Diocese of East Tennessee: Weekly Lectionary
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June 18, 2006
Proper 6 – B

Book of Common Prayer Lectionary
Ezekiel 31:1-6, 10-14
Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Mark 4:26-34

Revised Common Lectionary
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17
Mark 4: 26-34

Reflection and Response
Prayer Starter

In the first readings, Ezekiel compares the kingdom of Egypt to a towering tree, doomed to be felled by its enemies (BCP) and gives the Israelites hope that one day God will restore their strength (RCL). Paul reminds his Corinthian communities that our eternal dwelling is not found here on earth but is with the Lord. In the gospel, Jesus uses two parables to describe how God's dynamic presence—the kingdom—grows in our lives.

First Reading: Ezekiel 31:1-6, 10-14 (BCP)
The prophet Ezekiel was taken away to Babylonia at the first capture of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. The oracles of warning (chaps. 1–14) date from before the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.; the oracles of hope (chaps. 33–48) belong to the time of the exile in Babylon.

Today's reading is an allegory directed against Egypt, which had incited the kingdom of Judah to revolt and upon whose support the kingdom was relying. The oracle is dated in June of 587, the final month of the second siege of Jerusalem before its destruction. Ezekiel uses the image of the world-tree, drawn from Babylonian mythology, to construct a picture of Egypt's pride and power (Daniel 4:10-18). In various mythologies the world-tree, situated at the center or ‘naval' of the earth and watered by the cosmic deeps (31:4), represents the whole living universe. Ezekiel changes the context of the image from mythological to historical; despite Egypt's power, it will not prevail against the Babylonians.

Ezekiel 31:1-6, 10-14
In the eleventh year, in the third month,
on the first day of the month,
the word of the LORD came to me:
Mortal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt
and to his hordes:
Whom are you like in your greatness?
Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon,
with fair branches and forest shade,
and of great height, its top among the clouds.
The waters nourished it,
the deep made it grow tall,
making its rivers flow
around the place it was planted,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the field.
So it towered high above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large and its branches long,
from abundant water in its shoots.
All the birds of the air made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the field
gave birth to their young;
and in its shade all great nations lived.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because it towered high
and set its top among the clouds,
and its heart was proud of its height,
I gave it into the hand
of the prince of the nations;
he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves.
I have cast it out.
Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations
have cut it down and left it.
On the mountains and in all the valleys
its branches have fallen,
and its boughs lie broken
in all the watercourses of the land;
and all the peoples of the earth
went away from its shade and left it.
On its fallen trunk settle all the birds of the air,
and among its boughs lodge all the wild animals.
All this is in order
that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height
or set their tops among the clouds,
and that no trees that drink water
may reach up to them in height.
For all of them are handed over to death,
to the world below;
along with all mortals,
with those who go down to the Pit.

First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24 (RCL)
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered the city of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. and forced thousands of Jews to relocate in Babylon. Ezekiel was probably one of these refugees. Like his fellow prophet, Jeremiah, Ezekiel did not encourage the Israelites to hope for a speedy and victorious end to the exile. Both prophets foresaw a time of suffering and mourning as God worked to cleanse the people of their idolatry and hardheartedness.

Ezekiel was a priest who received his call to prophesy while in exile (1:1-3). His priestly experience comes through in many of his messages that deal with the loss of the temple and the departure of God's glory from the inner court (chaps. 8–10, 40–48).

More than any other prophet, Ezekiel was called to transmit God's messages through enacted symbolism. These dramatic allegories carried a visual force that left no room for false interpretations. Despite his “gloom and doom,” Ezekiel's visions are balanced by a firm reliance in God's sovereignty. The holy God who disciplines severely will also restore the people and renew their worship. God's judgment will not be retribution so much as cleansing, and Ezekiel relies on God's future work in bringing salvation.

In today's reading, we hear this note of hope. Chapter 17 begins with a “riddle” that describes Israel as a tall cedar that has been broken off by a great eagle (Nebuchadnezzar). Verses 22-24 redirect the people's vision to God's purposes for Israel. While the people hoped for political restoration and restored power, God explains that Israel's role in the world is one of spiritual blessing, not political influence. God alone will accomplish Israel's true destiny.

Ezekiel 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches
will nest winged creatures of every kind.
All the trees of the field
shall know that I am the LORD.
I bring low the high tree,
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the LORD have spoken;
I will accomplish it.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
This thanksgiving for the righteous rule of God seems originally to have been composed for individual use but was adapted for communal use on the sabbath. The Lord is to be praised at times of sacrifice (v. 2), both morning and evening. In verses 12-13, the psalmist repeats the theme of Psalm 1: God watches over the righteous and makes them “flourish.” The righteous will have a long and happy life, the Hebrew ideal (v. 14).

Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.

For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.

In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-17
At first Christians believed that the Lord's second coming was imminent (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). With the passage of time, questions were raised about the fate of those Christians who had already died (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). In a metaphor mixed between images of inhabiting a dwelling and putting on a garment, Paul develops further thoughts about the resurrected body from the teachings of 1 Corinthians 15:35-54.

Paul suggests that the believer is not “unclothed, but...further clothed” in the spiritual body. Though they are now not yet “with the Lord” in the full sense, they are still always in Christ even when “away from the Lord.” They “walk by faith, not by sight,” that is, not yet on the basis of an objectively verifiable Lord.

Paul then turns the Corinthians' attention to the conduct of their earthly life, urging them to make it their aim to please the Lord in the knowledge that their reward at the final judgment depends not upon faith alone, but also upon their deeds. Paul sees no inconsistency between justification by faith and judgment on the basis of deeds for justification calls for obedience and right behavior.

2 Corinthians 5:1-17
For we know that
if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.
For in this tent we groan,
longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling—
if indeed, when we have taken it off
we will not be found naked.
For while we are still in this tent,
we groan under our burden,
because we wish not to be unclothed
but to be further clothed,
so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
He who has prepared us for this very thing is God,
who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always confident;
even though we know that
while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord—
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yes, we do have confidence,
and we would rather be away from the body
and at home with the Lord.
So whether we are at home or away,
we make it our aim to please him.
For all of us must appear
before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense
for what has been done in the body,
whether good or evil.

(Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord,
we try to persuade others;
but we ourselves are well known to God,
and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.
We are not commending ourselves to you again,
but giving you an opportunity to boast about us,
so that you may be able to answer those
who boast in outward appearance
and not in the heart.
For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God;
if we are in our right mind, it is for you.)

For the love of Christ urges us on,
because we are convinced
that one has died for all;
therefore all have died.
And he died for all,
so that those who live might live
no longer for themselves,
but for him
who died and was raised for them.
From now on, therefore,
we regard no one from a human point of view;
even though we once knew Christ
from a human point of view,
we know him no longer in that way.
So if anyone is in Christ,
there is a new creation:
everything old has passed away;
see, everything has become new!

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
Although Mark puts great stress upon Jesus' teachings (1:22), he gives relatively little space to its content. But in chapter 4 he gathers some parables as examples.

The two parables of the kingdom in today's reading both concern God's presence in our world. Both emphasize the process of growth and the contrast between beginning and end. The interpretation of the parable of the seed growing secretly (found only in Mark) may center upon different elements within the parable. One is the contrast between the invisible germination of the seed with the great final harvest. The long and hidden preparation of God's work is now visible in Jesus and will lead to the harvest of the final judgment.

The parable of the mustard seed contrasts the smallness of the seed, proverbially although not literally the smallest of all, with its ability, when grown, to provide shelter. The image of “the greatest of all shrubs” is drawn from the symbol of the world-tree of life (see today's first reading).

Jesus' initial ministry will lead to the inclusion of all nations. The contrast between small and secret beginnings and unexpected and triumphant endings in both parables also applies both to Jesus' own earthly career and to the growth of the Church. Finally, the point is made that only faith in Christ makes possible genuine insight into the nature of the kingdom.

Mark 4:26-34
Jesus also said,
“The kingdom of God is
as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,
and would sleep and rise night and day,
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he does not know how.
The earth produces of itself,
first the stalk,
then the head,
then the full grain in the head.
But when the grain is ripe,
at once he goes in with his sickle,
because the harvest has come.”
He also said,
“With what can we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable will we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed, which,
when sown upon the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;
yet when it is sown it grows up
and becomes the greatest of all shrubs,
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the air
can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them,
as they were able to hear it;
he did not speak to them except in parables,
but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Reflection and Response
Today's readings are colored by lovely shades of green, and are filled with images of growth. From the cedars of Ezekiel to the palm tree of the psalm, the flourishing of human beings is part of all creation's fruitfulness.

In Jesus' parable of the kingdom, seed (God's word) is scattered broadly. Perhaps as he told this story, Jesus was watching a farmer hand-sow a field. The farmer does not know how the seed sprouts and grows. The process goes on while the farmer sleeps and wakes, not by any effort on the farmer's part, but by the mystery of growth itself. “The earth produces of itself” and the harvest comes. Jesus is not trying to explain the mystery of growth. He is commanding the same kind of trust in the reality of God's kingdom that we depend upon in the natural world. Just as we believe a seed is growing in the dark ground while we cannot see it, so we believe the kingdom is growing in our dark world.

For the spiritually perceptive, Jesus himself is the seed God has sown in the world. We believe in the divine kingdom already “planted” in Christ and trust the creative Spirit of God to bring forth the new harvest of redeemed human souls.

The word “harvest” is also used as a biblical note of warning. The sickle is judgment. The grain was ripe when Jesus came into the world. But now the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. God's kingdom has already sprung up in Christ, and we must decide whether or not to be among the disciples who understand his words and live by them.

Quietly consider: How has my awareness of God's presence been growing lately?

Prayer starter
Jesus, let the seed of your love grow so that...

 

©Copyright 2006 Living The Good News

 



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