(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

I’m not sure why, but it wasn’t until today that I got route taken. I’m nto talking about some hidden spiritual meaning in the route; just the physical journey itself. How they travelled the coast of the pinnensula and ultimately approached the Promise Land from the west. Never put it together until today.

Something interesting in today’s Gospel reading as well. I had always assumed that Peter’s calling was out of the blue: One day this guy walks up and says, "Follow me." So, I follow him. Well, if the events of Luke 4 and 5 are in chronological order, and there is reason to think they are then Peter’s calling comes on the coat tails of the miracles in Capernaum, miracles that include the recovery of his mother-in-law. The call to follow Jesus, it seems, follows an experience of Jesus.

++ Lord, grant us an experience of You ++

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

Another hard story of vengance and brutality from Torah. If these are just parables, it is easier (though still not easy) to accept the symbolism of death and the need to deal ruthlessly with those things that would lead you astray. But if it is history, and if these were real people slain in ages past, then this remains complex and difficult. The symbolism is obscured by the violence.

++ Lord, have mercy ++

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

++ One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. ++

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

Today I’m struck by the tone of judgment in John the Baptist’s message, particularly because Luke characterizes this message as “good news.” The harsh tone directed toward some could scarcely be characterized as “good news” by those to whom these comments were directed… unless these is an out, a way to change the threatened outcome.

And there is: Give to those in need. Do not abuse power if you have it. “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

I don’t normally comment on Proverbs, but today’s reading ought to have a profound impact on the way many handle their wealth, particularly parents:

He who puts up security for another will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe.

It begs a question on the other side of the coin: How much help are parents really giving their young adult children when they cosign loans and otherwise permit them to live beyond their means? I’ve mentioned the value of proper perspective before, and I think the answer to my question lies there.

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

So I realized late last night that I’d not done the readings (or posted) for a few days. Totally slipped my mind. Funny how that can happen. Anyway…

Passages like today’s Torah, in which God seems to approve of Zimri and Cozbi’s murder, are tough for me. God seems unkind and spiteful, as if God were reacting out of rage like a petulant child. It’s tough to fit these stories in with the great New Testament statement of God’s identity: “God is love.”

Some recent reading (I promise I’ll get around to blogging it soon; I’m on the last book in the series.) has given me a bit of a hook on which to hang this sort of story. The hook is this: The sacrifice of God the Son has been completed mysteriously in eternity past, and this sacrifice is prefigured in creation - particularly in the life and story of Israel - prior to its culmination at the Cross. Remembering this provides a framework within which to understand today’s story.

Today’s story is an anticipation of the Cross. It is a story of sacrifice in pursuit of God’s glory, which is the expansion of Divine Community. In this context, I am better able to digest a tough passage.

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

In Torah today we read about Balaam and his donkey. One lesson to be heard is that of expectations. We tend only to see what we expect to see. If we don’t entertain or anticipate the possibility of something unexpected - like, say, an angel of God sitting on the road - then we may never see it. It took a talking donkey to open Balaam’s eyes to the unexpected. What will it take to open our eyes?

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

Just want to share this graphic from Andrew Jones: Proverbs 11:11.

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(One Year Bible Blog post & readings)

One generation is ending in Torah, and a new telling begins in the Gospels. Luke has always been up my alley. Something about his circumstances: embedded journalist, careful investigator. I don’t recall anything being said about how or when he came to believe; just that he accompanied Paul. I wonder if he believed at the start, or only after travelling and talking with those whom he met?

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