26 February 2010
Psalm 40, 54; Gen. 40:1-23; 1 Cor. 3:16-23; Mark 2:13-22

Joseph interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and chief baker of Pharaoh. They are upset because they have both had dreams that they believe to be meaningful or prophetic and in the prison there are none who can interpret the dreams such as would have been available to them in the palace. Joseph begins his offer by telling them that the interpretation of dreams belongs to God not to those magicians or diviners who claim the power. Joseph has had his own dreams and God has been faithful to give him also the interpretation of those dreams so he has confidence that he will be able to do so here, and he does. Sadly, when the cupbearer is restored to his position, he does not remember the one who interpreted the dream in prison, and Joseph languished there.

The opposition to Jesus continues. The call of Matthew has always intrigued me. Bringing him into the group has the potential to divide them completely. As a tax collector, he would have been questionable at best and most likely they would have wanted no part of such a person and the Pharisees know it and seize on that reality to try and divide the group. Matthew has invited all his tax collector buddies to a feast with Jesus and the disciples and the Pharisees are there to listen to this teacher. Their question isn’t addressed to Jesus but to the disciples, “Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?” The unspoken questions are, do you have some reason to doubt his judgment now and also don’t you like the new class of people you get to spend time with. Jesus is setting Himself apart from the other teachers of the law both in the company He keeps and, in the second part of the reading, in the way He lives. His answer to the fasting question is a clear indicator of who He is, the bridegroom, and both that answer and the behavior in contrast to other Jews makes clear that He is making certain claims about His identity.

Paul keeps it simple by pointing to Jesus. We are the temple of God because the Holy Spirit lives in us and where God’s Spirit dwells is the temple. He is calling them to live by that Spirit, given by Jesus alone, not by any man. Like Joseph, Paul says that wisdom is the province of God and that they can rely on Him alone. We have a tendency to ascribe too much honor to those who preach and teach and they attract followers to themselves and not to God. Interestingly, in denominations where no one would call their pastor by the title, “Father”, there is frequently more hero worship of the sort Paul is speaking of here than in denominations where that is more common. The problem with the title is that people begin to put their trust in the man and lose the direct connection with the Lord that Jesus made possible, and the relationship becomes mediated through those of us who are but clay or sheep as well as shepherds.

As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, "Great is the LORD!"