Will Vaus

The Gospel lectionary reading for today comes from Luke 8:1-3.... Soon afterwards Jesus went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. Sacred Space offers these comments on this passage.... Saint Luke always speaks favourably of women, and highlights their positive response to Jesus. He is the only evangelist who gives us this detail of the women who travelled with Jesus. The scene gives an image of the infant church. It is on the move, and is made up of ordinary women and men who are centred on Jesus. This meant they had to give up their previous settled ways of life. They were bringing with them ‘the good news of the kingdom of God’ not only b...

Considering how many negative portraits of women are in the Proverbs (remember Dame Folly), it is interesting to me that the book ends with a very positive portrait of a woman. Yes, it is, in some ways, a traditional portrait of a good wife, a capable wife. However, there are some surprising aspects to this portrait. This wife is compared to merchant ships (Proverbs 31:14). She has a managerial role, overseeing servant-girls (31:15). She purchases property (31:16). She sells merchandise (31:18). She is a philanthropist, opening her hand to the poor (31:20). All of her activities relate back, however, to supporting the good of her household. Writing in the 1950s to a female correspondent, C. S. Lewis had this to say: I think I can understand that feeling about a housewife’s work being like that of Sisyphus (who was the stone rolling gentleman). But it is surely, in reality, the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, mines, cars, governmen...

From our twenty-first century perspective, there are many strange laws in this section of Deuteronomy. In fact, there are many laws that are offensive to us, especially regarding the treatment of women. However, one thing we must keep in mind is that some of these laws probably represented an improvement in the treatment of women generally from what was then current in surrounding cultures. For example, Friedman has this comment on Deuteronomy 21:11, But what pervades the elements of the law is an extraordinary sensitivity to the humanity of a captured woman. Contrary to one of the most common practices of war, the Israelite soldier is not permitted to rape her…. Again Israel learns from its experience of enslavement. Israel not only celebrates its own release, but it learns to have compassion for others as well. [1] Deuteronomy 22 contains a complex mixture of moral and ritual laws. This makes it difficult if not impossible to distinguish such laws from one ...

Numbers 32 relates the desire of two and a half Israelite tribes (the Reubenites, Gadites, and half of the tribe of Manasseh) to remain on the land on the east side of the Jordan, land obtained from the conquest of Og and Sihon. Moses agrees to this plan so long as these two and a half tribes agree to cross the Jordan with the rest of the Israelites and help them conquer the Promised Land first. Thus, an agreement is reached, but not before Moses has warned these two and a half tribes: “But if you do not do this, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23) This verse is a memorable one. However, wrenched from its context, it conjures up images of God seeking out anyone who is sinning in order to punish them. I think this gives us the wrong view of God. The total picture of God, when the Bible is taken all together, is one of grace. C. S. Lewis relates somewhere the story of how his wife went through an entire day with the...

Numbers 28 and 29 contain commands having to do with sacrifices and holidays. These chapters repeat much of what has gone before. The one big difference is that there is no mention of the Tabernacle or the Tent of Meeting. Friedman explains: Other laws clearly indicate that sacrifice can be performed only at the entrance of the Tabernacle. If I was correct in my commentary on the Tabernacle (Exodus 26)—that the Tabernacle was actually located in the First Temple—then it is critically important that these laws come now picturing sacrifice even without reference to the Tabernacle. By no reckoning was the Tabernacle in the Second Temple. (Nor were the ark, the tablets, the cherubs, or the Urim and Tummin.) It is these two chapter (and Num 15:1-31, which likewise does not mention the Tabernacle) that make it possible for there to be sacrificial worship at the Second Temple. [1] Friedman’s commentary begs the question: “Were these chapters, that mention sacrifice wi...

Numbers 24 concludes the story of Balaam, but there is a sequel that we will discuss when we come to Numbers 31:8. In Numbers 25, we see the Israelites engaging in sexual activity with the daughters of Moab. The Moabites then attract the Israelites to get involved in sacrificing to their gods. YHWH is understandably jealous of his people’s affections. YHWH then instructs Moses to have the leaders of the people killed for this offense. However, Moses takes things further. He says to the judges of Israel, “Each of you shall kill any of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.” (Numbers 25:5) Just as this is happening, an Israelite man takes a Midianite woman and has sexual relations with her in the Tent of Meeting. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, sees this and pursues the couple into the Tent of Meeting, then he pierces them together "through the belly" with his spear. “So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. Neve...

In Leviticus 11, we come to the laws forbidding and permitting the eating of certain animals. Why certain animals made the cut (forgive the pun) and were considered clean, and other animals did not make the grade and were considered unclean, remains a bit of a mystery. Friedman says, The reasons for these particular inclusions and exclusions have never been worked out persuasively. Explanations based on health and hygiene are difficult to defend, both because the text never states this and because such explanations cannot be consistently applied to the cases…. Ultimately, since no single underlying principle has been discovered that accounts for all the distinctions, it appears likely that there is a convergence of two or probably more factors. It could be a combination of a principle (such as likeness to humans) and completely idiosyncratic factors (a distaste, phobia, or even allergy on the part of some individual in an authoritative position). For the larger...

The Tabernacle commands end with the Sabbath (Exodus 31:12-17) and Moses’ repetition of the Tabernacle commands begins with a mention of the Sabbath. How are these two things connected? The Tabernacle sanctifies space, whereas the Sabbath sanctifies time. [1] In Exodus 35:10 we read, “All who are skillful among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded...” Bezalel was not the only one gifted and skilled to fashion the Tabernacle and its contents. He was the leader in this effort, but many others were invited by Moses to work with and under Bezalel. So too, in the Church today, accomplishing the Lord’s work must always be a team effort. Even those who were not skilled to actually fashion the contents of the Tabernacle had a part to play. All were invited to contribute offerings of materials to fashion the space where YHWH would be worshipped. “Everyone whose heart was stirred” is a repeated refrain in these chapters. This is a much better way, I th...