000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

182 Proper 18 [23]/Year B
4:32–40, Israel has had an unparalleled encounter with the Transcendent.
Moreover, no other people know a God who is like the God of Israel. The
relationship between God and the people is the result of God’s grace.
The benefit of following the statutes, commandments, and ordinances
is “for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you, so that
you may long remain in the land that the LORD your God is giving you
for all time” (Deut. 4:40). To a community looking forward to a renewed
life after the exile, the commandments offer pastoral guidance in how to
put into practice attitudes and behaviors that result in peace, love, justice,
and abundance.
Although Mark 7:1–23 does not quote Deuteronomy 4, the two texts are
paired. The theology in Deuteronomy 4 contains a wisdom that is not
found in the typical Christian reading of Mark 7, for Mark caricatures some
Jewish people of Mark’s time as legalistic and ethically empty. Deuteronomy,
by contrast, pictures Torah as rich and powerful and life-giving.
Proper 18 [23]/Year B
Proverbs 22:1–2, 8–9, 22–23+ (Semicontinuous)
Proverbs 22:1–16 is part of a general collection of sayings that begins in
10:1. These pithy recommendations for how to live typically result from
the community’s reflection on real-life experience as a source for determining
God’s purposes for life, as explained on Proper 19/Year B.
Proverbs 22:17–24:22 is similar in spirit and content to a well-known wisdom
text in Egypt called The Instruction of Amenemope, though the material
in Proverbs incorporates Jewish theological concerns.
In Proverbs 22:1 by “a good name” the writer means reputation, longstanding
evidence of a faithful life, honoring God by fulfilling one’s
responsibilities to household and community, including giving support to
the poor. The same verse also claims that “favor is better than silver or
gold.” This proverb recollects Proverbs 3:3–4, which notes that “favor”
with the community results from expressing loyalty (hesed).
When Proverbs 22:2 indicates that both the rich and poor were created
by God, the implication is that they are bound together in community.
The rich are to share material resources with the poor so that the poor are
relieved of the anxiety of struggling every day for survival. Indeed, as
22:22–23 indicates, the wealthy are responsible to God for the ways in
which they relate to the poor.