Galatians 1:11-24

In the letters of Paul, we often hear him arguing with his enemies. Unfortunately we don't know their side of the story. Sometimes, in historical documents, an opponent reproduces his enemy's argument, and we get to know them through that. Paul doesn't do that, but at least we see that there were variations in opinions about Christ.

Paul started a church in Galatia, then later, other Christian missionaries came in with a different gospel. They said you had to become Jewish first, something Paul clearly disagrees with. This passage follows a pretty terse introduction to the letter seen in last week's lectionary and gets right into Paul saying where his authority came from. Something Paul loves to do. He makes a big deal of how he hadn't even met the other apostles before he received the gospel straight from Jesus. And he claims to have received this through a revelation.

I sometimes read in anti-christian writings that Paul never says anything about a resurrection. It's only later, when the gospels were written that we get anything about an empty tomb. There are other places in Paul's letters that offer more challenging interpretations of the Greek, but this is a good example of, if you just give this text a good slow read, you'll see this is merely a claim of a vision, possibly only an auditory vision. For a very thorough examination of this, and really a good read, I recommend Thomas Sheehan's book. Here is where he speaks specifically of this and similar passages.

Before I go any further, I want to be clear that I'm not making strong claims for a mythological Jesus. The book I just linked to is written by someone who attends Catholic mass regularly. He talks of the atmosphere of 1st century Jerusalem and of the apocalyptic literary forms writers were using at the time. Peter and Paul no doubt believed they had experienced something profound, something I would call supernatural. They brought these experiences to the very people who would expect those sorts of experiences in a world where God was expected to arrive, soon. These would be the people you would want to help you interpret these visions. It's up to you to do that work of interpreting now just as it was up to them then.

I should mention there is audio of a semester's worth of lectures and class discussion by Sheehan out there somewhere too. I found it on iTunes U, but I haven't checked lately. What I love most about Sheehan is he offers another way of looking at the crucifixion. Jesus predicted his own death because that's what happens when you suggest that everyone has the greatest powers of the universe available to them at all times. He dared to suggest that those powers are not limited to the elites, to the ones who can read the Torah, or the ones who hold authority positions and can claim to have the correct interpretation of the words. He suggested the way to a caring and compassionate future is to start living compassionately. Then he went ahead and lived that way. Worse, he talked about it, and told others to ignore the authority figures and follow their hearts. That'll get you killed.

I've gotten a little off the topic of this passage, but this is what was going on at the time it was written. This theme will be revisited often.

Luke 7:11-17

The Elijah story in Kings is no doubt included this week because this passage is all about continuity with earlier prophets. The book of Luke is written for people who want to hear stories about angels and miracles. The other gospels don't include this story of raising someone from the dead. It comes after Jesus has left his home and is making his way toward Jerusalem, healing and preaching as he goes.

The significance of who he chooses to heal is also important. A widow who has lost her only son has no support in this time and place. There was no welfare, there were no poor houses, women didn't have career options. This is more than a miracle to show Jesus is a prophet, equal to Elijah, it's showing he is a prophet of the compassionate God. There are plenty of gods around that support the kings and their armies or that help the priests glorify themselves. This one shows mercy where it is truly needed.

1 Kings 17:8-16, (17-24)

Elijah is a pretty important character in the Bible. Elijah is included in Passover and circumcisions. Some say he will be part of bringing the messiah. This gets very complicated and I'd rather not say more about it for fear of getting it wrong. But we can still take a look at this passage.

Many Christians say Christ bringing back Lazarus from the dead is proof that he was God. They say that because it's the only story they remember about raising someone from the dead. Here we have Elijah doing it, and we have Jesus doing it in the Luke passage, not with Lazarus but some unnamed man. Kudos to the lectionary committee for putting these two passages together.

Not so many kudos to the people who have treated this passage like it is an explanation of how God intervenes in the lives of people out in the middle of nowhere and brings death to them, just to teach them a lesson. If you have not experienced someone who thinks that is what God does, then count yourself as lucky. I certainly have met people who do.

This story begins with a command from God to Elijah and gets weird right away when Elijah demands food from a woman who has nothing but despair and is sure she and her son will soon die of starvation. God delivers, and they eat for many days, then the kid gets sick and dies anyway. And of course Elijah prays and the kid is alright.

There are many depictions of God in the Bible. Why anyone would choose this one as the one that guides their life, I don't know. If you think this is the opinion of an atheist only, please read this, written by a pastor with a PhD. Or talk to any religious person you choose about this passage.