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Third Sunday of Lent, Year B, March 19, 2006

First reading, Exodus 20:1-17

The Theological Background: Just in case anyone still thinks of these "commandments" as a mere list of do's and don't's, let's remember the larger theological context. This is not a list, it's a covenant between God and a people. It's not a poster to hang in an Alabama courtroom*, it's the constitution of the people of God. Its importance is made clear by the historical context in which it arrives:

The Historical Situation: The commandments don't come out of the blue. God delivers them to a group of recently liberated slaves, refugees almost marooned in a desert, a people filled with grave doubts about their future and about this God's reliability. That's the larger context (see Exodus, chapters 12-19). The more immediate context is an unprecedented spectacle, the appearance of God veiled in smoke, with trumpet blasts and earthquakes. Other details that you can read in Exodus 19 add to the solemnity of the occasion.

And yet despite the grandeur of the delivery, and the absolute character of the commandments, and the total inequality of the parties to the proposed covenant, it's still a proposed covenant. The people are free to say no to God's offer. The consequences of rejection wouldn't be pretty, but it could be done. But the consequences of accepting the covenant can be truly beautiful, for a people committed to living this way would be genuinely free, secure, mutually respectful and trustworthy. The covenant offered these people a society excellent among neighboring societies, and more humane than anything the earth had yet seen.

Proclaiming It: To prepare to proclaim this, imagine you are Moses about to proclaim this covenant for the first time. Nobody in your audience has heard any of this before. You want them to come away from your speech saying "Wow, this changes everything." You know that much of what you demand will meet resistance, yet you want the people to ratify it unanimously.

Having, as we do here, the "amplified" version of the Ten Commandments will help keep this from sounding like ten indistinguishable sentences. When God is giving the "reasons" for a commandment, treat it as a distinct narrative; pause before and after, and proclaim it as if you were a lawyer summing up your case before a jury.

Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

The Historical Situation: Paul had established a church in Corinth. Though it was not Athens, this cosmopolitan Greek seaport had plenty of rival religious and philosophical movements. When Paul came there, he had just been laughed out of Athens (See Acts of the Apostles, chapter 17) for his doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. So in Corinth he decided not to compete for anyone's mere philosophical allegiance, as he reminds the Corinthians in the verses of this later letter prior to today' reading. Those verses deserve quotation here:

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the learning of the learned I will set aside." Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ...

Three groups contrast. There are the Jews (the old religion), the Greeks (philosophical types), and finally, "those who are called" (us Christians).

Then two "ways of life" contrast: God's folly and weakness versus human wisdom and strength.

And since lent is all about Christ, I would emphasize the climactic expression:

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God

by pausing before and after it, lowering my tone of voice, and speaking it more slowly than the surrounding verses.

Several other commentaries on these passages. All are thoughtful, all quite readable, from the scholarly to the popular. Links may be incomplete more than a few weeks before the "due date."
Lutheran pastor and college teacher Dan Nelson's notes for a study group	Weekly scripture column by Father Roger Karban, 2003 edition Same author's year 2000 column on these readings
The Text This Week; links to homilies, art works, movies and other resources on the week's scripture themes	Saint Louis University's excellent Sunday liturgy site.

The Lectionary selections in the frame at the left, if any, are there for your convenience. The publishers of the page in that frame have no connection, except for membership in the one Body of Christ, with the publisher of this page. Likewise the publishers of the pages on the links above.