From St. John Chrysostom, On the Epistle to the Hebrews 20.5, from Hebrews: Ancient Christian commentary on Scripture, New Testament X p. 167 Knowing then these things, let us be patient when we suffer evil and forthright in offering kindness. This is all the stronger if we think lightly of wealth and honor. He that…
I’ve given up the enterprise of reading this book through from cover to cover, so these notes are based on using it as reference while I’m reading 2 Corinthians itself. The fact is that I found the book impossible to read straight through. As I mentioned previously in using it as a comparison to Matera’s…
At first glance, this is a good sign for a Christian. After all, Jesus replaces “an eye for an eye” with “Do not resist the one who is evil” (Matthew 5:38-39). But I think it illustrates the way we fail to understand certain phrases as they were intended. “An eye for an eye” or lex…
… In the Tanakh, faith does not mean believing in spite of the evidence. It means trusting profoundly in a person, in this case the personal God who has reiterated His promise. (from The Jewish Study Bible: featuring The Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation, page 35.) I think that’s an excellent statement of what faith…
The Old Testament Lectionary passage for the first Sunday in Lent, cycle C is Deuteronomy 26:1-11. It’s kind of an odd text for this season. You might almost use it as a text for Fat Tuesday. I’m going to comment more on the lectionary texts this week, if for no other reason than because I’ve…
It’s been some time since I posted on the Mosaic Bible in connection with lectionary reading, but we’re entering an excellent season for using these tools together. (For what it’s worth, I use The Text this Week for the lectionary passages.) While the passages don’t match for the first week of Lent, the Mosaic Bible…
Clayboy has an excellent post on preachers who say “What the Greek really means…” or words to that effect. I was drawn to this one because of my own experience. My wife tells me that when we first got married she quickly got used to watching me during sermons. I need to tell you that…
Eddie Arthur has a fascinating post on language development and mission, particularly relating this question to the language development work of Wycliffe Bible Translators. I was particularly struck by this paragraph: An alternative way to view mission is to start with the character and activity of God as revealed across the whole of the Scriptural…
While none of the Mosaic Bible texts [Holy Bible: Mosaic NLT (Meditations)] overlapped the lectionary texts for today, I think it was quite appropriate, if coincidental, that the texts chosen deal with dealing with the poor and outcasts. The texts were Leviticus 19:1-18, Psalm 119:33-40, James 2:1-7, and Luke 6:27-42. These passages emphasize that our…
I’m trying to return to my pattern of posting short notes from my morning reading. My schedule has been disrupted recently to the extent that my “morning” reading sometimes has taken place in the evening. But today I moved from Leviticus to Numbers in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary), and I read the introduction….