This week we have the rest of the book of Luke for our challenge
If you've been in church at all this summer or fall then you have heard most of the book of Luke - it's what we've been reading in Church since last November. The parts we've read this summer and fall make up the main thrust of Luke's Gospel.
The main point of Luke's Gospel is what today we would call social justice. It boils down to the same things that the prophets of Israel were saying for years - God cares about the poor - he wants you to care about the poor too - and since you aren't caring about the poor, God is upset with you and you better repent.
Luke adds in much of the teachings of Jesus that are in Matthew and Mark too - but always with the twist to underline God's overwhelming concern for the poor and that if we are to be followers of Jesus we must care for the poor too.
Go back and read the crucifixion and resurrection story from Matthew and then read Luke's version - mark the similarities and the differences - it's very interesting.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Bible Challenge - Three endings and a beginning
This week we have the end of the Gospel of Mark - or rather the ends of the Gospel of Mark.
Mark actually has three different endings - the oldest versions of the Gospel that we have end with verse 8 of Chapter 16 - that is with the disciples at the empty tomb and the words: "And they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid."
A few of the older manuscripts end with an addition to verse 8 of Chapter 16 which says "And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation."
Still other manuscripts end with the rest of Chapter 16 - the appearance to Mary Magdalene and two disciples and Jesus' commission and ascension.
The thoughts of most scholars is that the book originally ended with "they were afraid" but fairly quickly it became clear that people needed more hope - so they added the short ending and then over time some stories of post-resurrection events from other stories of Jesus. Mark's main points - that God calls us to love and serve others and to share God's love even in the midst of persecution - didn't require a post-resurrection commission - but as time went on the first generations of Christians needed more, so more got added.
We also have the beginning of the Gospel of Luke - Luke is writing to non-Jewish believers in Jesus and he tells a lot of the story - but compare Luke's birth narrative to Matthew's and notice the differences. There are no wisemen in Luke's story and we have the story of Jesus' presentation in the temple and a lot more about John the Baptist.
Mark actually has three different endings - the oldest versions of the Gospel that we have end with verse 8 of Chapter 16 - that is with the disciples at the empty tomb and the words: "And they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid."
A few of the older manuscripts end with an addition to verse 8 of Chapter 16 which says "And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation."
Still other manuscripts end with the rest of Chapter 16 - the appearance to Mary Magdalene and two disciples and Jesus' commission and ascension.
The thoughts of most scholars is that the book originally ended with "they were afraid" but fairly quickly it became clear that people needed more hope - so they added the short ending and then over time some stories of post-resurrection events from other stories of Jesus. Mark's main points - that God calls us to love and serve others and to share God's love even in the midst of persecution - didn't require a post-resurrection commission - but as time went on the first generations of Christians needed more, so more got added.
We also have the beginning of the Gospel of Luke - Luke is writing to non-Jewish believers in Jesus and he tells a lot of the story - but compare Luke's birth narrative to Matthew's and notice the differences. There are no wisemen in Luke's story and we have the story of Jesus' presentation in the temple and a lot more about John the Baptist.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Bible Challenge - most of Mark
For this week's Bible Challenge we have most of the Gospel of Mark - the first 12 chapters.
A couple of things to notice about the Gospel of Mark - first of all there is no Nativity story in Mark - he doesn't think how Jesus was born was important - Mark jumps right in with John the Baptist, Jesus' Baptism and the temptation in the wilderness - but even those stories are prelude to what is important to Mark, the works and teaching of Jesus.
So in these chapters we see Jesus healing and preaching and teaching - the Jesus we see in Mark has three major points:
1. God means it when he says love your neighbor as yourself - these things that distract you are getting in the way
2. Get out there and tell people that God loves them and wants them to love others i.e. stop hiding you lamp under a bushel
3. And oh, by the way, don't expect it to be easy, expect to be persecuted and for people to be mad at you - keep watching God is coming
Mark races through Jesus' life and ministry and keeps coming back to these points - not a bad summery of the Gospel actually.
A couple of things to notice about the Gospel of Mark - first of all there is no Nativity story in Mark - he doesn't think how Jesus was born was important - Mark jumps right in with John the Baptist, Jesus' Baptism and the temptation in the wilderness - but even those stories are prelude to what is important to Mark, the works and teaching of Jesus.
So in these chapters we see Jesus healing and preaching and teaching - the Jesus we see in Mark has three major points:
1. God means it when he says love your neighbor as yourself - these things that distract you are getting in the way
2. Get out there and tell people that God loves them and wants them to love others i.e. stop hiding you lamp under a bushel
3. And oh, by the way, don't expect it to be easy, expect to be persecuted and for people to be mad at you - keep watching God is coming
Mark races through Jesus' life and ministry and keeps coming back to these points - not a bad summery of the Gospel actually.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Bible Challenge - Who do you say that I am - What are we supposed to do
We have the second half of the book of Matthew in this week's Gospel. The first part of this week was parables:
The Parable of the Sower, of the Weeds among the wheat of the mustard seed of the yeast and three more parables - The point of these parables is to teach the disciples (and us) about God and God's kingdom. The major points seem to be that God uses even the smallest things and that we are to keep working to bring about the will of God even when we don't see much in the ways of results.
Then the story takes a turn for the dark - Jesus is rejected by his home town and John the Baptist is put to death - keep going even when things seem bad?
The 5,000 are fed, Jesus walks on water and heals the sick and this still isn't enough for the Pharisees - so Jesus lashes out at them.
Peter finally comes to the point - Jesus asks who they think he is and Peter says, "The Christ, the Son of the Living God" - Peter gets it right sometimes.
From here to the end the story gathers steam - Jesus spends a lot of time teaching the people that God really has two requirements - love God and love neighbor and all the rest is getting in the way - this doesn't make the religious leaders happy and so Jesus is arrested and executed.
Look at the verses at the very end of Matthew - these are known as the Great Commission and they sum up what it is that Jesus asks of his disciples and what he asks of us: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember that I am with you always, to the end of the age."
That sums it up - Jesus is with us - so we are to go and teach and obey.
The Parable of the Sower, of the Weeds among the wheat of the mustard seed of the yeast and three more parables - The point of these parables is to teach the disciples (and us) about God and God's kingdom. The major points seem to be that God uses even the smallest things and that we are to keep working to bring about the will of God even when we don't see much in the ways of results.
Then the story takes a turn for the dark - Jesus is rejected by his home town and John the Baptist is put to death - keep going even when things seem bad?
The 5,000 are fed, Jesus walks on water and heals the sick and this still isn't enough for the Pharisees - so Jesus lashes out at them.
Peter finally comes to the point - Jesus asks who they think he is and Peter says, "The Christ, the Son of the Living God" - Peter gets it right sometimes.
From here to the end the story gathers steam - Jesus spends a lot of time teaching the people that God really has two requirements - love God and love neighbor and all the rest is getting in the way - this doesn't make the religious leaders happy and so Jesus is arrested and executed.
Look at the verses at the very end of Matthew - these are known as the Great Commission and they sum up what it is that Jesus asks of his disciples and what he asks of us: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember that I am with you always, to the end of the age."
That sums it up - Jesus is with us - so we are to go and teach and obey.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Bible Challenge - Section Two - The Gospels
We are beginning the second section of the Bible Challenge - in this section we read the four Gospels - the books that tell us the story of the life and teachings of Jesus.
We start with the Gospel of Matthew.
A few points about the Gospels - they are not first person stories. They were written between 65 and 100 AD, so between 35 and 70 years after the death of Jesus. None of them were written by disciples of Jesus - they were all written by students of the disciples.
The first generation of Christians believed that Jesus was returning soon and that their most important task was to tell the story of Jesus to as many people as possible and get as many people to believe as possible before Jesus returned. It's only after the first generation of Christians begins to die that they begin to think that maybe Jesus isn't coming back as soon as they thought and that it was important to write down those stories. Between about 65 and about 110 AD there were somewhere around 20 different Gospels circulating among the Christian communities. In the 300's when the Bible as we know it was being developed the councils decided that there were four that should be included - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Each of the four Gospels are written for different audiences and with different purposes. Matthew was written to the community of Jewish followers of Jesus and one of it's principle purposes was to show how Jesus and his teachings were a continuation of the story of the people of Israel.
Matthew starts with a genealogy - setting Jesus in the context of the history of the people of Israel. It also gives a story of Jesus' birth that connects him to the house of David - but also demonstrates that he will draw those outside of the Israel as well. The story moves quickly to the point - Jesus has come to fulfill the law and the way that the law is fulfilled in in the Great Commandment - Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself.
We start with the Gospel of Matthew.
A few points about the Gospels - they are not first person stories. They were written between 65 and 100 AD, so between 35 and 70 years after the death of Jesus. None of them were written by disciples of Jesus - they were all written by students of the disciples.
The first generation of Christians believed that Jesus was returning soon and that their most important task was to tell the story of Jesus to as many people as possible and get as many people to believe as possible before Jesus returned. It's only after the first generation of Christians begins to die that they begin to think that maybe Jesus isn't coming back as soon as they thought and that it was important to write down those stories. Between about 65 and about 110 AD there were somewhere around 20 different Gospels circulating among the Christian communities. In the 300's when the Bible as we know it was being developed the councils decided that there were four that should be included - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Each of the four Gospels are written for different audiences and with different purposes. Matthew was written to the community of Jewish followers of Jesus and one of it's principle purposes was to show how Jesus and his teachings were a continuation of the story of the people of Israel.
Matthew starts with a genealogy - setting Jesus in the context of the history of the people of Israel. It also gives a story of Jesus' birth that connects him to the house of David - but also demonstrates that he will draw those outside of the Israel as well. The story moves quickly to the point - Jesus has come to fulfill the law and the way that the law is fulfilled in in the Great Commandment - Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Bible Challenge - Establishing a nation
We have the entire book of Deuteronomy this week. The book of Deuteronomy is really about two things:
1. The refusal of the people of Israel to trust God when they get to the verge of the Promised land, and God having them wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a result
2. The laws and regulations for the nation that will be established when they come back to the Promised land and enter it.
God has led the people the verge of the land he had promised to give them, but they resist going in and claiming it - they aren't ready. So God leads them into the wilderness and spends a long time teaching them to trust him and establishing what the structure and rule of the society that will establish will be.
In other words, God realizes that they need to be formed to be his people before they can establish a nation - so he teaches them.
I find that it often that way with me - I often need more formation before I'm ready to follow where God is leading me.
Have that every happened with you? Has God ever brought you to the brink of something, but you weren't ready, so God led you away only to eventually lead you back?
This brings us to the end of Section 1 - the Torah. The gathering to discuss these books will be next Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 pm. If you can't get there until 5:30 - that's okay come along and join in.
Next week we start reading the Gospels - beginning with Matthew.
1. The refusal of the people of Israel to trust God when they get to the verge of the Promised land, and God having them wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a result
2. The laws and regulations for the nation that will be established when they come back to the Promised land and enter it.
God has led the people the verge of the land he had promised to give them, but they resist going in and claiming it - they aren't ready. So God leads them into the wilderness and spends a long time teaching them to trust him and establishing what the structure and rule of the society that will establish will be.
In other words, God realizes that they need to be formed to be his people before they can establish a nation - so he teaches them.
I find that it often that way with me - I often need more formation before I'm ready to follow where God is leading me.
Have that every happened with you? Has God ever brought you to the brink of something, but you weren't ready, so God led you away only to eventually lead you back?
This brings us to the end of Section 1 - the Torah. The gathering to discuss these books will be next Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 pm. If you can't get there until 5:30 - that's okay come along and join in.
Next week we start reading the Gospels - beginning with Matthew.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Bible Challenge - On the way to the Promised Land
The section that we have from the book of Numbers is basically the journey of the people of Israel from Mount Sinai.
This is before the 40 years in the wilderness.
I don't know if you noticed but the people of Israel seem to complain a lot. God is providing for them, but they want meat - so they complain. Aaron and Miriam are jealous of Moses, so they complain. Moses is fed up with the complaining so he disobeys God and strikes a rock in anger rather than speaking to it.
I've been thinking about this. God is giving the people what is best for them. He is leading them to freedom and a land that will be fertile for them. They are heading to a place where they can establish their families and their nation - and yet, they seem to be dragging their heals and complaining the whole way.
I suspect this comes from two sources. The first is that a new land means new ways and new things and that means change and human beings resist change instinctively. The second is that getting to the good things requires some effort, they have to travel, they have to scope out the land, they have to fight some wars. If we are really honest, we would rather have the good things handed to us without having to do any work for them.
So - what is the promised land that God is leading us to? What are we complaining about along the way?
This is before the 40 years in the wilderness.
I don't know if you noticed but the people of Israel seem to complain a lot. God is providing for them, but they want meat - so they complain. Aaron and Miriam are jealous of Moses, so they complain. Moses is fed up with the complaining so he disobeys God and strikes a rock in anger rather than speaking to it.
I've been thinking about this. God is giving the people what is best for them. He is leading them to freedom and a land that will be fertile for them. They are heading to a place where they can establish their families and their nation - and yet, they seem to be dragging their heals and complaining the whole way.
I suspect this comes from two sources. The first is that a new land means new ways and new things and that means change and human beings resist change instinctively. The second is that getting to the good things requires some effort, they have to travel, they have to scope out the land, they have to fight some wars. If we are really honest, we would rather have the good things handed to us without having to do any work for them.
So - what is the promised land that God is leading us to? What are we complaining about along the way?
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