First Reading
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 (omitted verses in italics)
After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.
And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar. He said:
“Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
“You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor fields of offerings!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
“From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan turned not back,
and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles;
they were stronger than lions.
“You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,
who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
“How the mighty have fallen
in the midst of the battle!
“Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
very pleasant have you been to me;
your love to me was extraordinary,
surpassing the love of women.
“How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war perished!” (ESV)
Second Reading
2 Corinthians 8:7–15
But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” (ESV)
Gospel Text
Mark 5:21–43
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. (ESV)
Comments and Questions for Discussion
First Reading
David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan has been described univocally as one of the greatest examples in the Bible of Hebrew poetry. While is is surely that, what I learned in my studies this week is that it is much more than just that. I found a fascinating article (here’s a LINK) that helped me to understand the difference between poetry and rhetoric, and to recognize that David’s lament here functions as both.
To put it much too simply, poetry is written so as to be overheard, while rhetoric is meant to be heard. Poetry gives insight into the inner life of the poet, but rhetoric is designed to achieve change in the hearer. This lament in 2 Samuel 1 does both.
One key to grasping the rhetorical function of the poem is to remember that David is said to have made these utterances publicly. He has an audience. And through these poetic lines, David sets himself apart from and above both Saul and Jonathan. By making reference to Saul as “the Lord’s anointed” David draws attention to his own anointed status, and by emphasizing Saul’s sword he gives honor to Saul’s victories while also pointing to the instrument of his final demise.
David speaks in the first verse of Israel’s glory, “Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!” but then we learn near the end that he isn’t speaking of Saul at all, but Jonathan when he says, “Jonathan lies slain on your high places.” David speaks eloquently of Jonathan’s love for David, how it is “better than the love of women,” but nowhere does David every express reciprocal love for Jonathan. Not that such love was absent, but David’s omission sets him as the dominant member of the pair.
There is much, much more to be said of this tension between the poetic and the rhetorical function of David’s famous lament, but for that I’d refer you to the article that I linked above. It’s really worth the read. (And don’t forget that you can read 100 articles a month for free with a free membership at JSTOR.org!)
Second Reading
This portion of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians is a part of his attempt to inspire the members of the congregation in Corinth to contribute to the collection for the “saints” in Jerusalem. As such, the opening verse sounds strangely out of place without the verses that come before it, so I’m going to provide that context here.
“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also…. (and the reading continues.
So Paul begins his direct appeal by building up the Corinthians. Rhetorically, this method speaks to an “implicit” audience, that is an ideal audience, a people Paul hopes the Corinthians will want to live up to. Some commentators suggest that Paul is coercive in his arguments in this section of the letter, but they read it without the subtlety of Paul’s rhetoric. Paul isn’t trying to “guilt trip” the Corinthians into giving, but instead he’s creating an ideal Corinthian believer in his letter that he hopes he can inspire them to become.
Gospel Text
Mark is fond of a literary technique called “intercalation.” This involves taking two stories and weaving them together so that they interpret, give meaning to one another. Our text from Mark for Proper 8 is one such set of stories.
We have two stories about women. We could say a girl and a woman, but the two are too closely linked for that. One has had a flow of blood (menstrual) for 12 years. The other is 12 years old, the age at which she’d begin to menstruate. She is a woman. A young woman, but a woman for the sake of this pair of stories.
And both of them are unclean. The one by virtue of the flow of blood, the other because she’s dead. And she has begun to experience the regular uncleanness of women. One is healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. This would render Him unclean, but instead, the woman is made clean. Then Jesus touches a dead body which also should render Him unclean, but instead, she is raised to life. Made clean.
Mark wants us to read these two stories against one another so that we will grasp the way that Jesus has undone the curse that renders all women unclean, at least for a time each month. As He takes the young woman by the hand and raises her up, He raises up all women. In this day and age we may be tempted to think little of this, but in Jesus’ day this was a huge thing.
Here is another insight that I hope you take away from these stories. (Though not these alone.) In Jesus’ day, touching someone or something unclean rendered you unclean as well. But in the case of Jesus (and therefore any of us who are in Christ) touching something, someone unclean renders that thing, that person clean.
This matters to me because I see too many Christians who fear being “contaminated” by an evil spirit or some such nonsense. They withdraw from those who most need to be touched and rendered clean. I saw this most forcefully when I was a student chaplain at St. Luke’s in Manhattan. We were in the midst of the AIDS crisis, and I spent time many nights holding the hands of young men dying of that dread pathogen. No one would touch them. They were “unclean,” and desperately needed to be touched. I was blessed to be married to Sara, a former infection control nurse, so I knew how AIDS worked and how not to be afraid of it. But many who had good reason to know what I knew still shunned these men. My touch didn’t save their lives, but they died knowing they were clean, touchable.
We encounter people all the time who feel untouchable inside for one reason or another. We will do well to know the power we have to render the unclean clean with a touch.
For a more easily printable version of this Divergence, please CLICK HERE.
One Response
I had never put the two healings together. I love the idea of the old
woman bleeding and the young girl bleeding and that each were
healed by the touch of Jesus.
What a wonderful thought for us to ponder, how we can touch
others in many ways to support them.