People who meet Jesus (paralytic, tax collectors etc)

Commentary on Narrative Lectionary by Elisabeth Johnson

After a preaching tour in Galilee, Jesus returns to his home base in Capernaum, where he continues preaching, teaching, and healing.

He also comes into conflict with some Jewish religious leaders -- namely, the scribes and Pharisees.

Scribes were professionals trained in the interpretation of Jewish law. They are often mentioned in association with the Pharisees, who led a lay reform movement within Judaism. Concerned to preserve the Jewish faith and way of life in the midst of Roman occupation, the Pharisees took seriously God's calling of Israel to be "a priestly kingdom and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). They sought to renew the faith by applying biblical laws concerning ritual purity to all Jews (not only priests) and to all aspects of daily life (not only temple worship), with special attention to dietary laws and Sabbath observance.

While scribes and Pharisees valued debate about interpretation of the law, opinions were formed on the weight of precedent and tradition. Jesus troubles them because he speaks and acts on his own authority, without deference to tradition (1:22). He seems cavalier about law observance and simply makes pronouncements, claiming to speak and act for God. Thus they view him as a threat to the religious and social order.

Forgiveness, Healing, and Conflict

The first of Jesus' conflicts with the religious leaders is embedded in a healing story. Jesus is teaching in a home in Capernaum, and the place is packed, with no room even in the doorway (2:1-2). Four people come carrying a paralyzed man on a mat, trying to bring him to Jesus. Seeing no way to get through the crowd, they dig through the roof (probably thatch and mud) and lower their friend on the mat to Jesus (2:3-4). "When Jesus saw their faith," Mark tells us, "he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven'" (2:5). We are told nothing about the faith of the paralyzed man; Jesus responds to the determined faith of this man's friends. He does not begin with physical healing, but first pronounces the man's sins forgiven.

Jesus' pronouncement does not sit well with the scribes, who begin "questioning in their hearts" and accusing Jesus of blasphemy. After all, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (2:7). In using the passive voice ("your sins are forgiven"), Jesus is essentially saying, "God forgives your sins." Yet the scribes are apparently troubled that Jesus declares the man forgiven without him going through the proper channels -- i.e., visiting the priests and offering appropriate sacrifices. Jesus simply declares him forgiven now, implicitly claiming to speak for God.

Blasphemy, or claiming what belongs to God alone, violates the law's all-important boundary between God and creation, and is so serious as to be punishable by death (Leviticus 24:15-16). Indeed, in the end, the charge of blasphemy will lead to Jesus' crucifixion (14:63-64).

What the scribes cannot see, of course, is that Jesus is authorized to speak and act on God's behalf. He is God's anointed, the Messiah, God's beloved Son (1:11). As a demonstration of his authority to forgive sins, Jesus tells the paralyzed man to stand up, take his mat and return home, which the man promptly does (2:10-12). Jesus demonstrates his power to bring both spiritual and physical wholeness, and the crowds respond by being amazed and glorifying God (2:12).

Eating with Sinners

Moving from the overcrowded house, Jesus goes out beside the sea to teach the crowds. Seeing a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax booth, he simply says, "Follow me." Like the fishermen before him, Levi gets right up and follows (2:13-14).

Next we find Jesus and his disciples having dinner at Levi's house, along with many other tax collectors and sinners. "For there were many who followed him," Mark tells us (2:15). The term "sinners" in the Gospels generally refers to notorious sinners, those who show blatant disregard for God's law. Tax collectors were considered among the most notorious sinners and were particularly despised in Israel. They were viewed as collaborators with the Roman occupiers, who placed a heavy tax burden on the people. Because they dealt with Gentiles and Gentile money, they were considered unclean. They were also known to be greedy. They were assigned a region and a fixed sum to collect, and were allowed to collect as much additional money as they could for profit.

The "scribes of the Pharisees" (i.e., scribes associated with the Pharisees) appear again, keeping a wary eye on Jesus. They are scandalized by Jesus' behavior, for this meal in which he is partaking is certainly not kosher. Moreover, by eating with such folk, he may be seen to approve of their "lifestyle." So the scribes ask Jesus' disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" (2:16). Jesus overhears and responds to their question with a proverb, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick," and then a mission statement: "I have come to call not the righteous but sinners" (2:17).

While the scribes and Pharisees focus on separating themselves from sinners and keeping themselves ritually pure, Jesus shatters all boundaries between clean and unclean, righteous and sinners. He does so not just to be iconoclastic, but because that is the only way to heal the sick and bring back the lost.

Fasting and New Wine

Next a question arises about fasting. We are not told who the questioners are. The text simply says that "they" came and asked Jesus, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" (2:18). Jesus responds by telling them that it is not appropriate to fast at a wedding banquet in the presence of the bridegroom (2:19). Once again Jesus uses eschatological language. The time is fulfilled and reign of God has come near! This is a time for feasting!

At the same time there is a somber reminder that the bridegroom will be taken away, and there will again be a time of fasting (2:20). God's reign has not yet arrived in all its fullness. This is but "a foretaste of the feast to come."

Jesus continues his eschatological theme with metaphors of patches and wineskins. It will not work to put a patch of new, unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, or to put new wine in old wineskins. The patch will pull away and tear, and the old wineskins will burst. The old boundaries cannot contain the new reality of God's reign coming near in Jesus.

Shattering Boundaries

From the very beginning, Jesus' ministry shatters boundaries. He eats with the unclean, heals on the Sabbath, touches lepers, and even claims divine authority to forgive sins. God's invasion of this world in Jesus is resisted by those who hold power, those whose lives are dedicated to keeping boundaries intact. Yet for the leper who is cleansed, for the paralytic who is healed, for the sinner who is forgiven and welcomed to the table, God's invasion in Jesus is welcomed as a mission of liberation, healing, and life.

The preacher's challenge is to discern both the threat and the promise in these stories for those who hear them today. Jesus may very well be breaking down boundaries that we are desperately trying to hold in place. Yet this boundary-smashing Jesus is our only hope of deliverance from all that holds us captive.

The Genesis of Jesus

Commentary on Narrative Lectionary by Elisabeth Johnson

At the beginning of his genealogy (1:1) and at the beginning of his birth narrative (1:18), Matthew introduces what follows as the "genesis of Jesus the Messiah."

In the genealogy, the genesis speaks of Jesus' ancestral origins, establishing his royal lineage as a descendent of King David through his father Joseph. In the birth narrative, the genesis has to do with Jesus' divine origins, with the astounding truth that the child in Mary's womb is "from the Holy Spirit" (1:20). As the Spirit hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:1-2), so now the Spirit is initiating a new creation with this child.

Of course, God's way of launching this new creation brings complications for the human characters involved. Joseph is engaged to Mary, but they have not yet "come together." When Mary is found to be with child, a dilemma arises for Joseph. He does not yet know that the child is "from the Holy Spirit" and believes that she has been unfaithful, bringing dishonor to both their families. A betrothal was as legally binding as marriage and could only be ended by divorce. According to the law, Joseph had grounds not only to dismiss Mary, but even to have her stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:13-30).

Righteousness (dikaiosune) is an important theme in Matthew. While righteousness includes law observance, it is not slavish adherence to the letter of the law. This becomes clear when Matthew tells us that Joseph, being a righteous (dikaios) man, was unwilling to expose Mary to public disgrace and "planned to dismiss her quietly" (1:19). Joseph, being righteous, has mercy and compassion toward Mary, and resolves to end their betrothal without submitting her to public humiliation.

Yet God has other plans. An angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, "for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (1:20). The angel further says that Mary will bear a son, and that Joseph is to name him Jesus (the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means "he saves"), for "he will save his people from their sins" (1:21).

Matthew tells us that all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, and quotes Isaiah 7:14 from the Septuagint: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel" (1:22-23). The Greek word parthenos (virgin) translates the Hebrew word 'almah (young woman). In the Greek translation of Isaiah, Matthew sees an apt description of what is happening with Mary, a virgin who has conceived and will bear a son. The name Emmanuel, meaning "God is with us," also highlights a central claim of Matthew's Gospel -- that Jesus bears God's saving presence among us.

When Joseph wakes up, he does exactly as instructed in his dream. He takes Mary as his wife, and when she bears a son, he names him Jesus, adopting him as his own and grafting him into his royal family tree (1:24-25).

Redefining Righteousness

Joseph, being righteous, risks disobedience to the letter of the law in order to respond to God's call. He risks shame and scandal by taking Mary as his wife and adopting her son as his own. He travels an uncertain path that challenges conventional notions of righteousness, just as his adopted son Jesus will do.

The righteousness taught and lived by Jesus in Matthew is not slavish adherence to the letter of the law, but faithfulness shaped by mercy. Over and over again, Jesus comes into conflict with religious leaders for breaking with their interpretation of the law. He is criticized for healing on the Sabbath, for not fasting enough, and for eating with tax collectors and sinners. His response? "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners" (9:12-13).

Jesus says that righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees is necessary for the kingdom of heaven (5:20). The righteousness he teaches goes beyond what the letter of the law demands and sometimes even overturns it. Instead of demanding an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, for instance, Jesus exhorts his followers to turn the other cheek and to love their enemies (5:38-48). Jesus not only teaches these words but lives them -- suffering hatred, rejection, and violence, and responding only with love.

Jesus embodies God's over-and-above-and-beyond righteousness, righteousness that shatters the letter of the law and will stop at nothing to save us from sin and death. He enacts God's gracious will to heal and restore a broken creation, to bring about a new creation shaped by justice, mercy, and love.

God With Us

A preacher might help hearers imagine how, through Jesus the Messiah, God is at work to renew and restore lives today, even in unexpected ways. A personal or communal crisis, for instance, may bring us to new clarity about faithfulness to God's call, as it did for Joseph. We may be led to rethink long-held rules and traditions that obstruct mercy and no longer serve God's purposes. We may be called outside our comfort zones and led down uncertain paths for the sake of God's mission.

Are we ready for the risks involved? We may be subject to criticism and even hostility when God's mercy moves us -- when, for instance, we risk reaching out to those on the margins. But then we are in good company, for Jesus was called "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (11:19). This Jesus, friend of sinners, is Emmanuel, "God with us" to heal and to save. What better company could there possibly be?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Commentary on First Reading by Anathea Portier-Young

"I know that I shall not be put to shame" (Isaiah 50:7 NRSV).

The preacher receives a place of honor during worship. Some of us sit on a special chair, on a raised platform, and when we stand to proclaim the word we step up higher still. We wear special garments that mark and separate us, some richly decorated with quilting, lace, or embroidery. And when we preach, despite our fears to the contrary, people listen, and their eyes look up at us in wonder and admiration. The more confidently we declaim, the more they praise our skill. Preachers are wealthy stakeholders in the economy of honor and shame.

Shame is not simply a personal response to feelings of guilt or impropriety. It is a cultural phenomenon. It is a mechanism of social control that shapes behaviors and inculcates values.

"I gave my back to those who struck me" (Isaiah 50:6 NRSV).

Beating someone's back in public is a performance of domination. The audience sees the face of the one beating and the face of the one beaten. They see one person standing, head up, legs wide and steady, arm raised in power, beating. They see another person bent, restrained, body contracting and shivering, beaten. An act of public beating claims power, high status, and honor for the one who can inflict such pain, who can force another person to feel what they never want to feel, and to feel it publicly, irrefutably. It assigns low status to the one being beaten, aiming through public shame to deter this person and anyone who views the humiliation and pain from defying the will of those in power.

Sometimes acts of shaming are not so physically brutal. Physical pain is not the only form of power. Every community knows ways to attack a person without leaving visible scars on their bodies.

"... my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard" (Isaiah 50:6 NRSV).

In a culture where the currency of honor is closely tied to gender, such that masculinity is associated with honor and femininity with shame and dishonor, it is common to assail a man's honor by denying or questioning his manhood (cf. Nahum 3:13: "look at your troops, they are women" NRSV). This can be accomplished by removing or marring visible signs that distinguish a man from a woman. One such sign is a beard.

Second Samuel relates a story in which David sent messengers to offer condolences to Hanun, a neighboring king, at the death of his father. Hanun doubted David's sincerity; Hanun's advisers suggested that the messengers were really spies. Hanun shamed David's messengers by shaving off one side of their beards and cutting their garments at the hips before sending them back on the road to Jerusalem. They were disgraced (niklamim). When David learned of it, he told his messengers to get off the road and stay in Jericho until their beards had grown back (2 Samuel 10:1-5).

"I did not hide my face from insult and spitting" (Isaiah 50:6 NRSV).

Most in the community will not have license to beat the back or pull the beard of one who has violated their norms or challenged their values. But they can open their mouths and let fly words and spit. These forms of shaming are easy to perform and easy to get away with. They direct verbal and physical expressions of rejection and disgust to the person who has violated social norms and values. Spit sticks. So do words. Being assaulted by these expressions of disgust and rejection can trigger the desire to hide, to become invisible.¹

Beating, pulling the beard, insulting, and spitting cause shame when the person to whom these things are being done accepts that she or he has violated shared values and norms. But they are not the only values, and not the only norms. The prophet insists, "I have not been disgraced (niklamti)" (Isaiah 50:7 NRSV).

Many of us will never be beaten or spit at for preaching the gospel. But all of us inhabit a social economy of honor and shame. And not only shame but also honor can be a mechanism of social control.

In the court of honor and shame, those who are shamed are silenced or silence themselves.² Those who receive honor appear to speak freely but do not -- honor is a prize for conformity. Isaiah's prophet stands and speaks in a different courtroom where the prophet is neither honored nor shamed. The prophet does not accept the values of the community or conform to social norms, not for the sake of status and not even for the sake of safety and health.

And so Isaiah's prophet does not assume the high status of a teacher in the community (pace NRSV, 50:4). Instead God gives the prophet the tongue of students (limmudîm) and opens the prophet's ear to listen like students (limmudîm) do. There is neither honor nor shame in possessing the faculties of a student. Instead, students know that they are still learning. They know that the mysteries of heaven and earth, our life with one another, and our life with God are still unfolding before them.

What will it mean for us to preach the word of God with the tongue of students, listen like students do, and still stand up to testify confident in God's help? What would it mean for us to perceive, examine, and refuse the economy of honor and shame that operates even in our churches? Let us stand up together (50:8) and make the case.

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¹Michael Lewis, Shame: The Exposed Self (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992), 2.
²Stephen Pattison, Shame: Theory, Therapy, Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 41.