Seventh Sunday after Pentecost : 23 July 2006

Currents in Theology and Mission, April, 2006

2 Samuel 7:1-14a or Jeremiah 23:1-6

Psalm 89:20-37 or Psalm 23

Ephesians 2:11-22

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

The theme of leadership continues into this Sunday's lessons, today using the image of "shepherd" and emphasizing not the failings of leaders (and the need to confront them) but the important role that leaders play in meeting human needs and pursuing God's goals for humanity.

Because both the Old Testament and the Gospel (and the Psalm of the Day, the beloved 23rd) all feature the shepherd metaphor, a few introductory words on the use of the image in the ancient Near East, including the Bible, are appropriate. As far back as the region's first great ruler, Sargon of Akkad (ca. 2300 B.C.), the title of "shepherd" was employed for kings to emphasize the absolute authority of the king over his "flock," the ability of the king to provide direction (what a recent U. S. president termed "the vision thing"), and the capability of the king to protect his people from harm. In sum, to call a ruler "shepherd" was to connote a person of the polar opposite character and function to the meek figure often depicted in popular art based on Psalm 23.

The Old Testament lesson (Jer 23:1-6) contains three parts. Verse 1 begins a "woe oracle" against the shepherd-kings "who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture." Verses 2-3 make it clear that the "scattering" is a literal reference to the past, present, and future exiles of Israel and Judah, for which the kings are held responsible (as also in the "Deuteronomistic History," e.g., 2 Kgs 23:26). Verse 3f. then describes God's plan personally to undo the damage, after which God will establish faithful and effective shepherd-kings. Finally, v. 5f. specifically promises a future Davidic king over a reunited Judah and Israel. As such, this is literally a "messianic prophecy," as it promises the rule of a future heir to David, the prototypical "anointed one" (1 Sam 16:12f.).

A few points merit special emphasis. First, one of the results of God's bringing the scattered flock back to the fold will be that "they shall be fruitful and multiply." This direct allusion to Gen 1:28 suggests that among the shepherd-king's core responsibilities is for his people to realize God's intentions for them as those created in God's image. Second, among the results of the Davidic king's reign is that he "shall execute justice (mishpat) and righteousness (tsedaqah) in the land" (v. 5), the very qualities that God said he was seeking in Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard, nearly two centuries earlier (Isa 5:7). Third, it is surely no accident that the future Davidic ruler will be called "The LORD is our righteousness" (YHWH tsidqenu). The king of Judah at the time, Zedekiah (Tsidqiyahu, "YHWH is my righteousness") had utterly failed to live up to the name that the Babylonian king [!] had given him (2 Kgs 24:17).

The narrative of the Gospel lesson from Mark (6:30-34, 53-56) picks up where it left off two weeks ago, as the disciples return to Jesus and tell him "all that they had done and taught" (cf. Mk 6:13). Jesus invites them to take some much-needed time apart to rest, but his intentions are thwarted by the crowds, who intercept the would-be vacationers as they head by boat for a "deserted place." Jesus responds with gut-deep compassion ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]) and begins teaching them, but it is his rationale that is of special interest to us at the moment: "because they were like sheep without a shepherd." The lectionary then omits vv. 35-51, the feeding of the five thousand and the stilling of the storm, likely because next week's Gospel from John 6 contains parallels to both. Whatever the reason, the resumption with vv. 53-56 is felicitous, as it picks up on the details of Jesus' "shepherding" the multitude. In these latter verses he heals the sick, a fitting complement to his teaching in v. 34.

It is clear that Jesus understands and seeks to practice the principle of rest (shabat) that God had built into the fabric of creation (Gen 2:2) and Israel's society (Exod 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15)--a principle that many Americans, including especially pastors, ignore at their peril. Second, it is interesting that Jesus' response to his observation that the crowds were "like sheep without a shepherd" was to teach them, feed them, and (later) heal them. Robert Greenleaf may have coined the term "servant-leadership," but Jesus certainly demonstrates the concept. Third, we note the reappearance of "touching his garments" as a means of healing (cf. Mk 5:28). In typical Semitic style, that reiteration is not simply repetition but a "see you and raise you": it is the mere fringe of his cloak this time.

The Epistle lesson continues the series of readings from Ephesians (2:11-22). Today's focus is on the essential point of Paul's calling as "apostle to the gentiles" (Gal 2:7-9): Christ is the "peace" (Gk. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]; cf. Heb. shalom, "wholeness, health, salvation") of Jews and gentiles, viz., he has united them "in his flesh" and has "broken down the dividing wall" of hostility between them. Christ accomplished this "through the cross," by which he "reconcile[d] both groups to God." In a world in which citizenship counted for much (cf. Acts 21:39; 22:25-29), Christ has made the gentiles co-citizens ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]) in the church and "members of the household of God" (as the Jews had long been). All together make up God's "holy temple" and "dwelling place," equaling (or replacing?) the temple in Jerusalem.