We pick up the story in the 8th chapter of Luke and begin Paul's letter to the Galatians at its midpoint in the 3rd chapter of Galatians. There are a number of paths we can take for preaching these passages. What do you see? Let me know in the comments!
Isaiah 65:1 - 9
1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a nation that did not call on my name.
2 I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;
3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks;
4 who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine's flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
5 who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
6 See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps
7 their iniquities and their ancestors' iniquities together, says the LORD; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
8 Thus says the LORD: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, "Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it," so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
- The verses are kept separated because the passage is written and presented as poetry.
- To be clear, in Isaiah 65, the Lord is talking about Israel. The Israelites had a long history of not being totally faithful to the Lord and practicing syncretism, the worship of several different, even contrasting, gods. Verses 3 and 4 list several practices of worshipping other gods.
- It seems that the people perceived to be the most holy among the population are the ones that are the greatest target of scorn from the Lord. This matches what we see during Jesus’ ministry.
- In a culture that tends to throw things away when a part is broken, we hear the Lord proclaim that the Lord will not destroy the nation because there are good people within it.
Psalm 22:19 - 28
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
- Psalm 22 reveals that the Lord has heard the psalmist’s pleas for help. The psalmist calls other to join him in praising the Lord for saving him.
- This portion of Psalm 22 is the portion we do not read when we strip the altar at the end of Maundy Thursday.
Galatians 3:23 - 29
23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.
- Normally, the lectionary’s second readings lead us through one of the letters in the New Testament. Due to the timing of the Easter season, we have missed the introduction to Galatians and everything that has led us to this declaration. If we focus on Galatians 3, we will need to recap Galatians 1 and 2.
- The term for “disciplinarian” suggests something more like a nanny than a hard-driving and strict parent/coach/teacher.
- This is a key passage in declaring that things like race, gender, and nationality will not be the primary markers of identity for the baptized. Our primary identity is that of child of god. Do we fully extend this to other ways that we identify ourselves and others (mainly sexuality)?
Luke 8:26 - 39
26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me"-- 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.)
30 Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
- Earlier passages in Luke 8 include Luke’s versions of the Parable of the Sower and Jesus and the disciples caught in a storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee on a boat.
- Jesus and the disciples have left Galilee. They are now outside the nation of Israel and in the midst of Gentiles.
- This is another example of demons correctly identifying who Jesus is and attempting to control him through that identification. However, Jesus reverses this attempt can casts them out of the gentleman in question.
- The gentleman who has been healed leaves with the command to tell what God has done for him. He leaves to tell what Jesus has done for him. Is he intentionally identifying Jesus as God, or is this Luke’s sleight of hand?
