lenten blog | February 17, 2024

Well, This Is Fun

Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches.  These are the suggested readings for February 17th:  Psalm 25:1-10; 32:1-11; and Matthew 9:2-13.  I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.

Here are some random Saturday thoughts that might convince you that Bible study can actually be interesting in unexpected ways, and who knows, maybe that will persuade you to read the Bible or join our Bible study group for Lent. 

A whole lot of years ago, one of my church Bible study groups sent a letter to the Massachusetts Bible Society with an inquiry about the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation of Matthew 9:2.  We never received a satisfactory response.  I’m not Greek scholar, but in the original Greek version of 9:2 there is a rather important word (αύτώ) that is inexplicably left out of the NRSV translation.  In Greek, it reads, “[T]hey brought to him …”  The NRSV reads:  “ And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed.”  The “to him” is essential because of what follows:  “When Jesus saw their faith …”  Jesus sees their faith when the man’s friends bring the paralyzed man “to him,” to Jesus.  They believe that Jesus is able to heal the man miraculously.  This is a sign of their faith.  When the NRSV leaves “to him” out of their translation, there is only a happenstance meeting between Jesus and these people carrying a paralyzed man.  They’re not bringing him to Jesus, which means there is no indication of faith.  That one Greek word αύτώ makes a huge difference.

Here's another fun idiosyncrasy in today’s Gospel passage.  It’s said so often that you may know that the Jewish tax collectors employed by the Roman occupiers were not much liked by their neighbours.  They were taking money from the Jews to pay the expenses of the Roman occupation, and there was the assumption that the tax collectors took more than this for their own enrichment.  The tax collectors were a despised lot.

Jesus invites Matthew the tax collector to become one of His named followers, a disciple.  Matthew accepts and is so overjoyed at the prospect that he throws a party at his home.  Since no one else besides “tax-collectors and sinners” would be among Matthew’s friends, these are the ones at the banquet.  Jesus and the disciples sit among them, enjoying their company.

We then read, “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples ...”  Well, if Jesus and the disciples are dining with all these tax-collectors and sinners, aren’t the Pharisees there as well?  They didn’t text the disciples.  They spoke their question to them.  Is their criticism, then, disingenuous?  And can this be a generalized lesson against condemning others for similar actions that luckily have not yet come to light?  Is this a warning against hypocrisy? 

I do hope the above may entice you into reading at least the daily biblical suggestions, or the Bible in general, or even joining our Bible study group.  And I also invite you to join us for worship tomorrow in person or online.  If you’d like the Zoom link, please email [email protected].   
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If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule:  www.sneucc.org/lectionary.