Levite or a priest as one of the important qualities of a worshipper of God.
Neither did David speak of sacrifices, something we often (incorrectly) associate with the entire reason people would go to the Temple of God. In fact, David didn’t mention any of the ceremonial rituals of the Temple or Tabernacle as prerequisites for appearing before God. This is not to say ritual and tradition are bad or have no value. However, what God has always wanted was a place in our hearts and a desire to hear His voice.
The psalm highlights the connection between the heart of truth and walking righteously. The heart of the worshipper and his behaviour are always connected. The qualities David mentions are neither marks of ritual observations nor signs of theological sophistication—they are lived expressions of integrity. Only someone who does what is right and is walking blamelessly can be in the divine presence. David uses the term “speaks truth in his heart”, which Jesus will echo in Matthew 12:34, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” David understood that someone who has an upright life is known by the way they speak.
Of course, by these standards, David himself would be excluded. Though he delighted in God’s presence, David did not lead a blameless life. Nor has anyone else. Yet God invites us to come to His holy hill. He calls us into His presence and wants to dwell with us. Either God has set an impossible standard or being “blameless” and “upright” must mean something more than sinless perfection.
We often must come before God in repentance because we are not blameless. But if we have slandered, stolen (even in business), or harmed our neighbor, we must first seek reconciliation—repaying what was taken—before coming to God with our gifts, offerings, and requests.[25] Sirach 34:21-27 echoes the psalmist and the prophets:
“If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods, the offering is blemished; the gifts of the lawless are not acceptable. The Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly, nor for a multitude of sacrifices does He forgive sins. Like one who kills a son before His father’s eyes is the person who offers a sacrifice from the property of the poor. The bread of the needy is the life of the poor; whoever deprives them of it is a murderer. To take away a neighbor’s living is to commit murder; to deprive an employee of wages is to shed blood.”
While God may well forgive a murderer, He does not dwell with people who are offering worship with one hand while taking life—or livelihood—with the other.
Colossians 1:15-28. In contrast to the visual piety of the Greco-Roman world, Judaism rejected all physical representation of God after the exile—a stance that many gentile observers found not only puzzling, but offensive. Tacitus wrote,
“The Jews regard as profane all that we hold sacred; on the other hand, they permit all that we abhor...the earliest lesson they receive is to despise the gods… the Jews conceive of one god only, and that with the mind alone: they regard as impious those who make from perishable materials representations of gods in man’s image; that supreme and eternal being is to them incapable of representation and without end. Therefore they set up no statues in their cities, still less in their temples.”[26]
Strabo was less polemical than Tacitus, who despised the Jewish people, but still wrote with confusion about the oddities of the Jewish people,
“For [Moses] says, and taught, that the Aegyptians were mistaken in representing the Divine Being by the images of beasts and cattle… and that the Greeks were also wrong in modelling gods in human form; for, according to him, God is this one thing alone that encompasses us all and encompasses land and see—the thing which we call heaven, or universe, or the nature of all that exists. What man, then, if he has sense, could be bold enough to fabricate an image of God resembling any creature amongst us? Nay, people should leave off all image-carving, and, setting apart a sacred precinct and a worthy sanctuary, should worship God without an image.”[27]
But if Greco-Roman literature mocked Judaism’s invisible God, the Scriptures and Jewish sages ridiculed idols—eikones of the gods—as fraudulent and worthless. Idols are as lifeless as the gods they represent. Isaiah 44:9-20 is scathing in his commentary,
“He cuts down cedars…half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, ‘Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!’ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, ‘Deliver me, for you are my god!’”[28]
Wisdom literature, such as Psalm 115:4-8 and the Book of Wisdom 13-15 repeat the messages of the prophets stating that idols “did not exist from the beginning, nor will they last forever. For through human vanity they entered the world.”[29] But Paul, while reminding the Colossians that God is invisible, boldly introduces Jesus—the Messiah. Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
While in Philippians 2:6-8 Paul uses μορφη (morphe) to state that Jesus is truly God and became an actual man, here Paul is making a different argument by using εικων (eikon) of God. It isn’t that Jesus functioned as an idol, whereby we can see and worship an invisible God—an idol is still dead and worthless—it is as John 1:18 states, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.” When Philip wanted to see the Father, “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
Genesis 1:26-27 states that we all are made in the image of God, the εικονα θεου (eikona Theou). That the Messiah would be human would not be too surprising.[30] God declared, “Let us make man in our image… So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” But Jesus is more than simply a human made in the image of God—He is also the Creator. Both John 1 and Colossians 1 are clear, Jesus made all things. Genesis is also clear, God made all things.
The invisible God has, in fact, made Himself known—not through human craft, but by His own initiative in the person of Christ. Jesus is not an idol fashioned by human hands, but the very fullness of God in bodily form. And, unlike idols, Jesus is very much active. Jesus made peace, reconciling all things to Himself. It is the blood of Jesus, “in His body of flesh by His death” that reconciled the Colossians. He is the image of the invisible God, the Creator of all flesh, and—while Himself clothed in flesh and blood—the Redeemer of it.
The Colossians, having heard and understood the grace of God in truth, became saints through Jesus’ death. Yet they are still called to remain faithful, holding fast to the hope of the gospel. Paul is an example of Jesus’ redeeming grace but he is also an example of faith—praying for the Colossians, giving thanks for them, and even suffering in his own flesh for them.
Luke 10:38-42. As Jesus continues His journey to Jerusalem—towards His death and resurrection—He enters Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, and is offered hospitality by Martha. This is reminiscent of when Jesus sent out the disciples, first the twelve and then the seventy. Hospitality was never meant to be just a Sunday meal after church. Hospitality is an act of faithfulness to God. Lydia told Paul and Silas, “If you judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.”
God calls us to sacrificially “bring the homeless poor into your house”.[31] From the Shunamite woman offering hospitality to Elisha to Martha and Mary to Lydia, these women followed God’s call to serve the stranger, the traveller, and all those in need. Mishnah Avot states, “let thy house be wide open, and let the poor be members of thy household.” Though the household appears to have consisted of three siblings, it is Martha—not Lazarus—who welcomes Jesus into her house.[32] Her generosity was extensive as she provided not only for Jesus, but almost certainly for His many disciples as well.[33]
Considering that Luke 10 largely revolves around serving others and showing hospitality and compassion, Luke’s choice of phrasing—that “Martha was distracted with much serving”—seems odd. Luke makes it clear that what she was distracted from was listening to the teaching of Jesus.
When Martha asks that Mary also be distracted with serving, Jesus rebukes her. Not only is Martha anxious—something Jesus consistently warns against—but she is also disruptive. Luke uses the same Greek root, θορυβεω (thorubeo), which is used elsewhere for city riots and professional mourners. Martha, in hosting Jesus, the disciples, and likely their families, obeyed God. But she became distracted by earthly concerns—things that can be good in their proper time—and caused unnecessary friction in her house.
Pirkei Avot not only teaches that you should let the poor become members of your household, it also says: “Make your house a meeting place for the wise; cover yourself with the dust of their feet; drink their words with thirst.” To sit at someone’s feet was a sign of discipleship—a student learning from their teacher—just as Paul was “educated at the feet of Gamaliel.”[34] Jesus stated that Mary, who sat at His feet, chose the “good portion.”
What is this portion? Μερις (meris) is used as the Greek translation for several words in Hebrew—particularly מנת (menat, allotment) and חלק (heleq, portion). This can be a bad inheritance, such as Psalm 11:6[35] or a good inheritance, such as Psalm 16:5.[36] The Psalms repeat that “The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words,” and “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” God is our true inheritance, not these things we have on earth (as good as they might be) as shown from the beginning through Revelation. Mary chose to sit and learn at the feet of Jesus. And yet, Martha is one of only three people named as beloved by Jesus—along with Mary and Lazarus.[37]
Hebrew Perspective. In Jesus’ day, a disciple was not merely a student or even an apprentice. A disciple was expected to constantly observe their master and imitate them. What was the work ethic of the master? How did the master react when they were swindled, ridiculed, or persecuted? How did the master treat their family, employees, or employers? What words came out of their mouth when they hit their finger with a hammer?
The teachers of Israel were supposed to be very biblically literate—and to put that literacy directly into practice. In the Hebraic perspective, belief, or faith, is something you engage in—not only something you consciously believe to be true. If that is true of a human master, how much more should we imitate the God who made all things? And if God is the one who gave the Torah, how does He put into practice what He teaches?
This question was answered through careful study and gathered under the term גמילות חסדים (gemilut ḥasadim, acts of loving kindness)—practical expressions of God’s mercy. Scholars took note of God’s action:[38] God clothed the naked.[39] God visited Abram while he was sick.[40] God visited Joseph while he was in jail.[41] While Israel wandered in the wilderness, God provided food and water. God buried the dead[42]—a deed considered to be one of the purest acts of kindness, since the dead cannot repay it. God’s actions of mercy aren’t one-off events, they are seen throughout divine history.
Jesus acted according to the attributes of God, just as He has always acted. He clothed the naked.[43] He visited the sick and healed many.[44] He comforted those in prison.[45] He gave food to the hungry.[46]
The scholars, however, were careful to clarify that we are called to follow God’s examples according to His acts of loving-kindness. God both judges and intercedes but we are called to intercede. There are, and will be, times when we are called to judge, but it is under specific, prescribed situations. As disciples of Jesus—and as examples to those who come after us—we are called to imitate Him. And our children, neighbours, and fellow saints will care far more about how we treat them when we’re frustrated or when they become sick than whether we can pronounce gemilut ḥasadim with the correct accent.
Endnotes
[1] Alternative RCL readings: Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52
[2] Genesis 17:8
[3] Deuteronomy 5:16
[4] I Kings 8:46-49
[5] Isaiah 49:8; Jeremiah 3:15-19; Ezekiel 11:17; Ezekiel 37:25; Amos 9:14-15; Psalm 132:13-14
[6] Leviticus 18:28
[7] Genesis 25:29-34, Genesis 27:1-41
[8] See also Numbers 36:1-12
[9] Leviticus 25:23-34 and Numbers 36:7
[10] I Kings 21:3
[11] Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 10:9
[12] Psalm 16:5; Psalm 73:26; Psalm 119:57; Psalm 142:5
[13] Lamentation 3:24
[14] I Peter 1:4
[15] Revelation 21:7-26
[16] ACNA includes Genesis 18:11-14
[17] Lamentation 3:22-23
[18] The modern word in Hebrew, עגה (uggah) is generally used for sweet cakes or, in the diminutive, cookies. However, as seen from Exodus 12:39 to Hosea 7:8, it was probably a savoury flatbread cooked in a tabun (similar to a tandoor) or simply on hot stones.
[19] The combination of dairy and meat in Genesis 18:8 has generated much discussion regarding the kosher laws. Some argue that Abraham served the dairy first and the meat afterward, consistent with later halakhic practice. Others note that applying Mosaic dietary laws to Abraham is anachronistic, since those laws were given centuries later. Additionally, whether the angelic visitors truly ate is debated. In Tobit 12:19, the angel Raphael tells Tobiah, “When you were watching me, I was not really eating anything, but what you saw was a vision.” This aligns with Luke 24:36–43, where Jesus deliberately eats in front of His disciples to prove that He is not merely a spirit.
[20] Luke 10:8-9
[21] Genesis 20:17-18 also tells how God healed the wombs of the woman of Gerar.
[22] Both Tobit and Genesis 18 may be what Hebrews 13:2 references.
[23] Matthew 25:31-46, see also Isaiah 58:6-10; Ezekiel 16:49-50; Micah 6:1-16
[24] Psalm 78:56-66; Jeremiah 7:12, 26:6-9
[25] Leviticus 6:1–7; Numbers 5:5–8; Matthew 5:23–24; Luke 19:8–9.
[26] Tacitus, Histories 5.4-5; See also Juvenal, Satires 14, “worship nothing but the clouds, and the divinity of the heavens”; Cassius Dio, Roman History 37.17, “They are distinguished from the rest of mankind in practically every detail of life, and especially by the fact that they do not honour any of the usual gods, but show extreme reverence for one particular divinity. They never had any statue of him even in Jerusalem itself, but believing him to be unnamable and invisible, they worship him in the most extravagant fashion on earth.”
[27] Strabo, Geography 16.2.35. See also Josephus Against Apion 2, where he defends Jewish worship of an invisible God against Apion’s accusations.
[28] See also Jeremiah 10:1-16
[29] Book of Wisdom 14:13-14
[30] Deuteronomy 18:18 states that God will “raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers.” The prophet like Moses was generally regarded to be the coming Messiah. And He would be Jewish.
[31] Isaiah 58:7
[32] Numbers 27:1-8 gives the right of inheritance to women as well as men. This is reflected in Scripture, in the Mishnah, and in historical data. While much of Scripture still speaks of Jesus’ male disciples, it is very clear that the women were very involved in the ministry. Several wealthy women supported Jesus’ ministry according to Luke 8. Paul records many women who served in the church in Romans 16. Lydia, in Acts 16, seems to have owned her own business and extended her hospitality to both Paul, Silas, as well as the Church.
[33] John 12:4 shows that the disciples were also invited into Martha’s house when staying near Jerusalem.
[34] Acts 22:3
[35] See also Psalm 50:18; Psalm 63:10
[36] See also Psalm 73:26; Psalm 119:57; Psalm 142:5
[37] Jesus is also said to love a rich, young ruler in Mark 10:21. As for the disciple whom Jesus loved, it likely refers to either John or Lazarus.
[38] Sotah 14a.3-6; see also Pirkei Avot 1.2; Shabbat 127a.15
[39] Genesis 3:21
[40] Genesis 18:1, this follows immediately after Abraham was circumcised in Genesis 17.
[41] Genesis 39:21
[42] Deuteronomy 34:6
[43] Luke 8:27, 35
[44] Matthew 8:14-17
[45] Matthew 11:2-6
[46] Matthew 14:13-21; see also Matthew 15:32-38