Psalm 79:9–13: After describing the awful events and consequences of the capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple, our psalmist turns to supplication, for even in this darkest hour, faith remains: “Help us, our rescuing God/ For Your name’s glory,” (9a) Moreover, he knows that salvation comes only from God: “and save us and atone for our sins/ for the sake of Your name.” (9b)
This theological approach is accompanied by practical logic. Judah should not be shamed because one reason is that it makes God look bad: “Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’” (10a) In fact, not only should God appear, but our poet asks for God’s vengeance on those who conquered them. But it seems to be mostly for PR reasons that God should dramatically demonstrate his true power and not look weak compared to the small-g gods of the enemy: “Let it be known among the nations before our eyes—/ the vengeance for Your servants’ spilled blood.” (10b)
He begs God to listen and respond to their plight as captives of the Babylonians, as many face certain death: “Let the captive’s groan come before You,/ by Your arm’s greatness unbind those marked for death.” (11) Again, human rescue is intertwined with the idea that God should display his true power: “And give back to our neighbors sevenfold to their bosom/ their insults that they heaped upon You, Master.” (12)
The psalm ends with the plea that God remembers that these captives are his chosen people, who have not abandoned their faith and that they will always worship God: “But we are Your people and the flock that You tend./ We acclaim You forever./ From generation to generation, we recount Your praise.” (13)
Once again, we recoil somewhat when we read a psalm that seeks vengeance on enemies, although it’s worth noting that it would be God’s, not man’s, vengeance. Should we pray for our enemies to be destroyed? No. Jesus is quite clear on that point. But once again, we need to remember that the psalms expose the deepest emotions of hurt, shame, and anger as the poets write. It is by writing that emotions are articulated rather than bottled up. An articulated emotion is one that is confronted. And just as the emotion is expressed in these verses, the anger slowly dissipates as the psalmist comes to the end, realizing that it if faith in God that is the most powerful force of all.
Deuteronomy 5:22–6:25: Moses recounts the incident at the foot of Sinai where all the people could hear God’s voice out of the clouds and darkness. But this created enormous fear: “For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we shall die.” (5:25) Instead they invite Moses to do the listening, as they beg their leader to “Go near, you yourself, and hear all that the Lord our God will say. Then tell us everything that theLord our God tells you, and we will listen and do it.” (27)
Moses observes that “The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me” (28a) and that God actually appreciates their worshipful response. We can almost hear wistfulness in God’s voice as he says, “If only they had such a mind as this, to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well with them and with their children forever!” (29) Of course, our authors writing hundreds of years later write this with no little irony. If only…
Moses returns to his discourse on the law, telling the people that “ the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe …so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear theLord your God all the days of your life.” (6:1,2) Something I’d not noticed before is the great promise of earthly success that will occur if the people but only obey: “observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.” (6:3)
We arrive at the words that Jesus quoted when he was asked which was the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (6:5) Interestingly, the part about loving one’s neighbor as oneself is not here.
Moses limns how the law is the absolute centrality of every aspect their existence. His list—almost humorous in its extent— covers everything: “Keep these words in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (6:7, 8, 9) In other words: the law is everywhere and everything.
Having stated this key aspect of the law, Moses goes on to remind the people of the high price of disobedience, especially in the matter of worshipping small-g gods: “The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and he would destroy you from the face of the earth.” (15)
Intertwined with the law is Israel’s national story, which is to be passed down through the generations. When their children ask about the law, the parents are to tell the whole story, beginning with “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” (6:22) and ending with the moral admonition: “ If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.” (6:25).
I really don’t think Moses could have made it any clearer than he does here. The law is not a theological or administrative abstraction. It is the driving force behind every person’s action and attitude. It truly is the focal point of Israel’s existence as a nation, for it is upon the law that God’s promise of favoring Israel is built.
Luke 5:27–39: Luke has already told us that Jesus is now the most famous person in northern Israel, so it’s really no surprise that when Jesus asks Levi the tax collector to “Follow me” that he does exactly that. Levi knows that following Jesus promises a far better life than being the hated tax collector. Wealth cannot compensate for the loneliness and rejection he surely experienced on a daily basis.
So, Levi gives a party, and ever the judgmental prudes, the Pharisees ask Jesus why, as a respected and now famous rabbi, he would deign to sit among all those societal losers. Jesus’ famous answer—“I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.”(32)—quiets the Pharisees. But those words are also the distilled essence of the Good News, something that would not be missed among Luke’s community, which I presume included tax collectors and other social misfits. And of course it’s a trenchant reminder to those of us leading comfortable lives that we too are sinners and like Jesus, it’s our duty to reach out to those that society rejects.
Never ones to pass up an opportunity to point out another’s apparent departure from accepted practice, the Pharisees ask Jesus why they’re partying rather than being well behaved like John’s disciples, who “frequently fast and pray, [while] your disciples eat and drink.” (33) Jesus’ unexpected answer is that he is going to be around only for a short time and that they should feast while the bridegroom is present. There’ll be plenty of time for fasting after Jesus leaves them. Although I’m sure that all listening did not grasp the full implication of Jesus’ words.
Perceiving this, Jesus takes a different tack and points out that he is completely new. Like patching on old garment or sewing new skin on old wineskins, the old cannot simply be attached to the new. This of course is Paul’s theme in Galatians and Romans. Followers of Christ do not have to attach themselves first to the Jewish culture and law in order to follow—and feast with—Christ.
I think that most of the time I fail to appreciate just how new and yes, radical, Jesus’ message really was—and is. Too bad that we tend to treat Jesus so often as “old hat.”
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