Jesus Sang and Peter's Call To Holiness
Ps. 116 and I Peter 1:13-23 4.26.20 Year A
Jesus sang and Peter's Call to holiness. What could these two things have in common? There are a few. Let's remember that both Peter and Jesus were together, celebrating, recalling the Passover Supper, of Israel's liberation from Egypt's oppression through slavery as the book of Exodus, in the Torah portion would have taught them. As they celebrated that supper, they also sang together.
The Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor's article in the Christian Century, "And Jesus Sang" in 3/2011, shares reminders about this important aspect of Jesus' last night on the earth. She writes, "according to both Matthew and Mark, it is possible that Jesus sang at least once. On the night of Passover, after he had shared his last supper, with his friends, they did one last thing together. When they had sung the hymn... they went out to the Mount of Olives..There is every reason to believe it was the Hallel, Psalms 116 through 118, sung during evening prayers on the first night of Passover."
Our psalm reading today was sung then by both Jesus and Peter, who was one of his friends which Taylor just described. Both Jesus and Peter were subscribing to part of the holiness code to and for their people, the nation of Israel, as good and righteous Jewish males would be expected to do.
There's also a clue to help us to tie our Psalm 116 and I Peter 1:13-23 readings together. It's found in the I Peter reading, as Peter describes for his readers how Jesus, his master, teacher, friend, Lord and Savior was the pure and unblemished lamb. Jesus was the atonement of humanity's sin as is also described in the book of Leviticus, Ch. 11. This part of the "law" in the Torah, was where the requirement of the "Passover Lamb" for this Memorial Meal was found.
A yearly memorial meal was to be observed yearly, so the lamb to offered as sacrifice as part of it was to be pure and without blemish, to keep things kosher (another dietary requirement for good and pious Jews) to keep the holiness code, so as to be found being righteous before God. See also the connection of the significance of Jesus instituting his own Memorial Meal (The Lord's Supper) as part of this Passover Meal, of memorial meal in Jewish tradition.
Be ye holy, even as God is holy, was the directive that Jesus knew, practiced and taught his disciples, including Peter. It shouldn't surprise us to find Peter, restating almost as a commandment this need to be as a Christian believer, for this person to aspire to this same holiness. Jesus' sacrifice of his own life for humanity's sake and sins, provided the path to salvation, of eternal life to be enjoyed with God forever.
For the Christian believer to understand this, helped then to make the believer and all of us, right with God. In this way, Jesus' resurrection gives humanity a new song, something to sing about as humanity can be re-born, experiencing the re-birth of which we read about in I Peter today. In the very oppressive Roman dominated world of the readers of I Peter and in Jesus' time, this world was hostile, making it difficult at times to make merriment and music. This is possibly why the clue about Jesus and Peter singing together is mentioned specifically in Matthew and Mark's gospels.
Jesus taught Peter what a Christ filled/Christ centered life was to be about, knowing his time to leave everyone and everything behind to be with God was immanent. Obviously Peter didn't fully forget these lessons, nor that singing, we see that he was paying attention as he wrote about it for his readers. Remember that his readers most likely were Gentile converts in the early church, early Christians who wouldn't have been as familiar with the songs, the hymns, the lessons and the Holiness Code.
For our I Peter verses, the NIB commentary provides for a summation, "live holy and pure lives" for Peter's readers to consider and then states the why for doing so. In this summation, it asks why and then states the answers as follows:
The cost of redemption for the believer as found in Jesus' selfless giving of himself, in and for love's sake, as described in I Peter 1, is high. It's high, just as the cost of the loss of life on the night of the very first Passover Event for Israel was to be remembered for. It's high just as the loss of life due to this Corona Virus has been, is and will continue to be around the globe until it can be constrained, contained and hopefully eradicated and soon!
Just three weeks ago we noted and prayed for 20,00+ persons here in the US who have died and their families. This weekend our number here in the US has grown to over 48,000 people, whose lives are lost and families are left behind.
How can we still sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to God and make music in our hearts, minds, spirits and bodies on this Sunday, surrounded by all of this? We do so because of hope, in hope and with hope in our God, just as the book of I Peter is about the hope which he learned to have and keep, while he was with Jesus.
This hope becomes the sacrifice of praise, in the house of the Lord, wherever we may find ourselves today, be it in our living rooms, home offices, kitchens, dining rooms, or music rooms. We continue to grieve on many levels, especially not being about to worship together in our own sanctuary. But we must sing and make music anyway.
Hope is the word, as summary of our life as Christians. God has acted on our behalf and for us, in and through Jesus Christ as our Lord, Redeemer and Savior. How can we not then sing just as Jesus sang in his own lifetime? I'm convinced he sang not just on one occasion but on several, perhaps even at the Wedding At Cana, where his first miracle was performed, turning water into wine.
As we may understand, wine sometimes gladdens the heart, in special ways. It perhaps causes the human heart to sing, to express joy, to express hope. Whether or not there be wine, remember to sing with all of your heart, mind, soul and body today and everyday.
Love others, share hope, the living hope that is bursting from the tomb that is for us with others. May the angels break forth into song, just as they did at Christ's birth, for you today, in a special way.
The great composer and organist, JS Bach wrote the words in this chorale/hymn for his parish folk to sing. Break forth O beauteous heavenly light and usher in the morning. Dear friends, break forth into song and sing like Jesus and Peter as part of our call to holy living, as we sing our sacrifice of praise, today and everyday, as the power of love. Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. Norlita J. Kaul
Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Brookings, SD
Ps. 116 and I Peter 1:13-23 4.26.20 Year A
Jesus sang and Peter's Call to holiness. What could these two things have in common? There are a few. Let's remember that both Peter and Jesus were together, celebrating, recalling the Passover Supper, of Israel's liberation from Egypt's oppression through slavery as the book of Exodus, in the Torah portion would have taught them. As they celebrated that supper, they also sang together.
The Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor's article in the Christian Century, "And Jesus Sang" in 3/2011, shares reminders about this important aspect of Jesus' last night on the earth. She writes, "according to both Matthew and Mark, it is possible that Jesus sang at least once. On the night of Passover, after he had shared his last supper, with his friends, they did one last thing together. When they had sung the hymn... they went out to the Mount of Olives..There is every reason to believe it was the Hallel, Psalms 116 through 118, sung during evening prayers on the first night of Passover."
Our psalm reading today was sung then by both Jesus and Peter, who was one of his friends which Taylor just described. Both Jesus and Peter were subscribing to part of the holiness code to and for their people, the nation of Israel, as good and righteous Jewish males would be expected to do.
There's also a clue to help us to tie our Psalm 116 and I Peter 1:13-23 readings together. It's found in the I Peter reading, as Peter describes for his readers how Jesus, his master, teacher, friend, Lord and Savior was the pure and unblemished lamb. Jesus was the atonement of humanity's sin as is also described in the book of Leviticus, Ch. 11. This part of the "law" in the Torah, was where the requirement of the "Passover Lamb" for this Memorial Meal was found.
A yearly memorial meal was to be observed yearly, so the lamb to offered as sacrifice as part of it was to be pure and without blemish, to keep things kosher (another dietary requirement for good and pious Jews) to keep the holiness code, so as to be found being righteous before God. See also the connection of the significance of Jesus instituting his own Memorial Meal (The Lord's Supper) as part of this Passover Meal, of memorial meal in Jewish tradition.
Be ye holy, even as God is holy, was the directive that Jesus knew, practiced and taught his disciples, including Peter. It shouldn't surprise us to find Peter, restating almost as a commandment this need to be as a Christian believer, for this person to aspire to this same holiness. Jesus' sacrifice of his own life for humanity's sake and sins, provided the path to salvation, of eternal life to be enjoyed with God forever.
For the Christian believer to understand this, helped then to make the believer and all of us, right with God. In this way, Jesus' resurrection gives humanity a new song, something to sing about as humanity can be re-born, experiencing the re-birth of which we read about in I Peter today. In the very oppressive Roman dominated world of the readers of I Peter and in Jesus' time, this world was hostile, making it difficult at times to make merriment and music. This is possibly why the clue about Jesus and Peter singing together is mentioned specifically in Matthew and Mark's gospels.
Jesus taught Peter what a Christ filled/Christ centered life was to be about, knowing his time to leave everyone and everything behind to be with God was immanent. Obviously Peter didn't fully forget these lessons, nor that singing, we see that he was paying attention as he wrote about it for his readers. Remember that his readers most likely were Gentile converts in the early church, early Christians who wouldn't have been as familiar with the songs, the hymns, the lessons and the Holiness Code.
For our I Peter verses, the NIB commentary provides for a summation, "live holy and pure lives" for Peter's readers to consider and then states the why for doing so. In this summation, it asks why and then states the answers as follows:
- Because God your Father is holy (1:13-17)
- Because you have been redeemed at infinite cost by Christ (1:18-21)
- Because you have been born anew. (1:22-25)
The cost of redemption for the believer as found in Jesus' selfless giving of himself, in and for love's sake, as described in I Peter 1, is high. It's high, just as the cost of the loss of life on the night of the very first Passover Event for Israel was to be remembered for. It's high just as the loss of life due to this Corona Virus has been, is and will continue to be around the globe until it can be constrained, contained and hopefully eradicated and soon!
Just three weeks ago we noted and prayed for 20,00+ persons here in the US who have died and their families. This weekend our number here in the US has grown to over 48,000 people, whose lives are lost and families are left behind.
How can we still sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to God and make music in our hearts, minds, spirits and bodies on this Sunday, surrounded by all of this? We do so because of hope, in hope and with hope in our God, just as the book of I Peter is about the hope which he learned to have and keep, while he was with Jesus.
This hope becomes the sacrifice of praise, in the house of the Lord, wherever we may find ourselves today, be it in our living rooms, home offices, kitchens, dining rooms, or music rooms. We continue to grieve on many levels, especially not being about to worship together in our own sanctuary. But we must sing and make music anyway.
Hope is the word, as summary of our life as Christians. God has acted on our behalf and for us, in and through Jesus Christ as our Lord, Redeemer and Savior. How can we not then sing just as Jesus sang in his own lifetime? I'm convinced he sang not just on one occasion but on several, perhaps even at the Wedding At Cana, where his first miracle was performed, turning water into wine.
As we may understand, wine sometimes gladdens the heart, in special ways. It perhaps causes the human heart to sing, to express joy, to express hope. Whether or not there be wine, remember to sing with all of your heart, mind, soul and body today and everyday.
Love others, share hope, the living hope that is bursting from the tomb that is for us with others. May the angels break forth into song, just as they did at Christ's birth, for you today, in a special way.
The great composer and organist, JS Bach wrote the words in this chorale/hymn for his parish folk to sing. Break forth O beauteous heavenly light and usher in the morning. Dear friends, break forth into song and sing like Jesus and Peter as part of our call to holy living, as we sing our sacrifice of praise, today and everyday, as the power of love. Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. Norlita J. Kaul
Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Brookings, SD