Bible Blog

John 20:18-31

2011-05-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John we read that the risen Christ breathed upon his disciples and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven."

In the gospel of John, Mary of Magdala goes alone to the tomb of Jesus and, finding it empty, runs away and brings back with her Peter and another disciple. After the men confirm that the body of Jesus is not in the tomb, Mary is left alone once more. She sees a person she thinks is a gardener, but when the figure speaks to her she realizes it is Jesus. That evening, the gospel of John relates, Jesus appears to some of his disciples and then eight days later returns to them when Thomas is also with them.

This witness of the gospel of John is not confirmed in any of the other gospels of the New Testament. The gospels of Matthew and Luke report other resurrection appearances, but the facts are quite different. (The earliest versions of the gospel of Mark only promise a resurrection experience in Galilee but do not describe it.) How could factual accounts be so diverse? The gospel accounts are not relating historical facts, but represent the faith of the early Christian church in the resurrection of Jesus. The community for which the gospel of John was written affirms that the risen Christ has forgiven sins, because this is their experience. The resurrection is proven for them by the forgiveness they have known. The forgiveness is real, and this fact is expressed as faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

John 17:1-11

2011-05-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus prays to his Father for his disciples, saying: "Keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one as we are one."

In the gospel of John, Jesus does not go into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before his arrest, and he does not ask whether the cup of suffering might be taken from him. Instead, he prays confidently to his Father for his disciples. In words without any parallel in the other three gospels of the New Testament, Jesus prays for the consummation of his purpose on earth as the Christ. This is the affirmation of the Christian community of faith for which the gospel of John was written.

Anyone who reads the gospels of the New Testament can see that the first three have much in common, whereas the fourth gospel is very different. Of course, this does not mean that the first three gospels are historical and the fourth is not. The differences among the first three gospels, as well as the greater differences between them and the fourth gospel, imply that each gospel was written to express the faith of its author and his community. The gospels witness to the understanding of different congregations of Christians, and their contrasts tell us a great deal about the faith (and the diversity of belief) in the first century church.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Romans 15:1-6

2011-05-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

May the God of perseverance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves following the example of Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and one voice you may glorify God.

Paul struggles to achieve support for his teachings in Rome and elsewhere. His difficulties remind us that in the first few decades after the church began there was considerable conflict. The first church was not at all united, as we see in Galatians 2 and elsewhere. Paul argues that diversity can exist within the body of Christ, the church, but his teaching is also a cause of division. He blames the conflicts in the church on those who oppose him, but Paul's opponents must have blamed Paul. And who Paul's opponents? The former disciples of Jesus, the apostles in Jerusalem who, we learn in Galatians 2 and in the second half of Acts, are led by James, the brother of Jesus.

The apostles in Jerusalem seem to believe that some if not all of the commandments of Jewish law are to be kept within the church. As they knew Jesus during his lifetime, it is hard to believe that the historical Jesus set aside the Jewish law as Paul claims the risen Christ does. Paul never knew the historical Jesus, but he acknowledges that both he and the former disciples know the risen Lord. Why then do they differ? Paul was a Greek-speaking Jew from a Roman city, whereas the disciples of Jesus were Aramaic-speaking Jews from Galilee. Perhaps their experience of the risen Christ was different, because their lives were so different.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Deuteronomy 30:15-30

2011-05-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Choose life: loving the LORD your God, listening to the LORD's voice, holding fast to him - for in this your life consists.

Deuteronomy is probably the "book of the law" found in the temple that prompted the sweeping reforms instituted by Josiah, king of Judah, in 621 BCE (2 Kings 22-23). The book presents three addresses attributed to Moses, but it reports his death (which, of course, is evidence that he is not the author) and was probably written in order to justify Josiah's reforms.

In this passage the people of Israel are told that they have a choice: life and good, or death and evil. The choice of life lies in keeping the commandments of God. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says his followers are to keep all the commandments of the Jewish law. (Mt. 5:17) This gospel reaffirms this teaching from Deuteronomy. Paul's letters, however, say that keeping Jewish law is not necessary, because "Christ is the end of the law (Romans 10:4). Paul calls on Christians to listen to the voice of God in the words of the risen Christ. Faith alone, Paul affirms, is saving.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Philippians 1:27-30

2011-05-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Paul writes: "Stand firm, one in mind and spirit, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel."

Paul writes from prison to tell the Christians at Philippi that they are to be sure their manner of life is worthy of the gospel, for then all else will fall into place. As he is suffering, Paul warns that they, too, may suffer for their faith in Christ. But he encourages them to remain united in faith for the sake of their own salvation and also as a witness to others. We do not know what happened to the church at Philippi, but this letter from Paul was included in the canon of the New Testament three centuries after his death. And it has encouraged countless churches to remain united for the sake of the gospel.

Of course, Paul was involved in a great controversy among the early churches over the place of the Law of Moses within the life of the church. Paul argued that Jewish law had been replaced by Christ, but the church in Jerusalem held that at least some aspects of the law of Moses were to be enforced within the church. With the destruction of the temple and the devastation of Jerusalem in 70, when the Romans crushed the Jewish rebellion, the Gentile dominated churches that agreed with Paul gained the upper hand. The letters of Paul became part of the authorized scripture for churches in the Roman Empire, and in English translation this is the New Testament that we read today.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Isaiah 61:1-4

2011-05-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

The LORD sent me to comfort all who mourn, to clothe them in festive garments instead of despondency.

The prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, proclaimed his message to Judah and Jerusalem between 742 and 687 BCE, when the northern kingdom of Israel was divided from Judah in the south and was annexed to the Assyrian Empire. However, chapters 40-66 of the book likely come from the time of Cyrus of Persia (about 539 BCE), when those taken from Jerusalem to Babylon after the defeat of Judah are allowed by the conquering Persians to return home. Chapter 61 is full of good news, which the prophet says he is proclaiming because the Spirit of the LORD is upon him.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus reads this section of Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry. (Lk. 4:16-20) He applies the words of the prophet to himself, claiming that under the guidance of the Spirit of God he is bringing good news to the poor. As the other gospels do not report this event, it may have been created by the author of the gospel of Luke to express the theology of his Christian community. The gospel of Luke (and the Acts of the Apostles written by the same author) proclaims that the Spirit empowering Jesus is God's instrument of healing in a suffering world.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

John 14:15-21

2011-05-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor who will stay with you for ever - the Spirit of truth.

In the middle of his lengthy teaching to the disciples, just prior to his arrest, Jesus speaks of the Spirit of truth that will come from the Father to counsel and guide the disciples. This statement is not reported in any of the other New Testament gospels, so is it likely that the author composed it to convey the ongoing presence of Jesus among the faithful in the church. The author is testifying to the truth of the gospel revelation, as it was understood within his church. He saw signs of the Spirit within his community of faith, and so he testifies that this is evidence of the Spirit of God the Father.

The community for which this gospel was written celebrated the presence of Jesus in the sacrament of the eucharistic meal and affirmed that the Spirit of God spoke through those who were faithful and trusted in Jesus as the Christ. This reading offers Christians a sense of guidance, even in facing difficult and threatening circumstances. God is with us. The Spirit of truth is in and among us.

Grace and peace . . . Bob Traer

Ephesians 3: 14-21

2011-05-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

May God strengthen you in your inner being through the Spirit, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.

Because the first verse of this letter in the earliest manuscripts does not refer to any particular place, unlike the other letters of Paul, this letter was probably written to be copied and sent to many churches. Perhaps the copy included in the canon was secured from Ephesus and so the letter was named for that Christian community. The advice Paul gives in this letter is for all Christians. Here he offers a prayer for wisdom and asks that Christians might be strengthened in their faith, through the gift of the Spirit.

Paul says that we may know the love of Christ, although it exceeds our ability to understand this redeeming love. The fullness of God works in and through us to redeem the world. We, as the church, are the body of Christ, who rose from the grave because the Spirit of God that was in Christ is with us. If we give ourselves in faith to the God we know in Christ, then nothing will separate us from the love of God. (Rom. 8:31-39)

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Genesis 28:10-22

2011-05-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

The LORD says: "I am with you, I will watch over you wherever you go. I will not abandon you before accomplishing what I have promised you."

"We are climbing Jacob's ladder," the old spiritual goes. This is the story of Jacob's ladder to heaven, which appears to him in a dream as he is fleeing from his home to avoid the wrath of his brother, Esau. Jacob has stolen his brother's rightful blessing from his father, Isaac, and so his mother, Rebecca, sends him away to her brother Laban's home in Haran (in what is now Iraq). On his first night alone in the desert, as he sleeps, he sees a ladder reaching from earth to heaven and angels descending and ascending it. Then the LORD appears and renews the promise given to Abraham of land and descendants. Moreover, the LORD pledges to be with Jacob, wherever he might go.

Jacob names the place where he has his dream "Bethel," which means "the house of God," and many Christians think of "Jacob's ladder" as carrying them from earth to heaven after they die. But in their song Christians add verses about loving and serving God, for living our faith is what gives up hope for life with God after death. The Genesis story reveals that God intends to work on earth, through the lives of those who are faithful. For angels are not only ascending Jacob's ladder, but are also descending into the world.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

John 14:1-12

2011-05-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says to his disciples: "In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."

This passage comes early in the lengthy teaching that in this gospel Jesus gives his disciples immediately before his arrest. This passage does not appear in any of the other three New Testament gospels, and most likely reflects the theology of the Christian community of the gospel's author. In the first century it was accepted practice to attribute to a great teacher ideas that seemed to follow from his principles. (After all, why should a "lesser" thinker claim such thoughts as his own?) The author of the fourth gospel does this by telling a story of Jesus that expresses the understanding of his church in words attributed to Jesus.

The community that read this gospel three centuries before it was included in the canon of the Christian Bible affirmed that faith in Jesus, as the Son of God, assured one of a place after death in the household of God. When the church included this gospel in the New Testament, it embraced this faith as the teaching of all churches.

Where these dwelling places are is ambiguous in the teaching. They seem to include a life after death, but the church has long affirmed that the dwelling places of God (the kingdom of God?) is on earth as well.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Colossians 3:1-4

2011-04-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

You have been raised with Christ, so set your hearts on things above. For you have died and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God.

Resurrection is not about what happens to a body after it dies. Instead, Paul tells the Christians at Colossae, a small city near Ephesus in what today is Turkey, that their resurrection is a present reality. Faith is dying to life as an everyday, material existence and being born anew in a life marked by hope and love.

This is what Paul means by affirming that Christians live "in Christ." And through their faith, Christians also live "in God."

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Acts 15:5-12

2011-04-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

Peter said: "God chose me so that the nations might hear from my lips the message of the good news and faith. God makes no distinction between human beings."

In Galatians 2 Paul describes a conflict with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem over whether Gentile converts are to be required to submit to Jewish laws, such as circumcision and eating kosher. He accuses Peter of hypocrisy, because Peter ate with Gentiles at the church in Antioch but pulled back after messengers from the church in Jerusalem arrived in Antioch.

Acts is written after Gentile Christians have come to dominate the life of the church. Paul seemed to be losing the struggle during his life, but support for imposing Jewish law on Gentile converts quickly receded after the destruction of the church in Jerusalem when the Romans crushed the Jewish rebellion in 70. Therefore, Acts 15 presents Peter as agreeing with Paul and even has James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, proclaim a compromise that allows Gentiles to join the church without being circumcised.

We should acknowledge that from the very beginning the church made distinctions between Jews and Gentiles and also men and women, and throughout its history the church has fallen far short of the ideal stated by Peter in the scripture reading for today. The faith in Acts has never been realized by the church, but it is a faith worth striving for.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Easter as Irony

2011-04-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

Many Christians read the Easter story literally. Jesus, after being killed by crucifixion, is raised to life by the power of God. This is the plot of the story. But is this the only meaning or even the most powerful meaning of Easter?

What if we read the Easter story as irony?

Irony involves the use of words to express the opposite of the literal meaning. We are being ironic, for instance, when we say that a bad joke was very funny, using a tone of voice that indicates we mean the joke was really not funny.

We don’t often use the word “irony,” but we often use irony. It’s a common figure of speech.

But should we look for irony in scripture? We might read the flood story in Genesis as irony, for the story tells of God destroying all life on earth and sparing only Noah and his family in order to purge the world of evil. However, the flood does not end evil on earth, so the story seems to express the opposite of its literal meaning. As irony, the flood story in Genesis reveals that almighty God lacks the power to alter nature or history.

What might it mean to read the Easter story as irony? And how would we know whether or not an ironic interpretation of Easter is faithful to the good news of the New Testament?

A literal reading of the Easter story emphasizes the power of God, for only God could raise a dead person to life. Read this way, the story reaffirms the image of an almighty God that dominates the Old Testament. Understood literally, Easter confirms that God is in control of death as well as life.

Read as irony, however, the Easter story reveals that people of faith, not God, have power over life and death in history. Those with faith in Jesus, as embodying the loving will of God, raise him to life in their lives and in their world. Each of us also has this power. By remembering Jesus, we bear witness that death ends life but not love.

God’s lack of power over the events of the world is the hidden meaning of the Easter story. An almighty God should have prevented the crucifixion. An almighty God should save all those who are faithful from suffering and death. But the Easter story, as well as our lives and history, seems to support the conclusion that God is not almighty after all.

Contemporary science provides additional evidence. The disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology give us vast power over our natural world without confirming any notion of God’s power. Our understanding of natural disasters means these are no longer “acts of God.” For us, natural history is a story of life evolving through the death of organisms, random changes, and the survival of species more fit for the environment. Science identifies death as the natural end of life, but also explains how life on earth continues despite death.

Similarly, we see human history as a story marked by injustice as well as striving for a better world. God is part of our human story, in the lives of those who feel called to represent God’s will. Also, human hope and love, which many attribute to the grace of God, actually change life on earth. The story of Jesus verifies this faith.

So, our faith might be that God is the source of humanity’s moral and spiritual freedom to live in a natural world constrained by its physics, chemistry, and biology. In this faith-story the God of creation chooses to be present in creation only in the hope and love of conscious creatures like us.

But does the New Testament allow such an ironic reading of the Easter story? Perhaps.

Jesus and Paul refer to God using an Aramaic word, Abba, which may best be translated into English as Dad or Papa. Abba is an intimate, loving word that sharply contrasts with the idea of an almighty God. We know from experience that fathers and mothers have little power in life. Fathers and mothers cannot protect their young children from harm, and cannot ensure that their grown children make good choices. Like a parent, God in the New Testament is loving, rather than almighty.

To be sure, there is power in love. Stories of great love inspire us to try to be faithful lovers and loving parents, as well as good neighbors. Some individuals are inspired by the love story of the Bible to pursue a loving relationship with all humanity through a life devoted to prayer or service. Others discover that they love nature and so find meaning and purpose for their lives by caring for plants, animals, or ecosystems.

Death ends every life, even the most loving, yet death does not end love, for loving sows its seeds. In a letter to the church at Corinth, Paul described Easter as the “first fruits” of the resurrection of the dead: “What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable….It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.” (1 Corinthians 15: 20, 43-44)

Paul is writing before the New Testament gospels were written, so his understanding of Easter is our earliest written account. The gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John present resurrection appearances in which the risen Christ seems to have a physical body. But in the earliest version of the gospel of Mark, which is the oldest New Testament gospel, the Easter story ends without a resurrection appearance.

At the empty tomb a young man says to the women who have brought spices to anoint the body, that Jesus has been raised and will meet his disciples in Galilee. Then, the gospel ends by reporting that the three women “went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement has seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16:8)

Christian history confirms that death and fear were transformed into life and love. Those who were fearful became the “first fruits” of Christian faith. So, there is no necessity to read the Easter story as proof of God’s almighty power. Instead, we may understand the New Testament witness to the humanity of the risen Jesus as verifying the power of a person to love and be sustained by love.

Jesus is not a superhero, but a human hero who is super because of his love for his friends and his enemies. In his own faith and life Jesus reveals that God is like a loving parent. Easter is about life coming from death, but it does not confirm that God controls nature or history. We are free to read the story as irony.

If we do, the good news may be even better than we thought! The God who allows nature to evolve and humans to be free cannot save Jesus from suffering and death, but can change history through the lives of those who embrace love and hope in spite of suffering and death.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

James 1:12-15

2011-04-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

James writes: "Let no one say when they are tempted, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does God tempt anyone."

This letter is addressed to "the twelve tribes in the Dispersion" from "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." (v. 1) It concerns issues of Jewish law, and is in eloquent Greek, which suggests that it was not written by James, the brother of Jesus, as there is no evidence that the family of Jesus or any of the disciples from Galilee spoke and wrote Greek. Perhaps the letter was sent under his name during the time James was head of the church in Jerusalem.

The letter says, "Blessed is anyone who endures temptation." (v. 12) It explains that temptation comes from our desires, not from God. In a sense, of course, all things come from God. But the Christian Bible affirms that men and women are responsible for the choices they make. They can blame neither the devil nor God, if they act in a way they know to be wrong. This is sin, and the only answer for sin is repentance and faith in the love of God. The good news of the gospel is that God forgives all those, who repent and live in faith.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Matthew 21:1-11

2011-04-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

See, your king is approaching, humble and riding on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

In the gospels of Mark, Luke and John, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt of an ass, but in the gospel of Matthew he is seated on an ass and its colt. All four gospels take the image from Zechariah 9:9, but the gospel of Matthew wants to show that Jesus literally is the fulfillment of prophecy. And Zechariah 9:9 describes a king riding into Jerusalem "on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass." The second part of the phrase is not actually identifying a second animal, as this does not make any sense, but is merely a poetic repetition. But the gospel of Matthew takes the text literally. These differences in understanding reveal that the other gospel authors felt free to interpret scripture in the way that made sense to them and that the author of Matthew, by taking scripture literally, is also "interpreting" it.

All the gospels see the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem as the beginning of a passion drama revealing Jesus as the true king of the Jews, and so they bring him into the city as a king would enter. It is impossible to say whether or not Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the colt of an ass, and Paul says nothing about the life of Jesus that would confirm this story. But clearly the account of Jesus entering Jerusalem is an essential part of the passion story that was told in the life of the church even before the gospels are written.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

2011-04-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

"Love is patient and kind. Love does not seek its own advantage, it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth."

This chapter is one of the most famous passages in the Christian Bible. It is often used in weddings, and it presents a joyous but also a practical vision of love.

The chapter comes near the end of a letter to the church of Corinth, which has been divided we learn from the beginning of the letter by disputes among its leaders. Paul gives his advice and compares the church to a human body, with Christ as its head. The members of the church have different gifts of the Spirit and thus, like the parts of a body, contribute in different ways to the life of the whole. But the lifeblood of the church, Paul says in the 13th chapter of his letter, is love. It is the greatest gift of the Spirit.

Paul appeals to the Corinthians to have greater love for each other, so their church may flourish as the body of Christ in the world. He reminds them that now we "know only in part" and so should be patient and humble in addressing the differences among us.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Jeremiah 31:31-34

2011-04-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

The Lord says: "I shall put my law deep within them, I shall write it on their hearts. I shall be their God and they will be my people."

Jeremiah is writing about the return of exiles from Babylon to Israel. The two kingdoms, which divided after the reign of Solomon, are to be reunited, the prophet proclaims (vs. 23-30). He then announces for God that a new covenant will be written on the hearts of the people. The return of exiles and the reunion of the two kingdoms is seen as a new beginning in the relationship between God and the Israelites.

Christians read this text to support the New Testament affirmation that the Holy Spirit is present in each person.Reading this passage in the light of the New Testament shifts the emphasis from the people of God to the Son of God and those who follow him. The good news for Christians is that the law of God is written on the hearts of each person.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

John 12:20-30

2011-04-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

Jesus said: "In truth, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains only a single grain. But if it does, it yields a big harvest."

This reading begins with the enigmatic statement that a few Greeks (described in some translations as Gentiles) were present at a Passover feast in Jerusalem. It is unclear whether these are Greek-speaking Jews, who are described as Greeks because they are not from Jerusalem and speak Greek rather than Aramaic, or Greek-speaking Gentiles. Clearly, however, they are not from Jerusalem or from Galilee. Symbolically in the story they represent the world beyond Jerusalem and Palestine, the world of Greek culture and the world of Roman authority. The gospel says these men of the world are interested in Jesus.

Jesus explains to them his mission by referring to a grain of wheat that dies in the earth in order to produce a great harvest. All four gospels include explanations of the death of Jesus, but only the gospel of John contains this particular verse. Paul, too, uses this image to explain resurrection (1 Cor. 15). Might our lives be seeds of life? Might our death be part of the miracle of the harvest?

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Matthew 11:28-30

2011-04-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

Jesus said: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

This passage begins with the well-known words, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (v. 28) And it concludes, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (v. 30) The word "yoke" literally means an attachment put over the neck of an animal, such as an ox, that is used to pull a cart. It is obvious, however, that Jesus is using the word in a figurative sense. We know that rabbis in this period spoke of "the yoke of the law," as a way of referring to the commandments of Torah. The meaning of this passage seems to be that learning about Torah from Jesus will make its burdens lighter. Moreover, the passage promises that those who follow Jesus will find rest for their souls.

Unlike the letters of Paul, which argue that Christ has replaced the (Jewish) law, the gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as the fulfillment of the law of Moses. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus says clearly that he has not come to abolish the (Jewish) law, and there he teaches his disciples to keep the commandments until all that God has planned is accomplished. As the gospel was written for one or more churches, which were waiting for the end to come, the early Christians reading the gospel of Matthew must have been adhering to Jewish law, unlike the churches organized by Paul. But as Gentiles came to outnumber Jews in the churches, keeping Jewish law disappeared from the life of the church.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Wisdom 1:1-3

2011-04-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

"Love righteousness and seek the LORD with sincerity of heart, for this is the way to God."

The Book of Wisdom is not in Protestant Bibles, but it is in Catholic Bibles. History is the explanation for these different forms of the Bible. The Book of Wisdom was in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible that Paul and the other Greek-speaking Christians of the early church read as their scripture. So, when the New Testament was authorized by the church in the fourth century in Greek, the books of the Septuagint were included in the Christian Bible, as the Old Testament. During the Protestant Reformation, however, the reformers translated the books of the Old Testament into their own languages from the Hebrew version of the Jewish scriptures, which at the same time the early church was forming was codified in a form omitting some of the books in the Septuagint.

The sentiment of this passage from the Book of Wisdom is in no way contrary to teachings in the Protestant Bible. In fact, this text might have been taken from the New Testament. It also reminds us that the first Christians were reading as their scripture the writings of the Old Testament, as it is found today in the Catholic Bible. The church began without the gospels, and only a few churches knew of the letters of Paul. The first Christians were reading the "Old Testament" (including the Book of Wisdom) as the word of God.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Luke 5:29-32

2011-03-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus says: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance."

In the time of Jesus, Jews who collected taxes for the Romans were "sinners." Their sin was doing the "dirty" work of the Gentile oppressors. Righteous Jews did not associate with tax collectors and other sinners, because they wanted to avoid being "polluted" by them. Moreover, Jews who wanted to remain pure did not eat with Gentiles or other sinners, such as tax collectors, because they believed this would defile them. The kinds of foods Jews ate and the way these foods had to be prepared kept Jews separate from non-Jews, and this was the way that most Jewish leaders wanted it.

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke all relate that Jesus called a tax collector to be one of his disciples, and that he ate with tax collectors and other sinners. In the gospels of Mark and Luke, the tax collector who becomes a disciple of Jesus is named Levi, but later in these gospels he is called Matthew. In the gospel of Matthew, the tax collector called to discipleship is already named Matthew. The point of these stories is clear. The ministry of Jesus concerns repentance. Jesus reaches out to those who know they are not righteous, and calls them to repent and trust in the forgiving love of God.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Luke 1:26-38

2011-03-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of Luke, an angel says to Mary: "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus."

This wonderful story of Mary does not appear in any other gospel. The gospels of Mark and John do not contain birth stories, and the gospel of Matthew tells of an angel appearing to Joseph to explain the birth of Jesus to his betrothed. The two-part account, which the New Testament calls the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, identifies a number of women who follow Jesus during his ministry and also women who are leaders of the churches that Paul helps to organize. The Christian community that the author was addressing must have included women in leadership positions, and surely the beginning of the gospel of Luke has inspired many women to service in the church.

All life in the womb is miraculous, of course, and we should not take it for granted. The God who is said to create this special child is the source of our lives, and we, too, are special. The story of an extraordinary gift, in the birth of Jesus, is also a story revealing that every birth is an extraordinary gift.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Romans 15:1-13

2011-03-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Paul writes: "We should not try to please ourselves, but consider what is good for our neighbors and so build up community."

The community of the church is divided by conflict concerning the Torah and whether or how its laws should be enforced within the church. Paul argues that the law of Moses does not apply to the church, but in chapters 9-11 of this letter he asserts that God has not abandoned the Jews who have refused to accept Jesus as the Christ. Paul urges the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome to be considerate of one another. He says that Christ became a Jew to confirm to the Gentiles the promise in the psalms and prophetic writings of scripture. Paul sees the Roman Empire as part of God's divine plan, for it is Roman rule that has allowed him to move freely from city to city preaching the good news about Jesus Christ.

Paul prays that the church in Rome may "abound in hope." He sees in the conflicts within the church the possibility of a greater community of Jews and Gentiles through the love of God in Christ. But it depends on the members of the church to bring about this reconciliation and to create this redeemed community. We face different issues of diversity today, but the answer is the same.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Matthew 7:12

2011-03-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "Do to others as you would like them to do to you."

The gospel of Luke contains this same teaching (Lk. 6:31), but in the gospel of Matthew Jesus adds, "for this is the law and the prophets." Both Jews and Christians in the first century referred to "the law and the prophets" as "scripture." The letters of Paul and the gospels written after them did not become "scripture" for all Christians until the 4th century, when they were included in the canon of the Christian Bible. The gospel of Matthew emphasizes that the teachings of Jesus sum up the scriptures, because this gospel was written for a primarily Jewish church. The gospel of Luke does not identify the Golden Rule with the scripture of Israel, because the author was writing for a largely Gentile church.

In 40-10 BCE Hillel was the leader of the dominant school of Pharisees in Palestine. Once a Gentile came and said to Hillel, "I will convert, if you can teach me Judaism while standing on one foot." Hillel replied, rephrasing Leviticus 19:18, "What is hateful to you do not do to anyone else." When this same man went to Shammai, the leader of a school of Pharisees that interpreted the Jewish law more strictly, the man was physical pushed away. The conflict among Pharisees between the followers of Hillel and the followers of Shammai is reflected in the gospels of the New Testament. The sayings of Jesus are often consistent with what was taught by Pharisees following the teachings of Hillel, and thus would have been opposed by Pharisees adhering to the teachings of Shammai.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

1 Kings 19:1-8

2011-03-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

When Elijah was discouraged, an angel of God touched him and said, "Get up and eat, or the journey will be too long for you." So he got up and ate and drank, and, strengthened by that food, he walked until he reached the mountain of God."

Elijah has won the battle with the priests of Baal on Mr. Carmel and had them killed. This infuriates Jezebel, the non-Israelite wife of king Ahab, and she vows to have Elijah killed. It is strange that the God who lights a fire on Mr. Carmel for Elijah now seems to allow Jezebel to pursue the prophet, and so it is not surprising that Elijah is discouraged. In the wilderness, however, an angel takes care of Elijah and leads him on a journey over forty days that brings him to Mt. Horeb, the mountain that the people of the northern kingdom of Israel revered as the place where Moses had received the law from God.

The journey of forty days through the wilderness led by an angel reminds us of the trek of the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years and also the forty days that Jesus spends in the wilderness before beginning his ministry in Galilee. Early Christians saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets, such as Elijah. The story of Jesus follows the pattern of these two Hebrew heroes. As God has blessed and guided Moses and Elijah, the church affirms, God also has blessed and guided Jesus.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Luke 15:11-32

2011-03-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

Coming to his senses, the prodigal son said: "I will leave this place and go to my Father and say, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.'" But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him.

The story of a son who leaves home and squanders his inheritance tears at our hearts, because every parent fears that a child may turn away and fall into a self-destructive cycle of behavior. But the story is about love, not fear. We are called to be forgiving parents, like the father in the parable, even when this means being "unfair" in the way we treat our children. The older son has a legitimate complaint, as his brother is receiving special treatment. Yet, the father is right to defend his forgiving love, even as he reaffirms his continuing love for the son who remained at home.

Of course, the story of the prodigal son may be read also as a parable about God and us. We are the children who have wandered off and squandered our inheritance. Look at how we treat one another and the earth! We are the prodigal children of God. The New Testament proclaims that despite our sin God loves us, but we must turn to God to discover that love. Taking both interpretations to heart, perhaps forgiving one another is one way we may come home to God.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

John 11:1-45

2011-03-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "I am, the resurrection. Whoever believes in me shall live, even though they die. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die."

This statement appears in the middle of the story of the death and raising of Lazarus, a story that is only in the gospel of John. If Jesus had raised Lazarus from the tomb, surely the other three gospels would have reported the miracle. They do not, however, nor do they contain the statement by Jesus that he is the resurrection. These words attributed to Jesus come from the early church, but are presented by the gospel of John in a story about the ministry and teaching of Jesus. Through the gospel the church confesses that faith in Jesus leads to eternal life, because the resurrection of Jesus demonstrates his power over death.

The church today continues to proclaim eternal life through faith in Christ, but faith means more than affirming certain beliefs about Jesus. To "believe in" Jesus Christ means to trust in the God we know in Jesus. Faith is not merely assent to the beliefs of the church about Jesus. Trusting in God is a way of living, not merely a way of thinking. That is why the witness of the church is that "whoever lives and believes" in Jesus "shall never die." The New Testament proclaims that the kingdom of God transcends life and death. The Jesus of the gospels calls us to enter that kingdom by following his way of living faithfully.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

John 5:24-27

2011-03-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "Whoever listens to my words and believes in the One who sent me has passed from death to life."

In John 5 Jesus heals a lame man on the sabbath. The author explains that this is "why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the sabbath." (John 5:16) When Jesus justifies his actions by asserting he is merely working on the sabbath as his Father is also working, the author of the gospel says: "This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God." (Jn. 5:18) The language in these verses is dangerous, because it pits Jesus against "the Jews" who oppose him and seek to kill him. It is as though Jesus isn't Jewish, and as though his followers aren't Jews. In fact, they are all Jews, so it isn't a matter of Jews scheming against Christians. This is about a conflict between Jews, who differ in their understanding of scripture.

The gospel of John presents the argument of a group of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians for their understanding of Jesus as the Messiah. The gospel was not only written to proclaim this faith, but also to condemn the synagogue that had expelled these Greek-speaking Jewish followers of Jesus. In the life of the church these passages from the gospel of John have often been read to justify anger and violence against the Jewish people. This anti-Jewish understanding of the gospel message is a great sin, which requires the repentance of every Christian.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

James 1:21-25

2011-03-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

The letter attributed to James says: "Those who listen to the word of God but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like."

In verse 22 of this chapter we read, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only." God's blessing will come, the letter says, for those who "visit orphans and widows in their affliction" and keep themselves "unstained from the world." (James 1:27) The greatest sin may be hypocrisy, because it presents as good what is not unless it is lived as well as affirmed. James the brother of Jesus, to whom this letter is attributed, was known in the early church for his righteousness. Early Christian writings refer to him as "James the Just." The church in Jerusalem was feeding the widows and caring for the orphans out of the pool of funds collected from members in Jerusalem and later from Greek-speaking congregations established by Paul.

It is easy to speak the word of God, listen to it, and admire it. Yet, the Jesus of the gospel of Matthew reminds us, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Faith, the Bible teaches, is a way of living.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Isaiah 57:24-25

2011-02-22T06:09:00.000-08:00

Speaking for God, the prophet says: "My home is a high and holy place, but I am with the humble and contrite to revive their spirit."

The prophet says God will bring the chosen people home, but asks that those who are to be blessed be worthy. It is not fasting that God requires, however, but mercy and justice. God dwells in the lives of the righteous.

The people of Israel believed that God came to them on Zion, on the holy hill in Jerusalem where Solomon had built a temple for their God. But the prophet reminds the exiles from Jerusalem, who are captives in Babylon and thus far from their holy place, that God is nonetheless with them. The God who made the breath of life resides not only on a hill, but in the lives of those with faith. Can we find that holy place within our own lives? And in the lives of others?

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Luke 2:22-32

2011-02-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

The gospel of Luke relates that when Simeon saw the child Jesus, he praised God, saying: "My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples - a light to enlighten the nations."

The gospel of Luke begins with stories of two women, Mary and Elizabeth, and the births of their special children, John the Baptist and Jesus. An old man and an old woman in the temple attest to the promise of Jesus, who will be a light not only for the Jews but for all the nations of the world. The author of the gospel of Luke is writing this story for a church already dominated by Gentiles, which is growing within the Roman Empire beyond its Jewish roots in Palestine. Its offer of salvation is for all those who are faithful.

Simeon's prophecy links the beginnings of Jesus in Palestine with the growth of the church in the Roman Empire in the cities of Ephesus, Collossae, Corinth, Galatia, Thessalonica, Philippi, and Rome. The story points away from the past to the future. Our faith, too, looks ahead, drawing on the past for insight and strength, but embracing with hope what is to come.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Matthew 6:1-4

2011-02-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your generosity is secret. And your Father, who sees all that is done in secret, will reward you."

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives instructions to his disciples for their ministry. He cautions them to avoid pride and urges them to give alms and pray in secret, as God will know what they have done and said even if others do not. The sixth chapter of the gospel of Matthew is the only place in the New Testament that speaks of praying to God in secret, but the gospels report that Jesus often criticizes hypocrisy. The more public our piety, of course, the greater the opportunity for hypocrisy.

Turning to God alone, in prayer, is a humbling experience, as it ought to be.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Luke 5:27-32

2011-01-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus notices a tax collector called Levi sitting at the tax office and says to him, "Follow me." And, leaving everything, Levi gets up and follows him.

The gospels of Mark and Matthew each relate this story. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus calls Levi, who is described as the son of Alphaeus. The gospels of Luke and Matthew omit the reference to Levi's father, and the gospel of Matthew refers to the new disciple as Matthew, using his Greek name rather than his Hebrew name.

Today we generally read the story as evidence of the power of Jesus to elicit an immediate response of faith, but in the first century the story was remembered because Jesus included a tax collector among his disciples. In the Jewish culture of first century Palestine tax collectors were "sinners" because they served those who exploited the poor. In calling a disciple who was a tax collector, the story makes clear that the church is open to anyone with faith to respond.

Any and every sinner can find new life by following Jesus.

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Wisdom of Solomon 11:21-26

2011-01-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

You are merciful to all, LORD, because you are almighty. You overlook people's sins so that they can repent. Yes, you love everything that exists.

The Wisdom of Solomon is in what Protestants call the Apocrypha, a collection of writings excluded from the Hebrew scriptures but included in the Greek translation of these scriptures, called the Septuagint, that was used by Greek-speaking Jews at the time of Jesus.

Leaders of the Protestant Reformation used the Hebrew scriptures, which were canonized about 100 CE by leading rabbis, as the basis for the Old Testament, and so excluded the Apocryphal books from their translations of the Christian Bible. That is why Protestant Bibles do not include the Apocrypha, but Roman Catholic Bibles do (except for 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh).

The people of Israel affirm the love of God. Their scriptures proclaim that God will forgive our sins, if we repent. Whatever Bible we read, our scriptures call us to this faith. May we trust in the one God who is merciful . . .

Grace and peace . . . Bob

Mark 1:1-8

2011-01-19T07:39:00.000-08:00

As it is written in the book of Isaiah, "Prepare the way of the LORD, make his paths straight." The gospel of Mark reports that John the Baptist was in the desert announcing a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

The gospel of Mark begins with the story of John the Baptist, who is understood to be fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3. The story of John the Baptist is included in each of the four gospels in the New Testament and thus must have been deeply rooted in the earliest memories of the church. John the Baptist proclaims from the wilderness outside of Jerusalem that the judgment of God is near, and he baptizes those who embrace repentance for their sins and trust in God's forgiveness.

In the gospels of Mark and Matthew Jesus is baptized by John, and in the first three New Testament gospels he proclaims that the kingdom of God is offered to all those who repent in faith. However, the New Testament affirms that Jesus is not, like John, a prophet but is the Messiah (Hebrew), the Christ (Greek), the Son of God (Mk: 1:1), the Lord (Mk. 1:3).

This claim is presented in the beginning of the gospel of Mark, but it is the end of the gospel that makes the claim necessary. Jesus goes to his death for the sake of his people. He would be merely an innocent victim, and God would be merely a vengeful deity, if Jesus were not one with God. In the crucifixion of Christ, God suffers the injustice and death of humanity, which is what transforms an unjust death on a cross into an act of love.

With hope . . . Bob

John 14:21-26

2011-01-17T07:08:00.000-08:00

In this gospel John the Baptist sees Jesus coming towards him and says: "There is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

All the New Testament gospels tell the story of John the Baptist, but only the gospel of John contains this statement. Exodus 12 relates that God told Moses and Aaron to have the Israelites sacrifice a lamb without blemish and mark their doorposts with its blood, so they would be protected from the plague that God sent upon the land of Egypt. The Jewish feast of Passover celebrates this act of God's love for the people, and the gospel of John affirms that Jesus is the Passover lamb to be sacrificed for the salvation of the world.

In the gospel of John, Jesus does not eat the Passover supper with his disciples, because he is arrested the night before Passover begins. (In the other three New Testament gospels Jesus eats the Passover meal with his disciples.) In the gospel of John, Jesus is the Passover Lamb. His flesh and his blood are given for the whole world, and the Eucharist in the life of the church is the celebration of God's love for all those who live faithfully.

With hope . . . Bob

Romans 8:5-11

2011-01-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

Paul writes: "The Spirit seeks life and peace."

Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome was written towards the end of his ministry. Romans is the longest of Paul's letters. It is the first letter presented in the New Testament, because Paul's letters are sorted by length.

In chapter 8 of Romans Paul explains that life in the Spirit is life and peace. Despite our sin the Spirit of God dwells in us. Paul says that if we set our minds on Christ and not on the desires of our flesh, the Spirit will help us.

In Romans 8:15, Paul cries out, like the child of God he is: "Abba! Father!" This intimate word in Aramaic for God, which is like "Papa" or "Daddy" in contemporary English, appears two other times in the New Testament. Paul uses it once more in his letter to the Galatians (4:6), and Jesus refers to God as Abba in the gospel of Mark (14:36).

Although Paul's teachings are directed to Gentile Christians, this word links his faith with the Aramaic prayers of Jesus. In this Spirit, the eighth chapter of Romans ends with Paul's stirring affirmation that nothing can separate us from the love of God we know in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:19-22

2011-01-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

You are part of God's household. You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone.

This letter is not addressed to the church in Ephesus, but a copy was found there and this is likely the reason for the name. It appears, however, that the letter was written to be circulated to more than one church. The second chapter of the letter specifically refers to Gentiles, who were separated from the covenant with Israel by their lack of circumcision. Paul affirms they are reconciled to God through the cross of Christ Jesus. Thus, Gentiles are no longer "strangers and sojourners" but "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."

Paul and his partners in mission brought Gentiles into a church that was, at first, made up only of Jews. The letter to the church in Ephesus sees this more inclusive community as the work of God. Today the church is only Gentile, but the challenge to be more inclusive continues. Who are the "strangers and sojourners" of our time? And will we welcome them into God's household?

John 14:21-26

2010-11-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you."

There is much in the Old Testament about the Spirit, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of the LORD, and there is frequent mention of the Holy One of Israel, especially in Isaiah. But I have found only three places in the Old Testament where the adjective "holy" precedes the noun "spirit," and in each of these the phrase is clearly attributing holiness to God. Psalm 51:11 reads, "Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me." Isaiah 63:10-11 refers twice to "his holy Spirit" where the reference is obviously to God. It seems that references to "the Holy Spirit," which appear in all four of the New Testament gospels, in Acts of the Apostles, and in Paul's letters, represent a break with ancient Israel's understanding of God.

The affirmation of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is what leads the church later to affirm a trinitarian (or triune) understanding of God. There is no explicit reference to the Trinity in the New Testament, and the idea was not formulated in the life of the church until after the Christian canon of scripture was established in the fourth century. But the notion that God is present to individual Christians in the life of the church, as the Holy Spirit, is deeply rooted in the Christian witness. An understanding of God, as Creator, and as present not only in Jesus but also in the Holy Spirit, which animates the life of the church after Jesus is no longer present, led to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 13:31-33

2010-11-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with a large amount of flour until the whole thing rose."

This passage contains the parables of the mustard seed and yeast (leaven). These two parables also appear in Luke 13:18-19 in a very similar form. They seem to come from a collection of teachings attributed to Jesus that the authors of these two gospels had. The parable of the mustard seed is usually interpreted to mean that something small may grow to something large. The parable of the yeast seems to imply that something that disappears may, nonetheless, make all the difference in the end.

Literally, the passages say that a mustard seed grows to be a mustard plant, and that yeast makes bread rise. But the parables each contain the phrase, "The kingdom of heaven is like...." This phrase includes a simile, which suggests a literal meaning is not intended. These images convey a meaning about the kingdom of heaven. At times in the gospels the narrator interprets a parable, but this is not the case here.

What might we read into the parable of yeast? It concerns a woman making bread. If she is making "the kingdom of heaven," we might conclude that God is feminine. If the point is that the ingredients for making the kingdom are already "mixed into" the world and our lives, then the parable may mean that the kingdom will come in its own time. Perhaps the yeast represents Jesus, who dies for our sake and thus "disappears" but, at the same time, causes the church to come into being. Or, we might understand the bread as the faith that "rises" in our hearts.
Clearly, there is no one meaning of this parable that anyone can claim to be "the truth". We cannot know the meaning intended by Jesus or by the author of the gospel. We can say, however, that a literal reading of this passage was not intended by either. This is a figurative teaching that prods Christians in every generation to respond more faithfully.

Grace and peace...Bob

Ephesians 4:1-6

2010-11-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you have all been called to one hope."

This is where we find the famous passage: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all." (v. 5) Paul (or his fellow apostles) probably wrote this letter to be circulated for, unlike the other letters in the New Testament attributed to Paul, this letter is not addressed to a particular church or person. Galatians is addressed to the "churches of Galatia," and Romans is addressed to "all God's beloved in Rome." Paul's two letters to the Corinthians are addressed to "the church of God, which is at Corinth," and the letter to the Philippians begins with the statement, "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi." Ephesians, on the other hand, is addressed generally to "the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus."

The letter uses striking images to urge unity among Jewish and Gentile Christians. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one baptism, and one God, so there must be one church where both Gentile and Jewish Christians witness to the good news of salvation in Christ. Today, it is often said that the lack of church unity is a scandal. But more wisely, perhaps, we might say the disunity of the church reflects its humanity. The church may (and, of course, should) point to what is divine, but nonetheless remains very human.

Grace and peace...Bob

Romans 8:26-27

2010-10-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

"We do not know how to pray properly, but the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness and intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

Paul is counseling the Christians in Rome about prayer. He reminds them not to judge prayers by their eloquence or length, as though God is impressed by the performance of the person praying. In prayer Christians are simply to give themselves to God, trusting that the Spirit of God will "speak" through them. This passage may remind us of the teaching about prayer attributed to Jesus in the gospel of Matthew: "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Mt. 6:7-8)

Paul does not say anything about what Jesus might have taught concerning prayer, so we cannot conclude that Paul is merely paraphrasing a teaching by Jesus. But clearly the church begins by teaching that prayer involves opening our hearts.

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 6:36-38

2010-08-31T21:20:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus says: "Give, and it will be given to you. A full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure used for you."

The gospel of Matthew also presents this teaching by Jesus (Mt. 7:1-5), but the differences are more striking than the similarities. In the gospel of Matthew we read: "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get." (Mt. 7:1-2) The gospel of Luke has taken this teaching and modified it to emphasize forgiveness rather than judgment.

The verse preceding the statement about not judging says: "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (Lk. 6:36) And then after saying, "Judge not, and you will not be judged," the author of the gospel of Luke has Jesus repeat this teaching with a parallel statement: "condemn not, and you will not be condemned." Then the teaching concludes: "forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you." (Lk. 6:37-38) The shift from not judging to forgiving, and giving, reflects the distinctive purpose of the gospel of Luke.

Of course, this teaching is a variation of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In the gospel of Luke, Jesus says: "Do to others as you would like them to do to you." Lk. 6:31) In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus adds, "for this is the law and the prophets." (Mt. 7:12) Both Jews and Christians in the first century referred to "the law and the prophets" as "scripture." The letters of Paul and the gospels written after them did not officially become "scripture" until the 4th century, when they were included in the canon of the Christian Bible, although the gospels were read as scripture in some churches as early as the second century.

The gospel of Matthew emphasizes that the teachings of Jesus sum up the Jewish scriptures, because this gospel was written for a primarily Jewish Christian church. The gospel of Luke does not identify the Golden Rule with the Jewish scriptures, because it was written for a largely Gentile church.

Can we accept the call to forgiveness? If we give, and forgive, we will receive, and be forgiven. This is the good news.

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Peter 3:8-12

2010-08-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

"Do not repay one wrong with another. Seek peace and pursue it."

This letter is attributed to Peter, but it is written in excellent Greek and thus can hardly be the work of a Galilean fisherman. The author most likely attributed the letter to Peter in order to give it greater authority. The letter is full of advice for the Christians living far from Jerusalem, including the admonition not to repay wrong with wrong. The teaching seems very straight-forward, yet we should be aware that it is a radical challenge to the customs that require one to defend family or tribe.

The law of Moses put limits on retribution, by limiting it to "an eye for an eye," and that was a step toward peace in its time. But the gospel expects even more, because it counsels those who are wronged to forgive the one who wronged them. If we are honest with ourselves, we know we are very reluctant to do that. When we are wronged we may not seek vengeance, but we often harbor resentment for the wrong we have suffered. However, the New Testament teaches that we can overcome our suffering, because of the wrong done to us and because of our resentment for it, by forgiving the one who wronged us.

This is the key that unlocks the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of God). Forgiveness frees us from our suffering and may prompt shame in the one who wronged us, and thus move him to repent for the wrong that was done.

Grace and peace...Bob

Isaiah 50:10

2010-08-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

"Who among you reveres the LORD? Who among you walks in darkness and sees no light? Trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon your God."

The prophet calls the people of Israel to faith in God. It should not be surprising, therefore, that Jesus is understood as the fulfillment of the prophetic witness. Jesus is not another prophet, because he does not speak as the prophets did. He does not say, "Thus says the LORD," and he does not claim to transmit words received directly from God. The New Testament identifies Jesus as a teacher, a rabbi, and not as a prophet.

Faith is central to the New Testament witness, and faith means trust. The concept of faith is rooted in the prophetic witness of the scriptures of Israel, but there is a new emphasis in the writings of Paul and in the gospels. Paul may have been the first to place faith at the center of the life of the church, because he distinguishes faith from obeying Jewish law and claims that faith alone is saving.

In the New Testament gospels, which were written after the letters of Paul, faith shares center stage with other teachings. In the first three gospels, it is faith and the kingdom of God that dominate. In the fourth gospel, there is almost nothing about the kingdom of God, but much about Jesus as the Son of the Father as well as about faith.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 16:13-20

2010-08-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Peter said to Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by any human, but by my Father in heaven."

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke we find the account in which Peter names Jesus as the Christ, but only in the gospel of Matthew does Jesus call Peter "son of Jonah" and say that the true identity of Jesus was revealed to Peter by God. The tradition that Peter was the disciple who first identified Jesus as the Christ must have been deeply embedded in the memory of the early churches, but the gospels reveal some controversy about his role among the first generation leadership. In the gospel of Mark, Peter and the other disciples are always depicted as shallow in their faith and without understanding. In the gospel of Matthew, however, Peter and the other disciples are criticized but also praised for their understanding. In addition, the gospel of Matthew ends with the commissioning of the eleven in Galilee to lead the church into the world. The earliest known version of the gospel of Mark does not even report an appearance of the risen Jesus to the disciples.

Why these differences? The gospel of Matthew was written for a largely Jewish congregation, and so it was important for these Jews to trace their lineage back to the disciples of Jesus who continued in the Jerusalem church to keep the law. The gospel of Mark was written for a largely Gentile church. It expresses the teachings of Paul to the Gentiles in the way that it presents Jesus as a teacher and miracle worker. Moreover, the oldest versions of the gospel of Mark end without any appearance of the risen Christ to the disciples. In this way the gospel of Mark undermines the authority of the disciples and, at least implicitly, points to the apostolic leadership of Paul.

The gospel of Matthew presents teachings by Jesus about keeping Jewish law (Mt. 5:17-20) that are contrary to the teachings of Paul, but in the gospel of Mark we find Jesus setting aside the requirements of the law (Mk. 7:19) in a way that supports the teachings of Paul.

What are we to make of these differences today? The gospels and the letters of Paul reflect the beliefs of the communities of faith for which they were written, and these beliefs are not exactly the same. This fact demonstrates that those who have faith in Jesus as the Christ may nonetheless have different beliefs about him. Faith is not the same as belief, and the test of faith is not holding certain beliefs but trusting in God. The good news of the gospel is that we are saved by the love of God, not by our beliefs about God.

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 3:10-18

2010-08-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

John the Baptist said to the people: "Anyone who has two tunics must share with whoever has none. And anyone with something to eat must do the same."

All four gospels in the New Testament record that the ministry of Jesus began with a blessing by John the Baptist. Only the gospel of Luke, however, relates this teaching from John. As the author of the gospel is writing decades after the encounter between John the Baptist and Jesus took place, it seems unlikely that he alone is aware of a statement by John that the other gospel authors had not heard. It is far more probable that the author created this statement by John, because it is central to the theme of the gospel of Luke.

In the gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist condemns the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is evidence that the gospel of Matthew was written for a largely Jewish church, which is presenting itself to Jews as the fulfillment of the hope that has been tainted in the hands of corrupt Jewish leaders. In the gospel of Luke, however, John the Baptist does not condemn Pharisees and Sadducees, but encourages "the multitudes" to share what they have with the poor. The gospel of Luke also tells of John urging tax collectors and soldiers to prepare for the coming of the day of the Lord by acting with justice and compassion. As this gospel is written for a largely Gentile church, it begins by relating how John the Baptist reached out to Gentiles.

The gospel invites rich and poor to share in a community of faith that affirms their equality and unity in Christ. May the spirit of love open our hearts to those among us who are poor.

Grace and peace...Bob

Wisdom 1:11-15

2010-08-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

"God did not make death and takes no pleasure in the destruction of the living. God created all things for life."

The great question of life is death. No one, no matter how great or rich or wise, can escape this question. Death reveals that life is not just about existing, because death brings our living existence to an end. What is the meaning and purpose of our lives? This is the question raised by the inevitability of our death.

The Bible affirms that the purpose of God is not thwarted by death. In the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis Adam and Eve do not know they are mortal until they disobey God and eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then they are banished from the garden of Eden so they will be unable to eat of the fruit from the tree of eternal life. The story suggests that our awareness of good and evil is closely linked to our fear of death. But the story marks the beginning of the tale of God and humanity, not the end. In this story the God who expels humanity from the Garden of Eden goes on to enter into a covenant with Israel and then, in Jesus the Christ, to launch a new community of faith that includes Jews as well as Gentiles.

The story of the death and resurrection of Chris offers a hope that overcomes the fear of death. Even as Christ has been raised to be with God, the church affirms, all those who are faithful will be raised to be with God. Death, therefore, is not the end.

The Pharisees among the first century Jews, and Paul, who was both a Pharisee and a Christian apostle, shared this hope. Paul affirms that the resurrection of Jesus marks the beginning of the end in which all those with faith will be raised from the dead to be with God. This vision is also expressed in the Revelation of John in the vivid image of a new Jerusalem in which God and those with faith are joined in a new life together.

So, do not be afraid of death. Live in faith, and you will find meaning and purpose.

Grace and peace...Bob

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

2010-08-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

"Be generous, for you know the generosity of our Lord Jesus Christ who became poor for your sake."

Paul is concerned about the gap between the rich and the poor in the church at Corinth. He counsels the Christians in Corinth to be generous and to share their wealth with those who have less, so the community of faith will be strengthened. Paul says that the gift of Jesus Christ should be their model. Jesus gave his life for others, so the more affluent Corinthians should be willing to give some of their money to the church for the sake of those who have less.

Almost everyone reading these words is among the "wealthy" of the world, because access to the web requires education and equipment that is too costly for many persons. You may not think of yourselves as wealthy, and certainly there are many others with far greater wealth. Yet, we all are wealthy in comparison with the 3 billion people on this earth who lack adequate sanitation facilities.

Sharing our wealth is a wonderful way to witness to the love of God.

Grace and peace...Bob

Psalm 138

2010-08-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

"LORD, you look upon the humble. Though I live surrounded by trouble, you give me life."

The psalms express human fears. All of us are surrounded by trouble, in some form or another. The psalmist urges us, therefore, to turn in faith to God, to trust in God's mercy, and to remember that God gives us life.

We did not create ourselves, and we cannot live forever. But we do create our lives in part, as we make decisions and become more or less faithful. In addition, we can take care of our bodies and in this way may forestall our death. And we can give purpose and meaning to our lives by how we live and by our faith and love for others.

So, we may turn to God in faith not as helpless creatures, but as co-creators with God who affirm the importance of our decisions about life, but who also recognize that life is ultimately a gift.

Grace and peace...Bob

Jeremiah 3:12

2010-08-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

The LORD says to his people: "Return to me, for I am merciful."

The prophets criticize the people of Israel for turning away from the commandments of God. But the prophets offer a message of hope, if Israel will repent. They find this hope in the teachings of ancient Israel, in the law of Moses, and the wisdom writings including the Psalms. They find in these witnesses to the one God, who has called Israel into covenant, a testimony to the compassion and mercy of God.

The apostles of the early church, who read these same scriptures and also the Prophets, came to see that Jesus was the fulfillment of hope in the mercy and forgiving love of God. Christian hope is a new form of Jewish hope, and the hope of each rests in the loving God we know through the scriptures. Paul recognized this explicitly in Romans 9-11 where he asserts that the God who called Israel cannot have abandoned her, even though most of her people have not recognized Jesus as the awaited Messiah. Paul realizes that the God of mercy cannot reject the Jews simply because they have rejected Jesus in order to remain faithful to the covenant, as they understand it. Furthermore, Paul sees that this rejection by the Jewish leadership led to the expansion of the church among the Gentiles.

The good news is not that God saves Christians and no one else. The good news tells of a Love that saves all who repent of the wrong they have done.

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 1:39-56

2010-08-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

Mary said: "The Lord's merciful love stretches from age to age upon those who revere him."

The author of the gospel of Luke begins his two-volume story of the church (the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles) with a story of two women, Mary and Elizabeth. Both women have become pregnant in miraculous ways that suggest a plan by God of immense importance. When Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth feels her baby move in her womb, and she is filled with the Holy Spirit. Then Mary replies with words of praise that have been known through the ages in the church as the Magnificat, because in the Latin version of the text this is how Mary begins to "magnify the Lord." Her song promises the fulfillment of God's salvation for the poor and for those who fear and trust in God.

It is remarkable that this gospel, or any religious writing of the first century, should begin with a story of two women being blessed and exalting God. Clearly, in the early church there were women among the leadership, at least in communities of faith in Roman cities, as is verified in the Acts of the Apostles. It seems, therefore, that the author of the gospel of Luke was writing an account of the church for one or more of these congregations. The gospel of Matthew, in contrast, begins with a story about Joseph, the Jewish father of Jesus, and because this gospel tells us that Jesus is the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy we see that it was written for a largely Jewish church. The gospel of Luke, on the other hand, begins in a way that gives less emphasis to Jewish prophecy in order to proclaim the gospel message effectively to the urban and largely Gentile churches that are growing in the Roman Empire.

The birth of the church is proclaimed in stories about the birth of Jesus. Faith in Christ, however, does not require that we believe in these stories as literal, historical truth. Only two of the gospels in the New Testament even have birth stories, so it is clear that not all Christian congregations in the first century thought a birth story was a necessary part of the gospel. Moreover, the birth stories in the gospels of Matthew and Luke are different, which makes it hard to avoid concluding that they were created within different communities of faith to express the belief that the origin of Jesus Christ was a miracle.

The truth of the birth stories in the New Testament is not to be found in a literal interpretation of the events each describes. The truth is to be found in their meaning for early churches, which were witnessing to the miraculous community of faith involving Jews and Gentiles as well as rich and poor. How else were these churches to understand the creation of communities that overcame the ancient divisions of traditional society? The authors of these birth stories believed that only God could have created such a church, and so they began their narratives with accounts of the miraculous birth of Jesus.

Grace and peace...Bob

Jeremiah 1:4-8

2010-08-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

The LORD said to Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you and consecrated you."

Jeremiah says that his prophetic ministry began in 627 BCE with a call, which he describes in verses 4-10. He experiences the presence of the LORD and understands that God has called him to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah protests that he is too young for such a responsibility, but then the LORD touches Jeremiah's lips and promises to give him the words that need to be proclaimed in his time.

However we may understand the words of Jeremiah, the idea of calling is central to both Jewish and Christian faith. Christians see calling as the grace of God - a loving gift of the Holy Spirit. To feel a sense of vocation is to have a purpose. Of course, a "purpose-driven" life may be selfish or blind to the needs and cares of others. So, in Jewish and Christian faith, a sense of calling must always be tested by faith in a loving and forgiving God.

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 21:25-36

2010-08-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Jesus said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Be on the watch and pray at all times."

The church in the first century was expecting the end of the world to come very soon. In his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul writes: "the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God." (1 Th. 4:16) Paul says the dead will rise and then the living will join them in the air, to be with the Lord forever. Paul also says, "the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night," and the gospels of Matthew and Luke later present Jesus saying much the same thing. (Mt. 24:43-44, Lk. 12:39-40)

Paul does not attribute his statement to Jesus, so it is likely that the gospel writers found this image in Paul's writings and then incorporated it into their gospel account. They were, after all, not simply writing biographies of the life of Jesus, but gospels for the church that witness to the good news proclaimed by Paul as well as by Jesus.

The hope of the first century church was that the day of the Lord would come soon and that all those with faith would then be with the Lord for evermore. Although the day of the Lord has not come as anticipated, we may nonetheless affirm with Paul that "nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:39)

And we need not envision that this means rising into the clouds to be with the risen Christ in a heavenly part of the sky. First century Christians may have believed this literally, but that does not mean 21st century Christians must have the same belief.

Grace and peace...Bob

Romans 8:28-30

2010-08-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

"In all things God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose."

Paul is writing to encourage the Christians in Rome. He acknowledges the sufferings of the present time, but he affirms that God is bringing about a new creation through this suffering. Paul boldly proclaims that God works for good in all things, and in this Paul is echoing the words of the prophets who wrote centuries before him. Paul also asserts a belief in predestination that came to have a long history in the church.

I think we should be critical of Paul's view of predestination. The Christian Bible as a whole does not assert that all things are ordered before they happen and that the elect are chosen for salvation before they are born. We can trust in God without embracing predestination by allowing for others the freedom we claim for ourselves. We can affirm God is the power of love that transforms injustice, suffering and even death. This is the faith we share with Paul, even if we disagree with his belief in predestination.

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 17:20-21

2010-08-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Jesus said: "The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, for the kingdom of God is among you."

It is intriguing that this statement does not appear in any of the other gospels. The author of the gospel of Luke has inserted this statement into his story between materials that are in the gospel of Mark, but the author of the gospel of Matthew has not added this statement to his gospel. It may be that the author of the gospel of Luke has found a memory of Jesus that is not known by the other gospel writers, but it seems more likely that the author of the gospel of Luke wrote these verses in order to answer a question being asked of the Christians in his community.

The statement attributed to Jesus is the answer to a question raised by Pharisees about when the kingdom of God is coming. Later in this gospel the author will repeat the statement in the gospel of Mark that "this generation will not pass away till all [the coming of the kingdom of God] has taken place." (Lk. 21:30, see Mk. 13:30)

By inserting a comment earlier in the narrative that the kingdom of God is already among the people, the gospel writer anticipates the problem that arises after the generation living at the time of Jesus has passed away. Thus, when Pharisees in the mid 80s asked Christian advocates why the kingdom of God had not come, as Jesus seemed to have prophesied (in the gospel of Mark), the author of the gospel of Luke could reply that the questioners had misunderstood what Jesus meant by the kingdom of God. And, after writing the gospel of Luke, the community of faith for which it was written could point to a saying by Jesus that suggested the kingdom had begun during his lifetime.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 14:22-23

2010-08-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

Jesus came towards his disciples, walking on the water, and they were terrified; but at once he said to them: "Courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."

The story of Jesus walking on the water is also in the gospels of Mark and John, but neither of these accounts includes verses 28-33 in the gospel of Matthew. If the gospel of Mark first told this story, apparently it was available also to the author of the gospel of John, which overall is very different than the gospel of Mark. The author of the gospel of Matthew added a story about Peter trying to walk on the water, perhaps as part of the more extensive character development of Peter throughout the gospel, for in the gospel of Matthew Peter is singled out by Jesus to be the leader of the apostles.

Even more interesting, however, is the decision by the author of the gospel of Luke to omit the story of Jesus walking on the water from the two volume history of the church, which in the New Testament appears as the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. As the gospel of Luke follows the story of the gospel of Mark and includes many of its passages with little if any editing, perhaps the author of the gospel of Luke deleted the story of Jesus walking on the water because it seems too far-fetched.

If the Christian who wrote the gospel of Luke did not believe that Jesus walked on water, then there is no reason to require that any Christian believe this. Faith in Christ does not require having all the beliefs about Christ that some Christians had or have. Faith in Christ means trusting in the forgiving love of God, which is manifested in the Christian Bible and in the affirmation that God was fully present in Christ for the sake of the world.

Matthew 17:1-8

2010-08-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

On the mountain where Jesus was transfigured, a bright cloud covered the disciples and a voice said: "This is my beloved Son, on whom my favor rests; listen to him."

The gospels of Mark (Mk. 9:2-8), Matthew (Mt. 17:1-8) and Luke (Lk. 9:28-36) tell this story, which is known in the church as the "transfiguration." Jesus takes Peter, John and James with him and goes up a mountain to pray. As he is praying, the appearance of his face is changed. Then a cloud comes over them, and a voice from the cloud is heard saying: "This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him." All three gospels report the fear of the disciples when they hear a voice. But only the gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus touched and comforted the disciples. In all three accounts Elijah and Moses appear and the clothes of Jesus become intensely white, but the gospel of Matthew alone reports a light from the cloud.

The imagery of this story reminds the reader of Moses going up the mountain to receive the commandments of the law from God. Moses went alone, but came down from the mountain with a radiant face. (Exodus 34:29) Here, Jesus has three witnesses with him, and Moses and Elijah appear to them all. Moses represents the law of the covenant and Elijah the prophets, and the story of the transfiguration presents Jesus as the fulfillment of both. The cloud and the voice are also manifestations of God related to the story of Moses and the covenant with ancient Israel, for the Israelites were led through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud during the day and by a pillar of fire at the night. Moreover, the Exodus account reports that God spoke to Moses in order to give him the law. Now, however, God names a Son to represent him on earth.

This story presents Jesus as the new law and the fulfillment of the prophets. The Christian gospel does not require keeping the law of Moses, because Jesus is the new law of love. And the church's gospel is not prophecy, because Jesus is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of ancient Israel. The good news is that Christ is a new beginning in the story of faith in God that offers salvation to all who repent and put their trust in the power of love.

Grace and peace...Bob

Caring for others

2010-08-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Acts 2:42-47

"All the believers held everything in common. They sold their goods and possessions and shared the proceeds according to the needs of each person."

The Acts of the Apostles was written by the author of the gospel of Luke as the second volume of his history of the church. The gospel of Luke ends with the disciples in Jerusalem, where they experience the Holy Spirit in a miraculous new way and begin their life together as the church. Verses 42-47 in chapter 2 follow a sermon by Peter that sums up the proclamation of the new community of faith. Then we read that those who were baptized "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (v. 42) We should keep in mind, as we read these words, that they were written after the imprisonment of Paul in Rome about 60 CE and probably well after the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem in 70 CE. So, these words do not represent observations of the first days of the church in Jerusalem, but are a summary that the author of Luke and Acts believes makes sense of what has happened between the time of the death of Jesus and the time of his writing at least two generations later.

Concern for the poor is crucial in the story that the author of Luke and Acts tells, because it represents a transformed way of life. Wealth and dietary restrictions were central to defining cultural and social roles in the first century CE, but Acts says the early Christians had pooled their goods and were eating together. Whether or not that was the reality of the first church in Jerusalem, it is clearly the vision of Christian life recommended by the author of the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. And who can deny the power of this call to faith?

Welcome to Our Home

2010-04-10T19:46:00.001-07:00

We know very little about the early church, but both the letters of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament make it clear that the first congregations were meeting in homes. Moreover, in many of these a woman was hosting the worship service and the communion meal. Going to church in the first few decades was like having a meal with friends in the home of the person whose house was large enough to accommodate the party.

Some of these, like Priscilla (who Paul refers to as Prisca), were clearly church leaders during the time of Paul's ministry. At the end of three letters attributed to Paul we find a greeting to Prisca and Aquila, her husband. In Romans Paul adds: “who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life.” (16:4) In 1 Corinthians Paul adds a greeting to “the church in their house.” (16:19)

The author of the gospel of Luke and Acts tells us, in Acts 18, that Priscilla and Aquila had left Rome and come to Corinth because Claudius had order all the Jews to the capital. Paul stays and works with them (they were all tent-makers), as he preaches in the synagogue trying to convince Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ. When Paul is rejected by the Jews in the synagogue, he begins a house church in the home of Justice, a Gentile who had been attending the synagogue. Acts says that Crispus, a synagogue official, also joins this new house church.

Priscilla and Aquila are apparently part of this congregation, because Acts also reports that more than a year and a half later Priscilla and Aquila accompany Paul when he sails from Corinth to Syria. They also travel with him to Ephesus, but remain there when Paul sails to Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem. In Ephesus, Acts reports, when Apollos arrives from Alexandria and begins teaching about Jesus in the synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila take him aside to “explain the Way of God to him more accurately.” Then they write letters to prepare the way for Apollos to continue preaching among the churches in Achaia.

It is striking that in Paul's letters and in Acts the reference is often to Prisca (or Priscilla) and Aquila, for this is a Jewish couple and traditionally the husband's name would be mentioned first. This is an early example of a couple involved in the church's ministry, and clearly the wife is not just baking cookies for the coffee hour after worship. She and her husband host worship, feed guests, risk their lives, counsel a visiting preacher to correct his message, and help maintain the network of house churches that are receiving guest preachers, like Paul and Apollos.

We should remember Prisca and Aquila, and all those who supported Paul and other preachers in these early house churches, with gratitude.

Romans 15:1-13

2010-04-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

Paul writes: "We should not try to please ourselves, but consider what is good for our neighbors and so build up community."

The community of the church is divided by conflict concerning the law of Moses and whether or how it should be enforced within the church. Paul argues that the law of Moses does not apply to the church, but in chapters 9-11 of this letter he asserts that God has not abandoned the Jews who have refused to accept Jesus as the Christ. As he brings his letter to a close, Paul urges the Christians in Rome to be considerate of one another. Paul says that Christ became a Jew to confirm the promise to the Gentiles that is present in the psalms and in the prophetic writings of scripture. Clearly, Paul sees the Roman Empire as part of God's divine plan, for it is Roman rule that has allowed him to move freely from city to city preaching the good news of the gospel.

Paul prays that the church in Rome may "abound in hope." He sees in the conflicts within the church the possibility of a greater community of Jews and Gentiles through the love of God in Christ. But it depends on the members of the church to bring about this reconciliation and to create this redeemed community. Paul's encouragement is as relevant today as it was almost two millennia ago. Can we care for our neighbors in order to build up the church? Can we put the good of the community above our own desires?

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 15:11-32

2010-03-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Coming to his senses, the prodigal son said: "I will leave this place and go to my Father and say, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.'" But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him.

The story of a son who leaves home and squanders his inheritance tears at our hearts, because every parent fears that a child may turn away and fall into a self-destructive cycle of behavior. Yet, the story of the prodigal son is not really about a father and his son, but about God and us. We are the children who have wandered off and squandered our inheritance. Look at how we treat one another and the earth! We are the prodigal children of God.

The New Testament proclaims that despite our sin God loves us, but we must turn to God to discover that love. We must realize that we have sinned and wasted our inheritance, if we are to open ourselves to the Source of love that can renew our lives. It is never too late, the story tells us, for Jesus is the sign of God's forgiveness. God continues to love us, but we must awaken to our pride and self-righteousness if we are to discover that love.

Grace and peace...Bob

John 11:1-45

2010-03-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "I am, the resurrection. Whoever believes in me shall live, even though they die. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die."

This statement appears in the middle of the story of the death and raising of Lazarus, a story that is only in the gospel of John. If Jesus had raised Lazarus from the tomb, surely the other three gospels would have reported the miracle. They do not, however, nor do they contain the statement by Jesus that he is the resurrection. These words attributed to Jesus come from the early church, but are presented by the gospel of John in a story about the ministry and teaching of Jesus. Through the gospel the church confesses that faith in Jesus leads to eternal life, because the resurrection of Jesus demonstrates his power over death.

The church today continues to proclaim eternal life through faith in Christ, but faith means more than affirming certain beliefs about Jesus. To "believe in" Jesus Christ means to trust in the God we know in Jesus. Faith is not merely assent to the beliefs of the church about Jesus. Trusting in God is a way of living, not merely a way of thinking. That is why the witness of the church is that "whoever lives and believes" Jesus "shall never die." The New Testament proclaims that the kingdom of God transcends life and death. The Jesus of the gospels calls us to enter that kingdom by following his way of living faithfully.

Grace and peace...Bob

John 5:24-27

2010-03-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "Whoever listens to my words and believes in the One who sent me has passed from death to life."

In John 5 Jesus heals a lame man on the sabbath. The author explains that this is "why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the sabbath." (John 5:16) When Jesus justifies his actions by asserting he is merely working on the sabbath as his Father is also working, the author of the gospel says: "This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God." (Jn. 5:18) The language in these verses is dangerous, because it pits Jesus against "the Jews" who oppose him and seek to kill him. It is as though Jesus isn't Jewish, and as though his followers aren't Jews. In fact, they are all Jews, so it isn't a matter of Jews scheming against Christians. This is about a conflict between Jews, who differ in their understanding of scripture.

The gospel of John presents the argument of a group of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians for their understanding of Jesus as the Messiah. The gospel was not only written to proclaim this faith, but also to condemn the synagogue that had expelled these Greek-speaking Jewish followers of Jesus. In the life of the church these passages from the gospel of John have often been read to justify anger and violence against the Jewish people. Today we must resist this interpretation of scripture.

Grace and peace...Bob

March 18, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

2010-03-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Paul writes: "God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. But when you are tempted, God will give you the means to stand up to it and will show you a way forward."

Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that the Israelites tested God in the wilderness but failed the test given them by God, because they worshipped idols and indulged in immorality. We have to learn from their experience, Paul tells the Corinthians, as we face the tests of the end of the age. Paul teaches that the temptations of God are common to all people, but that God will be faithful to those who are faithful.

The good news of the gospel is not that we are free of temptation and suffering, but that we are not alone. The God who accepts death on the cross, as the Christ, is always with us. If we have faith, we will find that God is faithful. If we have love for one another and for our enemies, then we will know God's love.

Grace and peace...Bob

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2010-03-17T19:11:00.001-07:00

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March 17, 1 Kings 19:1-8

2010-03-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

Matthew 7:12

2010-03-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "Do to others as you would like them to do to you."

The gospel of Luke contains this same teaching (Lk. 6:31), but in the gospel of Matthew Jesus adds, "for this is the law and the prophets." Both Jews and Christians in the first century referred to "the law and the prophets" as "scripture." The letters of Paul and the gospels written after them did not become "scripture" for all Christians until the 4th century, when they were included in the canon of the Christian Bible. The gospel of Matthew emphasizes that the teachings of Jesus sum up the scriptures, because this gospel was written for a primarily Jewish church. The gospel of Luke does not identify the Golden Rule with the scripture of Israel, because it was written for a largely Gentile church.

In 40-10 BCE Hillel was the leader of the dominant school of Pharisees in Palestine. Once a Gentile came and said to Hillel, "I will convert, if you can teach me Judaism while standing on one foot." Hillel replied, rephrasing Leviticus 19:18, "What is hateful to you do not do to anyone else." When this same man went to Shammai, the leader of a school of Pharisees that interpreted the Jewish law more strictly, the man was physical pushed away. The conflict among Pharisees, between the followers of Hillel and the followers of Shannai, is reflected in the gospels of the New Testament. The sayings of Jesus are often consistent with what was taught by Pharisees who followed the teachings of Hillel, and thus would have been opposed by Pharisees who followed the teachings of Shammai.

Grace and peace...Bob

A Healthy Faith

2010-03-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Many Christians believe that Jesus was able to perform healing miracles because he could draw on the power of God. The early church quickly affirmed after his death that Jesus was in some sense divine as well as human, although it would be several centuries before the theological details were worked out and asserted in the Nicene Creed. But anyone reading the New Testament gospels carefully will discover that Jesus frequently says to those he has healed, “your faith has made you well.” Here is a clue from the early church that health is not so much a miracle as a way of living with faith.

In this sense Jesus models what it means to have a living faith. His ministry is all about inspiring others to enter into this way of life, which the gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark and Luke identify as the kingdom of God (or the kingdom of heaven). To those who follow him, Jesus offers health through faith.

By following him we should think more of living with faith than of having the right beliefs about God, Jesus, the church, etc. For the gospel stories reveal that those who Jesus says have great faith are often persons who have not even heard his teachings, much less memorized a creed or a catechism.

Yet, our state of mind has a great deal to do with our health, and the ministry of Jesus is all about our state of mind. At the very beginning of his ministry, as recounted by the gospel of Mark, people are astounded by his presence because he teaches with authority. And when a man who is described as having “an unclean spirit” challenges Jesus, we read that Jesus healed the man by commanding the spirit to “come out” of him. (Mk 1:26) Life in the kingdom of God is about mental as well as physical health.

Following this story Jesus heals Peter’s mother of a fever. “And he cured many,” the gospel of Mark continues, “who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.”

As we continue to read the gospel of Mark, we find Jesus explaining that sin is unhealthy. When challenged for eating with tax collectors and sinners, he responds: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

The tax collectors are not “healthy” because they prey upon their neighbors by collecting taxes for the Roman rulers who are oppressing the Jews. Their state of mind, and thus also their bodies, are weakened by their corruption. In first century Jewish culture, sinners were those who failed to live according to the commandments. Rather than shunning or condemning them, however, Jesus offers a way into the kingdom and a life of spiritual as well as physical health.

The gospel of Mark reveals the “good news” of this saving ministry in the story of the woman who was healed of her “suffering from hemorrhages” by touching the cloak of Jesus. “Daughter,” he says to this woman, “your faith has made you well.” (Mk 5:34) Think for a moment of what Jesus might have said to her. “I have made you well.” Or, “God has made you well.” Or, “I have performed this miracle so that others will support my ministry.”

Suddenly, we are given a way of understanding the very first words attributed to Jesus by the gospel of Mark: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and have faith in the good news.” (Mk 1:15) Most translations of this verse conclude with the words, “believe in the good news.” But in the original Greek of the New Testament the verb “believe” is a form of the noun that is always translated into English as faith, and not as belief. The good news of Jesus is not about having the right beliefs, but about living with faith.

What does this tell us about living healthy and faithful lives today? We should not conclude that faith requires certain beliefs about demons and spirits that cause illness and mental disease. Nor should we look for miracles through prayer or because of our faith in Jesus. For this language reflects a view that is limited by first century knowledge of body and mind. We do not have to embrace first century beliefs to have a healthy faith.

Nonetheless, we may have to be faithful to be healthy. Being healthy involves caring for our bodies, eating good food and exercising regularly. If we feel life is a gift that we should treasure, we will develop healthy habits.

Being healthy also involves our state of mind. Are we anxious? In the gospels Jesus says having faith means letting go of our worries. (Mt 6:25) Are we judging others all the time? Jesus says we should stop being hypocrites. (Mt 7:1-5) Are we depressed? Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3)

We can enter this kingdom of mental health, this state of mind that reflects our faith, by trusting in the love of God. This is all faith is. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” Jesus says, “for they will see God.” (Mt 5:8)

If you read the New Testament gospels carefully, looking for instructions about prayer and worship, you will be surprised by how infrequently Jesus refers to either. The gospels report that Jesus prayed, and when his disciples ask for guidance in praying, Jesus cautions then against public prayer and using flowery language, which marks the prayers of those he describes as hypocrites. Whether Jew or Gentile, Jesus says, these religious people are more concerned with how they appear to others than with being faithful.

Therefore, Jesus counsels his disciples “to pray to your Father who is in secret” and he provides the simple words of the prayer that today we know as the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. (Mt 6:9-13 and Lk 11:2-4) As for worship, all that Jesus says in the New Testament gospels is that we should “worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” (Jn 4:23) Being faithful requires not being hypocritical. Living our faith means following the spirit of Jesus.

Does faith guarantee a long life or good health? No, but faith is healthy. If we embrace life with faith, we will treasure our bodies as a blessing. If we live with faith, we will pay attention to the spirit of the gospel. If, as Paul says, we abide in “faith, hope and love,” we will have “the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 13:13 and 2:16).

Matthew 19:27-29

2010-03-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "Anyone who leaves everything for my sake will receive much more and will inherit eternal life."

The gospel reports that Jesus told his disciples, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mt. 19:24, Mk. 10:25, Lk. 18:25) The first three gospels all put this strange teaching on the lips of Jesus, and very likely this saying was remembered as part of the oral tradition of the early churches. If the statement first was recorded in the gospel of Mark, the other two gospels kept it unchanged in their editions of the good news. The gospel of Matthew even kept the phrase "kingdom of God" rather than using the phrase, "kingdom of heaven," that it otherwise uses.

The saying follows the story of a rich man who asks Jesus what to do to achieve eternal life. The man says he has kept the Ten Commandments (of the Jewish law), but Jesus tells him to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. When the disciples ask with astonishment who can be saved, Jesus tells them anyone who leaves everything behind for his sake will be rewarded. The story promises all those who serve the church that they will find their reward in life eternal with God, if not in this life. It also urges those who are rich to give their wealth to the church, so it can help the poor.

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Timothy 4:12-16

2010-03-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

Paul, or one of his colleagues, writes to Timothy: "You have in you a spiritual gift, which was given to you. Do not neglect it."

Chapter four of this letter is concerned with false teachers, who forbid marriage and urge abstinence from foods that are not kosher under Jewish law. Paul teaches that all food may be eaten, if it is blessed by prayer and thanks is given to God. This letter cautions Timothy not to be misled by false myths, but to concentrate on the public reading of scripture, preaching and teaching.

What was "scripture" for Paul? The Bible as we know it did not yet exist. The gospels had not been written, and there was no "Old Testament." In the New Testament the word "scripture" refers to the readings from scrolls used in the synagogues, and among Greek-speaking Jews these readings were from the Septuagint — an interpretative translation into Greek of the Hebrew Torah, prophets and writings. The Septuagint was probably completed in Alexandria, Egypt around 200 BCE. The early churches organized by Paul adapted the forms of the synagogue to Christian ministry and worship.

The letter to Timothy says that Timothy's gift comes with the "laying on" of hands by the elders of the church. The Spirit is understood as a power that resides physically in the body and may be transferred and received. This act continues to be used within the life of the church today to confer leadership responsibility upon its leaders (priests, pastors, and elders), although it may be that many who now receive the "laying on" of hands do not conceive of the Spirit as literally being transferred from one person to another.

Grace and peace...Bob

Mark 10:42-45

2010-03-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus says to his disciples: "You know that in the world rulers lord it over their subjects and make their power felt. This is not to happen among you. No, anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant."

In the gospel of Mark the sons of Zebedee, James and John, have asked Jesus to sit at his right and left hand, when he comes in glory. This prompts Jesus to give his teaching about being a servant. The gospel of Luke does not mention the request by James and John, but merely prefaces the teaching with a comment that a dispute had arisen among the disciples as to who was the greatest. (Luke 22:24-27) The gospel of Matthew reports that the mother of James and John asked Jesus to favor her two sons. (Mt. 20:20-21) Consistently, the gospel of Matthew presents the disciples of Jesus in a more favorable light, because it concludes with the great commission that the risen Christi gives to the disciples to found the church.

The earliest manuscripts of the gospel of Mark do not record any resurrection appearances, which suggests that the author thought Paul rather than the former disciples of Jesus (later apostles headquartered in Jerusalem) was the one chosen by God to lead the church.

Paul travels, risks his life, collects funds for the church in Jerusalem, and organizes churches in "the world" (the Roman Empire). The gospel of Mark implicitly supports his ministry and reminds the members of the Greek-speaking churches Paul founded that they are to serve rather than compete for privilege. What better way to do that than to tell a story about the ministry of Jesus in order to make the point.

Did Jesus actually say what the three gospels report? He, or any reforming rabbi, might well have. The call to service rather than privilege is surely what the will of the God of the Bible.

Grace and peace...Bob

Isaiah 40:25-28

2010-03-09T18:36:00.001-08:00

Speaking for the LORD, the prophet says: "Why do you complain, my people, saying, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, my cause is disregarded by God?' Do you not know? The LORD is the everlasting God, the creator of the world, who does not tire or grow weary."

The author of Isaiah 40-55 is writing to the leaders of Judah who have been resettled to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 576 BCE. But the Persians under Cyrus are about to conquer the Babylonians, and that will make it possible to restore Jerusalem and the temple. The prophet tells the people to trust in the God even though they do not understand why they have had to suffer so bitterly. No wonder then that Cyrus is praised in scripture as the "shepherd" of God. (Isaiah 44:28)

The author of Isaiah 40-55 refers to the creation of the world by God more often than any other writer included in the Old Testament. When history is inexplicable as it was in the time of Isaiah, one answer is to fall back on the power of God revealed by creation. Perhaps this is how we will understand God in the 21st century.

Grace and peace...Bob

Sirach 4:1-10

2010-03-08T21:19:00.001-08:00

Deliver the oppressed from the hands of the oppressor and you will be like a child of the Most High who will love you more than your own mother does.

Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, was originally written in Hebrew in the early part of the second century BCE. About 132 BCE, the prologue tells us, it was translated into Greek. The Greek text was included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and thus was among the writings that Paul and the early Greek-speaking churches read as "scripture" and was included in the Greek and Latin Bibles of the church. Sirach was not, however, included in the Hebrew Bible after the end of the first century CE, when the rabbis closed the Hebrew canon. Therefore, the Protestant reformers did not include it in the Old Testament they translated into their own languages, because they used the canonized Hebrew Bible as the basis for their translations. This is why Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) does not appear in Protestant Bibles today, but is included in Roman Catholic Bibles.

Sirach stresses our moral obligations. The image used in this passage compares the love of God to that of a mother for her child, but we are also told the love of God is conditional. This "if-then" pattern is fundamental to Jewish scripture. If we would know the love of God, we must help the poor and oppressed obtain justice.

Grace and peace...Bob

A “Good Sam” Health Care System

2010-03-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

The story of the Good Samaritan is a well-known parable in the New Testament that Jesus tells after an exchange with a lawyer, who asks: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Rather than answering, Jesus responds with a question: “What does scripture say?” The lawyer quotes two verses, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” “Do this,” Jesus says, “and you will live.”

Unsatisfied by this answer, the lawyer asks: “But who is my neighbor?” His question might well be our question, as Jesus has not explained how to distinguish neighbors from those who are not our neighbors, or specifically what it means to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Jesus answers this question with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

This parable tells of a man who is robbed, beaten and left “half dead” beside the road. First a Jewish priest and then a Levite (a Jewish layman active in religious affairs) come upon the man, but each continues on his way. But a Samaritan stops and helps the injured man, who we may assume is a Jew, as Jesus was a Jew and the lawyer who knew Jewish scripture was clearly also a Jew. As Samaritans and Jews had been enemies for five hundred years, making a Samaritan the good neighbor in this parable told to Jews adds to its impact.

The Samaritan stopped and helped the injured Jew, took him to an inn, stayed with him, and when he left the inn gave the innkeeper enough money to provide for the health care of the injured man. After telling this parable, Jesus asks: “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” And the lawyer replies: “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus then says, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37)

For centuries Christians have responded to this parable by providing health care for those in need, which is why we have so many Good Samaritan hospitals in the world. This is Christian faith at its best. So why aren’t Christians in the United States actively supporting health care reform that would extend insurance coverage to all those who need it?

Many of those opposing legislation that would provide health care insurance to tens of millions now unable to afford it, claim they are simply resisting increased government control of health care. Yet, seniors making this claim also demand no changes to “their” Medicare coverage, and politicians opposing health care reform fan this fear. “Hypocrites,” Jesus would say, of those who enjoy the benefits of a government health care plan but oppose extending these benefits to others in need.

The same is true of those who believe we can’t afford to help people without health insurance, for they also believe we can afford the insurance benefits they have. To be sure, costs must be carefully managed, but this is true for our entire health care system. It is hypocritical for those who benefit from present health care spending to resist health care reform that would extend insurance coverage to those lacking it.

A recent study of health care systems around the world by veteran journalist T. R. Reid, entitled The Healing of America, concludes that costs can be contained while universal health care is provided when a society is committed to health care as a human right. This is true whether the health care system is directly managed by the government, as in the United Kingdom, or is primarily private, as in Japan and France. When there is a commitment to health care as a human right, the politicians, hospitals, physicians, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and voters figure out how to provide coverage and contain costs.

In the United States we clearly lack such a commitment to health care as a human right. This is, I suggest, largely because Christians in the United States are more concerned with other moral issues than with health care for those who need it.

The Catholic Church supports all the human rights affirmed by international law, including the right to health care, as “the social conditions necessary for human dignity.” As the Catholic Church is the largest religious organization in the United States, one would expect substantial support among Catholics for health care reform that would extend insurance coverage to the millions who in our present system cannot afford it. But Catholics active in the political debate are almost exclusively concerned with opposing the use of health care insurance for abortions.

Holding the line against abortion is also very important for evangelical Protestants, but they also argue that a free society is threatened by public health care expenditures (except for the programs that already benefit many of them, such as Medicare or the VA benefits for veterans). These Christians do not share the moral conviction of Catholics that health care is a human right, a social condition necessary for human dignity. Therefore, they do not support the idea that our government has a proper role to play in ensuring access to health care for everyone.

Those who claim the United States is a Christian nation are wrong not only because they misrepresent the human right to religious freedom, as it has evolved in American history and law to protect secular society as well as religious convictions. They are also wrong because our nation is hardly “Christian” when it comes to health care. We may have more Good Samaritan hospitals than any other nation, but our health care system does not embody the moral conviction of a good neighbor.

James 1:21-25

2010-03-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

The letter attributed to James says: "Those who listen to the word of God but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like."

In verse 22 of this chapter we read, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only." God's blessing will come, the letter says, for those who "visit orphans and widows in their affliction" and keep themselves "unstained from the world." (James 1:27) The greatest sin may be hypocrisy, because it involves affirming the good but not living up to it.

James the brother of Jesus, to whom this letter is attributed, was known in the early church for his righteousness. Early Christian writings refer to him as "James the Just." The church in Jerusalem was feeding the widows and caring for the orphans out of the pool of funds collected from members in Jerusalem and later from Greek-speaking congregations established by Paul.

Grace and peace...Bob

Romans 13:11-14

2010-03-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

Paul writes: "Let us put aside the deeds of darkness. Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul counsels the Christians in Rome that salvation is near and so they are to put off debauchery and licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy, and put on "the Lord Jesus Christ." Throughout his letters, Paul refers to "the Lord Jesus Christ," but the phrase does not appear in the gospels of the New Testament. Jesus is called Christ and Lord in the gospels, although God is called Lord more often, but never the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, in the Acts of the Apostles we find several uses of this phrase. (Acts 11:17, 15:26, 20:21, and 28:31) This seems to be language of the early church, which does not go back to the time of the ministry of Jesus.

However, this affirmation of faith reflects the sense of living "in Christ" and of being "born again" as a follower of Jesus. Paul says putting on the Lord Jesus Christ is like putting on armor, because there is no greater protection against the forces of darkness. Here is a truth that can only be tested in life. Enter into this faith and see for yourself what comes.

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 9:46-48

2010-03-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus says: "Anyone who welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes the One who sent me."

An argument among the disciples, as to which one of them is the greatest, leads Jesus to make this statement. The same teaching appears in the gospels of Mark and Matthew, although in the gospel of Matthew the disciples are not quarreling about their own greatness but merely ask, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" This difference is consistent with the more favorable treatment the disciples receive in the gospel of Matthew in comparison with the gospels of Mark and Luke.

In all three gospels, the teaching offers God's blessing on those who do the work of the church. It is not simply being nice to children that matters, but discerning the presence of God in each one. This is what is means to follow Jesus and to serve the One who sent him.

Grace and peace...Bob

James 5:7-11

2010-03-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

The letter of James says: "Be patient; do not lose heart, for the Lord's coming will be soon."
This letter is attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, who led the church in Jerusalem during the time of Paul's ministry, but its excellent Greek and awareness of 1 Peter would suggest the author was a Greek-speaking Jew, who lived near the end of the first century. The letter emphasizes the ethical commandments of the law of Moses and is closest in approach to the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew. It contrasts with the writings of Paul, as it teaches that faith without works is dead.

Like Paul, however, the author of the letter attributed to James looks for the coming of the day of the Lord and the judgment of the peoples' of the earth. The church in Jerusalem expected that the Jewish uprising in 66 would bring this about, but the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple did not result in the end of history. It did, however, create the conditions in which Jewish faith was organized by rabbis into Judaism and Christian faith was organized by Greek-speaking bishops into Christianity.
Christians waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled are urged by the apostles to live exemplary lives. That would seem to be good advice today as well.

Grace and peace...Bob

Psalm 27

2010-03-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

"Come," my heart says, "seek God's face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek.

The psalms were collected on one of 24 separate scrolls that later would be included in the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The psalms and the other "writings," as they were called, were of less importance in the religious life of the synagogues than the scrolls of the law (Torah) and the prophets. Generally, references to scripture in the New Testament are to the 5 scrolls of the law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and the 8 scrolls of the prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 "latter" prophets).

The psalms were composed for temple worship and to express the hopes and fears of the ruling elite of Israel and Judah. Psalm 27 is identified as a psalm of King David and was probably written by a temple attendant. The son of Abraham, Isaac, is the first person in the Bible to speak of the "face of God" (Gen. 32:30, but Moses is reported to have spoken to God "face to face." (Ex. 33:11) In the psalms and the prophetic writings, the image refers to the concern or presence of God.

Grace and peace...Bob

Luke 4:1-13

2010-02-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus answers the tempter saying, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

The gospel of Mark tells us that after his baptism Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he remained for forty days and was tempted by Satan. The gospels of Matthew and Luke add that he fasted during his time in the wilderness and tell the story of his temptations by the devil (or the tempter). In both of these gospels the temptation to turn stones into bread is the first temptation. The next two temptations in the gospel of Luke are given in reverse order in the gospel of Matthew.

In the gospel of Luke Jesus answers the first temptation by quoting from the Jewish scriptures (Deuteronomy 8:3). The gospel of Matthew quotes the verse in full: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Mt. 4:4) The image of the "word of God" or the "word of the LORD" is first used in the Hebrew scriptures in Genesis15:1 to refer to the words that the LORD (YHWH in Hebrew) spoke to Abram (later given the name Abraham). The LORD promised Abram descendants as numerous as the stars, and the story tells us that Abram "put his faith in the LORD, who reckoned it to him as righteousness." (Gen. 15:6, Revised English Bible) Paul used this verse to argue that God only requires faith and not obedience to the law of Moses, as the faith of Abraham precedes the law of Moses but is "reckoned to him as righteousness." In the prophets the phrase "the word of the LORD" (YHWH in Hebrew) is used over and over again to distinguish the divine oracles they deliver on behalf of God from their own speech.

Thus, the "word of God" or the "word of the LORD" once referred only to the speech of God. In the New Testament, however, the phrase is used more generally to refer to the "good news" of the church. The author of the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles uses these phrases to refer first to the teaching of John the Baptist (Lk. 3:2), then to the teaching of Jesus (Lk. 5:1, 8:11, 8:21, 11:28, 24:19), and then to the proclamation of the early churches (Acts 4:31, 6:2, 8:14, etc.). The gospel of John uses the Greek word "logos" to refer to Jesus, and this is usually translated as the "Word" that was with God in the beginning, and was God, and was made flesh in Jesus and abides in his words. (John 1 and John 5:24, 5:38 and John 8)

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 17:1-9

2010-02-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

The gospel of Matthew reports that at the transfiguration of Jesus, the disciples fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."

This story is also related in the gospels of Mark and Luke, and all three gospels report the fear of the disciples when a cloud came over and they heard a voice. However, only the gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus touched and comforted them. In all three accounts Elijah and Moses appear and the clothes of Jesus become intensely white, but the gospel of Matthew alone reports a light from the cloud.

If Moses represents the law of the covenant and Elijah the prophets, then this story presents Jesus as the fulfillment of both. The gospel does not require keeping the law of Moses, because Jesus is the new law of love. And the gospel is not prophecy, because Jesus is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of ancient Israel. The good news is that God offers salvation to all who repent and trust in the power of love.

Grace and peace...Bob

What is Revealed by Scripture?

2010-02-28T15:21:00.000-08:00

Gen. 22:1-19

The story of the testing of Abraham is among the most famous tales of scripture, but we might well wonder what it reveals. Does it give us insight into God? This is the traditional understanding. And because in the story God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Jews and Christians have struggled for centuries to discern what that tells us about God.

But the story might also be read as offering insight into our human tendency to project our desires and fears onto God. The story of the testing of Abraham was written at a time when human sacrifice was a common way of trying to appease a god thought to be angry for some reason, and as a way of demonstrating devotion to god. If, however, the story read as revealing our tendency to ascribe to God what we fear and desire for ourselves, then it represents an effort to end human sacrifice. For in the story God does not require that Abraham sacrifice his son, but only that Abraham sacrifice an animal to demonstrate his fear and loyalty to God.

The traditional interpretation requires that we find some meaning in God’s demand for human sacrifice, and so those sermonizing on this text generally argue that a life of small sacrifices, or perhaps even some great sacrifice, is God’s will and the way of faith. Down this path is the dreadful but common conclusion, when misery befalls us or others, that it must be “God’s will.” Or, in more secular language, we speak of a “silver lining” in the midst of a very dark or even disastrous event.

The alternative interpretation, however, allows us to conclude that God does not require human sacrifice, which is a significant step forward in human history. It also allows us to draw the inference that sacrifice may often not have any redeeming purpose or value, but may simply be a fact of nature and history.

The recent earthquake in Haiti killed tens of thousands of people for no good reason and has imposed sacrifice on many more, who will be years without adequate shelter or schools or health care facilities. It is a natural fact that earthquakes appear along geological fault lines, such as the one underneath Haiti. It is a now a tragic fact of history that the buildings constructed along this particular fault line were not designed to withstand the tremors of an earthquake that was known to be inevitable.

Earthquakes and other natural disasters have long been identified as “Acts of God,” but this misleading. Natural disasters reveal a great deal about the laws of nature and our success in understanding these laws and preparing ourselves accordingly. Because we can identify the natural forces that cause such disasters, we know these natural events are not acts of God, but rather the way that the natural world is.

It is the suffering of humans in such a natural disaster that raises questions about God among those who are convinced that some purpose must be found in such events. We are, however, free to see both what is right and wrong with this quest.

It is right for us to create meaning out of our experience, whether it is good or bad. We can learn from our mistakes and from experiences of loss. We can be humbled by our survival and the world can be enriched by the compassion that survivors have for each other and for all those whose lives have been devastated.

It is wrong, however, to conclude that the suffering and sacrifice was good, because we can choose to be better people for having lived through it. Every natural disaster is terrible and tragic, and we should not blind ourselves to this harsh fact by mouthing the phrase, “It was God’s will.”

If nature reveals anything about God, it is that God has created a natural world filled with danger and death. But this same natural world has enabled our species to understand the dangers of life and to intervene to reduce both our physical and mental suffering.

These human skills not only help us avoid disasters, but allow us now to interpret scripture in the light of our knowledge of the laws of nature. We can see, in a way that the people of Abraham’s era could not, that the threats of nature are not punishments or the result of a divine being withholding his or her favor.

Therefore, we need not interpret the Genesis story of Abraham as revealing a God who demands sacrifice. Instead, we may see in this tale, as in much of scripture, our human propensity to attribute what we do not understand to the will of God.

Grace and peace...Bob

Joel 2: 12-13

2010-02-26T22:02:00.000-08:00

The LORD says: "Come back to me with all your heart. Come back to the LORD your God who is tender and compassionate, and rich in faithful love."

It appears that this prophet lived in Jerusalem during the time Persia was the dominant power of the region (539-331 BCE). To make any sense of the prophet's name, which means "the Lord is God," we need to recall that in Old Testament translations "God" stands for the Hebrew word "El" and "LORD" translates into Hebrew the four-letter name "YHWH" that was not spoken in biblical times. This name, however, was written with vowels centuries later by Jewish scholars and became Yahweh (in German) or Jehovah (in English). The use of LORD and God together in the Old Testament most likely reflects a combining of faith traditions that originally concerned different deities.

The prophet promises that God is merciful to those who repent. The New Testament proclaims this gospel truth. The good news is that all those who repent of their sins and have faith will come to know the steadfast and forgiving love of God.

Grace and peace...Bob

Psalm 4

2010-02-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

Many keep saying, "Who will give us happiness?" LORD, let the light of your face shine upon us.

The prayer for deliverance from personal enemies affirms that God will hear the cry of the psalmist. The light of the "face of the LORD," of course, is a metaphor. The psalmist is not seeking a ray of light from the forehead or eyes of God, but is praying in his distress for the presence of God to comfort him and to protect him from his enemies.

How are we to find happiness? By doing what is right and trusting in God.

Grace and peace...Bob

Romans 4:18-25

2010-02-25T07:22:00.000-08:00

Paul writes: "Though there seemed to be no hope, Abraham hoped and believed, being fully convinced that God is able to do what he has promised."

Paul argues that Abraham had faith, which was "reckoned to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6), because Abraham trusted in God's promise of descendants even when this seemed impossible. Paul relies on Abraham as an example of faith, because Abraham lived before the law of the covenant was given to the Israelites through Moses. This proves, Paul says, that faith is the only requirement for receiving God's promises.

The passage in Genesis, of course, has nothing to do with the argument in the early church about whether or not Jewish law is required of Christians. The gospel of Matthew is well aware of Genesis 15:6, but relates a saying by Jesus that he has come to fulfill the law of the covenant and not to abolish it. On this point, the church has followed Paul more than the teaching in the gospel of Matthew.

Grace and peace...Bob

Psalm 142

2010-02-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

I cry out to you, LORD, set me free from prison that I may praise your name.

This psalm is a prayer for deliverance from personal enemies. The psalmist says his persecutors are too strong for him and that he is brought very low.

The psalmist may literally mean prison, or the word may be a metaphor. We who read this psalm are invited by it to seek deliverance from whatever is imprisoning our souls, so that we may praise the God who "frees" all those with faith.

Grace and peace...Bob

John 12:20-33

2010-02-22T22:32:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will also be."

The gospel of John tells us that Jesus said this to a few "Greeks" who were in Jerusalem to worship at the Passover feast and dropped by to visit him. Some translations indicate that these were Gentiles, but others suggest they were Greek-speaking Jews. In either case, the anecdote points beyond Jerusalem to the church that has already taken root in the Roman Empire at the time the gospel is written.

The gospel of John promises that Jesus will be with those who serve him, even after his death. It represents the faith of an early Christian community that sought to communicate this experience through a gospel account of the ministry of Jesus. Might it strengthen our faith today?

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 16:13-20

2010-02-21T21:54:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Peter says to Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replies, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by any human, but by my Father in heaven."

This statement is not recorded in the gospel of Mark, but the gospel of Luke also reports the conversation. Only the gospel of Matthew, however, contains the assertion by Jesus that Peter is the rock on which the church will be built and the one to whom the keys to the kingdom of heaven will be given. The gospel of Matthew looks to Peter (his Greek name), also known as Simon (Hebrew) or Cephas (Aramaic), as the authority for the church.

The gospel of Mark looks beyond Peter and all the other disciples to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. The gospel of Luke is the first volume of a narrative that tells the story of how the church that originated in Jerusalem under the leadership of Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, became through the ministry of Paul a movement of Greek-speaking Gentile churches within the Roman Empire.

Grace and peace...Bob

Faith in the Power of Good

2010-02-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

An Arab scholar, Al-Afif al-Akhdar, writes: "There are two Islams from the period of Mohammed. There is Meccan Islam [referring to Mohammed's period in Mecca], which is a 'Christian' Islam – that is, under Christian influence – and is essentially peace-seeking. The use of violence, even for self-defense, was prohibited. In this Islam, jihad was prohibited. This Islam was the basis for the mystical Sufi movement."

Most Christians would be shocked by the phrase "Christian Islam" and also by the idea that the earliest form of Islam was nonviolent, to use a modern term. These same Christians are also likely to ignore the passages in the New Testament that present Jesus as an advocate of nonviolence.

Akhdar goes on to say: "When Mohammed was forced to move from Mecca to Medina, a second Islam – jihadist Islam – was born. And it is this Islam that the contemporary terrorists have adopted. To justify the passage from the 'conciliatory' peace of Mecca to the militant peace of Medina, Mohammed told the Muslims that jihad is permissible only for self-defense [The Pilgrimage, Surah 22:39]: 'To those against whom war is made, permission is given [to fight], because they are wronged.' Mohammed was wronged – he was expelled from Mecca, and the purpose of the defensive jihad is to enable his return." (Ehud Ein-Gil, "The Roots of Jihad," Haaretz, 18 March 2006)

Christians asserted the right of self-defense, after the Roman Emperor Constantine was converted and began to use the church to promote support for imperial rule. This rationalization for violence in the name of all that is holy was soon used by church leaders to suppress heretics and later was employed to justify killing Jews and crusading against Muslims.

Surely, our desire to characterize the Christian tradition as more peaceful than the Islamic tradition is largely self-serving. We know too little of Islamic history, and we have forgotten too much of Christian history, to make any such comparison. In fact, history reveals that Muslims and Christians have been both peacemakers and warmongers.

Only a minority of Christians and a minority of Muslims believe that the nonviolent imperative initially embraced by the founder of each community of faith is the true Christianity or the true Islam.

Christian and Muslim communities have generally justified the use of violence in self-defense, and often each community has promoted war as a means of extending its influence. Moreover, Christians and Muslims continue aggressively to spread their civilizations throughout the world, and there is no sign that the influence of either tradition will soon decrease. It is too soon to declare what the true Christianity or the true Islam is. Only time will tell.

Therefore, it would be wise to refrain from characterizing either religious tradition in terms of its past or even its present.

Instead, our challenge is to construct a future that draws on the teachings within both traditions that support peacemaking and faith in the power of good. It is fair enough to expect Muslim leaders to do this, if Christian leaders are equally engaged in facing this challenge within their own religious communities and secular societies.

We should support efforts by our government to secure religious freedom and other human rights for Muslims in countries now ruled by wealthy families and military leaders, so long as such assistance is offered without the threat of violence. Encouraging elections, fair trade, and educational and cultural exchanges can be pursued peacefully in a spirit of mutual benefit and collaboration. Grants and loans to enable countries to invest in the development of democratic institutions make sense, as does support for training police, jurists and other government officials in nonviolent conflict resolution according to the rule of law.

Christians as well as Muslims must find ways to reaffirm the teachings within their traditions that support peacemaking and faith in the power of good, rather than war and violent jihad.

To pursue this imperative in the Muslim world Akhdar recommends "a reform of the Islamic discourse, of religious education, the religious media, the sermons in the mosques, and so forth. The plan is to remove from the textbooks all the violent and jihadist verses and leave them only in the source, in the holy writings." To Christian ears this sounds very unlikely. Yet, he notes that Tunisia has done this since 1999, and in October 2005: "Libya, too, canceled the [public] teaching of jihadist Islam and of the verses that justify violence."

What might a similar approach to the Bible mean for Christians? That we should stop reading, as the word of God, texts in the Old Testament in which God orders the Israelites to exterminate their enemies. (See Deuteronomy 20:17, for example.) A peacemaking approach must also mean not reading on Good Friday the passage from the passion story that has the crowd of Jews say, in reference to the coming crucifixion of Jesus: "His blood be on us and on our children!"

This horrific condemnation of Jews, which surely reflects a first century conflict among Jewish Christians, is only in Matthew 27:25. So, reading the Passion account is an easy way to omit this from Christian worship. Tragically, throughout history Christians have used this verse to rationalize violence against Jews. We must now repudiate that understanding of scripture and repent by recommitting ourselves to the gospel of nonviolence that Jesus preaches.

In addition, Christians should not teach that the battle depicted in the Book of Revelation at the end of time is a prophecy of an actual war to be fought by Christians versus Muslims (and other non-Christians). The image of this battle is indelibly a part of Christian scripture, but the interpretation that the end of Revelation is about an actual war to be fought is a reading that the church has resisted for much of its history. The witness of Jesus and his followers in the rest of the New Testament call us to interpret this violent imagery figuratively, as representing a spiritual battle rather than an actual war.

Christians and Muslims should also urge their leaders not to identify with Satan those who oppose their understanding of the Bible or the Koran. Both scriptures identify Satan with the force of evil in the world, but leave the notion of Satan shrouded in mystery. Yet, recently some Christians have labeled Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden as Satan, and some Muslims have identified President Bush or America with Satan. We should reject all such invidious characterizations.

Instead, we should affirm that faith in the power of good is at the heart of each of these traditions. To encourage this faith Muslims have, since the 9th century, taught that Jesus said: "Charity does not mean doing good to him who does good to you, for this is to return good for good. Charity means that you should do good to him who does you harm." (Tarif Khalidi, editor and translator, "The Muslim Jesus: Savings and Stories in Islamic Literature," Harvard 2001) As Christians, we may act in solidarity with this Muslim teaching by taking to heart the words of Paul: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 4:1-11

2010-02-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says to the tempter: "It is written, 'One does not live by bread along, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke all record that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness before beginning his ministry. Although the gospel of Mark says nothing about fasting, the two later gospels tell us that Jesus fasted for forty days and nights before he faced the temptations of the devil. When the devil says to Jesus that, if he is the Son of God, all he need do is command the stones to become loaves of bread, Jesus answers by quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3.

The real issue, of course, is knowing what words come from the "mouth of God." If the church believed that all of Deuteronomy came from the mouth of God, it would impose on Christians the requirements of the law of Moses that Orthodox Jews find written there. Followers of the Way in Jerusalem in the generation after the death of Jesus argued for that approach, but the church generally embraced Paul's shift away from a literal interpretation of scripture to a more symbolic reading. The New Testament is the word of God for us in so far as it leads us to live and proclaim the love of God we know in Christ.

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Corinthians 3:18-23

2010-02-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Paul writes: "All things are yours; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God."

Paul tells the Corinthians that "the wisdom of this world is folly with God," for God promises what the world cannot offer. This is why Christ crucified is the touchstone of faith for Paul. From the point of view of the world, the death of the Son of God is folly. What kind of a God would allow it? The gospel proclaimed by Paul affirms a God who manifests love and forgiveness through Christ crucified. God chooses to suffer and die as an act of love for humanity.

This is the heart of Christian faith. Let the followers of Apollos, Cephas and Paul argue among themselves in the church all they want, as long as they affirm this faith.

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

2010-02-18T17:43:00.001-08:00

Paul writes: "I did not come among you with eloquence or wise arguments to announce the mystery of God. I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ crucified, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Eloquent arguments are dividing the church at Corinth, as the Corinthians debate the teachings of Apollos, Cephas, and Paul. Instead of asserting that he has greater wisdom than the others, Paul claims to preach nothing but Jesus Christ crucified. At issue is whether (or to what extent) the Jewish law is to be required of all Christians, Gentiles as well as Jews. Paul appeals to the authority of the Spirit and to the faith of the Christians in Corinth. He argues that unity in Christ is more important than keeping Jewish law. The success of his appeal enables the church to grow among the Gentiles and to establish its independence from the church in Jerusalem, which continued to enforce Jewish law on Gentile converts.

We are not saved by keeping the law or by affirming "correct beliefs," but by the love of God in Jesus Christ. This is the good news of the gospel.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 6:1-4

2010-02-16T17:59:00.001-08:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your generosity is secret. And your Father, who sees all that is done in secret, will reward you."

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives instructions to his disciples for their ministry. He cautions them to avoid pride and urges them to give alms and pray in secret, as God will know what they have done and said even if others do not. The sixth chapter of the gospel of Matthew is the only place in the New Testament that contains this emphasis, but the gospels report that Jesus often criticizes hypocrisy.

The more public our piety, of course, the greater the opportunity for hypocrisy.

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

2010-02-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

You are eagerly waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will continue to give you strength to the very end.

To a church filled with conflict, Paul preached that the grace of God is to be found through faith in Jesus Christ. The strength of the Lord, Paul proclaimed, would maintain the unity of the church. He told the Corinthians that the grace of God had already been given to them, and that they have been "sanctified in Christ Jesus" to be saints. Their spiritual gifts, Paul says, will sustain them, because the words and understanding they need have been given to them.

Do we embrace this faith? Do we trust that the words and understanding we need will be given to us through the work of the Spirit of God?

Grace and peace...Bob

Isaiah 66:12-14

2010-02-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

The prophet writes that the LORD says, "I am going to send peace to my people like a river. When you see this, your heart will rejoice."

The prophecy attributed to Isaiah concludes with a vision of the prosperity of Jerusalem after Babylon is destroyed and the Judeans in exile are able to return to their homeland. The Bible is filled with images of water and rivers. In a land where water is precious, it is not hard to understand that the love of God is often illustrated with such images. The God who made heaven and earth and controls the rain and the seas, provides in this prophecy an overflowing river for the people of Jerusalem, so they may live without fear.

Spirituals like "Deep River" and "O Healing River" have sustained African-American Christians in the United States for centuries. Can we, amidst the violence of our time, find in the scriptures the hope they found?

Grace and peace...Bob

God in Three Persons

2010-02-13T20:40:00.001-08:00

Genesis 2:4b-9, John 14:8-17

When we hear the phrase, "God in three persons," we immediately think of the Trinity – the church doctrine distinguishing Christian faith from Judaism and Islam. Some Christians are so concerned with defending what is now often called the "triune God" that they say Genesis 1:26 shows God speaking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, when God says: "Let us make humankind in our image."

Of course, the notion of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit having a chat during creation is absurd. Such a literal reading of the biblical story demeans the insight that is revealed in the phrase "God in three persons." To speak of God in this way is not to pose a riddle about three in one, but to make an audacious claim that God can be known and loved in the way that we, who are persons, know and love one another.

Throughout the Bible God acts in ways that are characteristically human. God begins creation by speaking to other heavenly beings. And then, in Genesis 2, God talks and walks in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. In the remainder of the Hebrew Bible God speaks to prophets, gives commandments, tests people, and helps them in their distress. The biblical understanding of God is always personal.

In the New Testament God is not only personal, but becomes a person. The story of Christian scripture is all about God’s presence in Jesus. John 14:8-9 has the disciple Philip say to Jesus, "Show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." And Jesus replies, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."

Moreover, Jesus promises the disciples that God will be present, as Holy Spirit, in the life of the church. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you and he will be in you." (Jn. 14:15-17) We are so familiar with this language that we fail to see what an astounding claim this is. The New Testament says God will be present in the persons who make up the church – in folks like us! The Christian challenge to all religion looking for God in the supernatural is that God is in every human person!

For Jews and Muslims, the Christian teaching of the Trinity is idolatry, because God is One and cannot physically be present in a person. God is immortal, so God cannot be a mortal person. God is all-powerful, so God cannot be a person subject to disease and pain. God is ruler of all, so God could not have been a man ruled by other men. For Jews and Muslims, God has personal attributes, but God cannot "be" incarnate in a human person.

Christians answer that God can choose to be human, because God is God. God is free, to be what God wants to be and to do what God wants to do. God is love, and love is what human life is all about. In the Christian story, the God of the Jews is known to be the God of all people by becoming a human person who lives for all others.

We need to remember, of course, that language about God is always figurative. Every statement about God uses human images to speak of the divine. For instance, when Jesus calls God "Father," he uses a word for his human father to say something about God. Praying to God as "Our Father" does not mean God is actually our father, but expresses our perception and experience of God as like a loving father.

Claiming that God became fully human in Jesus is not a factual statement that could have been verified by a first century medical exam or videotape, if the technology had then been available. Proclaiming that "God was in Christ" is a figurative statement that can only be verified in our lives. Christian teaching about "God in three persons" has nothing to do with conversations in heaven among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity has to do with the different experiences of God, which we encounter in scripture and in the life of the church.

So, put aside the puzzle of the Trinity and accept that the Trinity is language about the rich, personal, human experience of God, which the life, death and continuing love of Jesus stirred up among Jews and Gentiles in the first century. Stop pondering the "triune" riddle, and instead acknowledge the wonder and mystery of the biblical story. The New Testament claims that love moves God to be human, and that love moves humans to embrace God. Our choice, the choice of faith, involves living this story, in our own ways, in our own time.

The New Testament doesn’t give us a list of rules for doing this, nor does it teach a set of beliefs that will "make us right" with God. Mostly, the New Testament tells stories – the gospel stories of Jesus and the disciples, and then stories of the apostles. In stories of persons – stories that are not necessarily historical but are set "in" history – the church tries to pass on what Jesus Christ, its founding image, has meant for others and might mean for us. The meaning is in the medium. The truth of the story is in the telling, the hearing, and the living of the story.

The outrageous Christian story is that God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, suffered and died in the life of a poor person belonging to an oppressed people. The resurrection triumph does not diminish the audacity of the statement made about God in the gospel story of the incarnation. In Christ, God is not to be found in the pleasures of religious practice, but in the plight of impoverished persons. In Jesus Christ, God does not ask that we believe rightly, but that we live faithfully. In Jesus, God does not demand pious worship, but commands that we love God and our neighbors and our enemies.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 5:17-37

2010-02-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, "If you are bringing your offering to the altar and remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your offering before the altar, go and be reconciled with them, and then return and present your offering."

The gospel of Matthew presents a summary of the teaching of Jesus in what has become known as the Sermon on the Mount. In verse 17 of chapter 5 Jesus says, "Do not suppose that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to complete." If we have read the letters of Paul, we will realize that this doesn't sound much like the gospel Paul preached. "Truly I tell you," Jesus adds in the gospel of Matthew, "so long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a dot, will disappear from the law until all that must happen has happened." (Mt. 5:18)

Because the examples given in the Sermon on the Mount concern moral laws, the statement in verse 18 is not taken literally by Christians to include all Jewish law. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus emphasizes the relationships among his followers. Keeping the law and the prophets mean living holy and loving lives. This is why asking forgiveness from those we have offended is our highest obligation and the core of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples (Mt. 6:9-13).

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Corinthians 1:22-25

2010-02-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

We proclaim Christ crucified, which to the nations is foolishness, but to those whom God has called it is Christ, the strength and the wisdom of God.

Paul says that preaching Christ crucified is a stumbling to Jews, who cannot accept that the God of Israel would allow the Messiah of Israel to be killed, and folly to Gentiles, who cannot image that a God allowing his Savior to die is worth worshipping. But it is faith in Christ crucified that Paul believes will unite the Jews and Gentiles in the church.

Why is this the strength and wisdom of God? Christ crucified reveals that God suffers with us rather than ruling over us. A divine Ruler, who allowed his son to be put to death, would be guilty of cruel neglect. In Christ, God suffers death, revealing a love that knows no bounds.

Grace and peace...Bob

Baruch 5:19

2010-02-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

God will guide the people in joy, with mercy and saving justice.

Baruch takes its name from the secretary of Jeremiah, who is said to have been the author. It is part of the Apocrypha, a term used to designate books that were not included in the Hebrew Bible but were included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that was read by Greek-speaking Jews and used by Paul and the early Greek-speaking churches. The Latin Vulgate prepared in the fourth century excluded the Apocrypha from the canon, but included the Apocrypha in the Bible with a note about its use in the early church as part of the Septuagint. In the Middle Ages, however, this distinction was lost.

In 1546 the Council of Trent decreed that the Old Testament included all the books of the Apocrypha, except the Prayer of Manasseh and 1 and 2 Esdras. Thereafter, the Latin Vulgate included the books of the Apocrypha among the other books of the Old Testament. When Protestants prepared Bibles in the languages of their communities, they included in the Old Testament only those books that were in the Hebrew Bible. Thus, Protestant Bibles do not include the Apocrypha, so Baruch is not found there.

Baruch offers consolation to the captives in Babylon from Israel and promises that God will return them to their home. The light of the glory of God will show them the way, and the mercy and righteousness of God will protect them.

Grace and peace...Bob