1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39, 41-43

Baal was a god of fire, some sort of Sun god. YHWH, as we know from Genesis, is the god of everything, the creator of everything. This has distinguished him since long before there were prophets and written stories. The gods of civilizations that preceded Judaism, from Sumeria and Mesopotamia, were capricious and saw people as something to manipulate. Their origin stories were not creation from a void, they were usually some kind of conquering of a previously existing chaos.

So Elijah is not presenting a simple choice between different gods that are equal, he is presenting YHWH as the god of everything, including over any other presumed god, versus a god that has a few powers over fire. And Elijah isn't really conceding those powers, he is offering this test because he is standing alone as a prophet of the “LORD” while Baal has many prophets.

I don't know of any other experiments like this in the Bible. In other passages, there are instructions to not put God to the test. Note how carefully the test is performed. Elijah is probably aware of how prophets of Baal tricked their followers into believing their god created fire by building sacrificial altars with chambers beneath them that could have starter fires sent through them, out of sight of the worshipers. Elijah controls the parameters for the experiment and says to set up your altar, “but put no fire to it.” When it comes to his turn, he takes great care to demonstrate he is not doing any such trickery.

The symbolism of a sacrifice using fire is also important to this story and why it appears right after the Pentecost and the lectionary weeks that encompass Easter. Jesus is the final sacrifice as Christians will come to know. In the time of Elijah, people expect to see gods accepting their sacrifices. They expect to see a god consume it in fire. Fire is a symbol of purification. When the people see even the water being consumed by the fire, they fall on their faces in supplication. It is also a symbol of the wrath of gods, as you would see if you read verse 40, conveniently left out of the lectionary.

I have participated in groups that read stories like these from other religions and traditions and then examine them, both from an objective perspective of what they mean and for how they affect us as readers and how they apply to our own lives. Death is an often used literary device. Often it is the hero of the story bringing death. I remember someone struggling with this during one of our sessions which included a “mountain of skulls” that had been created by the hero. The leaders of this group made it very clear that they were not advocating violence. Later in that story, even the hero dies, but returns through a seed and through another animal. These are literary devices. Death is a symbol of transition, of change. Avoiding that discussion leaves people in the state of confusion like my friend in the group. It leaves the door open to violent fundamentalism and using religion to advocate war and justice through retribution.

Even in the secondary Old Testament reading, they skip over the part where Elijah says, “let not one of them escape” but goes on to talk of foreigners hearing of your great name and your mighty hand and how they will fear you. This happens a lot in the lectionary. When your pastor says, “follow along in your pew Bible, if you'd like.” I suggest that you do. Then drop him an email and ask why a verse like that was left out. In my lay leader training, it was suggested we stop using the word “fear” and instead use “respect”. I didn't see much of an improvement there and I don't think my fellow students did either.

Galatians 1:1-12

This is the opening of a letter from Paul, to the Galatians. Rather terse. Next week goes a little further in to what the problem is in Galaitia.

But I found that little quip in verse 7, so modern and humorously colloquial that I had to go to Biblegateway.com and check out other translations. There was not that much variation. From Wycliffe to KJV, it's pretty consistent, and many since then just copied KJV. Some more recent versions try to make it easier to understand. There actually is a version of the Bible called the “Easy to read version”.

The verse the Vanderbilt lectionary uses is; 1:7 not that there is another gospel,..
  King James says; 7 Which is not another;
as do many others, including earlier versions, such as Wycliffe.
The “Easy to read version” says; 7 There is no other message that is the Good News,

This was Paul's passion. He believed there was one way to get the gospel right, and if you got it wrong, there were consequences.

Luke 7:1-10

When I read other sermon helpers, I find interpretations of this passage a bit twisted. It is early in the ministry, so people wouldn't yet be convinced that Jesus was God, but this centurion sees something in him, as if he does know. So the faith of the centurion is praised. The centurion knows what authority is, as he explains, but what has convinced him that Jesus has greater authority, including over death? We are a long way from the resurrection. The centurion is also praised for his humility. But he is only humble to the greater authority. He's not humble about himself at all.

A big deal is also sometimes made about how he treats his slave. When defending Bible passages about slavery, pastors and theologians will say that slavery then was not like the slavery of 18th century United States. But when preaching to a passage like this, they will point out how this slave was getting special treatment. So, which is it? Was slavery like indentured servitude, or was treating a slave well something out of the ordinary? He was a builder, he had skills, just like people who were forcibly taken from their homes in Africa and shipped to the US did. He built a synagogue, so he gets extra points.

I'm pretty well convinced that slavery in the United States was one of the worst examples of human trafficking in the history of the world. It was carried on for generations, supported by the highest levels of government and church. If you think otherwise, I'd suggest visiting this museum. Saying the Biblical term “slavery” refers to something milder says nothing. Through the few mentions of it in the Old and New Testament, we know there were beatings of slaves, selling of humans and raping. There are also examples like the one in this passage, but we don't get a full picture of slavery in those centuries from the Bible.

Luke is written for people like the Centurion. It tells people of the Roman middle class that this new religion is for them too.