June Bible Study

The parallel-text Bible study met on Sunday, and included Jean, who hosted, Bill, Ken, Roger, Lisa and me. Jean made sweet potato biscuits and iced tea, and Lisa brought M&M cookies. We don't meet to eat, but it's a pleasant surprise when homemade food appears, if not good for my diet!

We discussed a long passage (nine pages) of Jesus' prophecies for the future.

As is familiar, Jesus foretells a present age filled with wars and famines, earthquakes and floods, and a time of desolation and abomination. We're warned against false prophets and advised, implicitly, to listen to our own inner guides. We're promised that after a period of tribulation, if we can just hang on faithfully, relief will come and new earth will dawn.

Interestingly, in a passage that follows Jesus talks about separating those who fed the poor, clothed the naked, visited the prisoner, etc. from those who did not, but he speaks in terms of nations that have acted with compassion being separated from nations who have not. This is not about individual salvation but about salvation through community. It pulls the focus from us an individuals and puts it on the larger body of Christ. Do you agree with this reading?

Bible study: woe to the hypocrites

Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisees! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate that the outside may also be clean.
Matthew 23: 25-26


We had a lively discussion of Jesus' excoriations of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 and Luke 11 at last night's Bible study. Jesus condemns them for being hypocrites with misplaced priorities. But underlying that is a sense that they really are unable to see beyond the physical world to the spiritual realm all around them. Thus they get caught up in trying to appear good and in demanding petty adherence to the rules, while missing the bigger picture of compassion and mercy to all people. And because they can't perceive the spiritual, they lack faith in it: thus they grab material goods and honors. Jesus condemns the way they mislead the people and misrepresent the kingdom of God. Nothing is worse to him than leading people astray about the loving heart of faith.

We talked about the bit of Pharisee in all of us and examples of Phariseeism in our culture. David mentioned that these passage reminded him of the Old Testament prophets and their excoriations of injustice. Ken "illuminated" us from a exegesis he'd brought along, and Jean, as always, kept us in tea and good conversation. Bill made sure we stayed on track while Johanna, as usual, was able to personalize the Bible passages.

Kathy came for the first time in a long time and looked quite well and cheerful. We were glad to have her back after her bout with cancer. There were seven of us around Jean's table, an indication of the continued robustness of the group. We missed Michelle, Lisa and Alan.

Bible Study

"And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, 'How can the scribes say the Christ is the son of David?' David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under they feet.' David himself calls him Lord; so how is he his son?"'

And the great throng heard him gladly."

Mark 12:35-37

We discussed the above passage (and its equivalents in Matthew and Luke) in the parallel text Bible study last night. In the passage, Jesus uses Psalm 110 (the source of the quote) to establish himself as a greater authority than King David. The psalm, which we also looked at,hints at Jesus as a different, priestly kind of king, saying "you are a priest forever." The psalm does, however, surround this kingship with violent military metaphors. A key point, if we see the psalm as part of a biblical story that involves an unfolding understanding of God as loving and nonviolent, is to understand the language of the psalm as metaphoric and not literal.

We examined what "enemies" God might be putting under Jesus' feet if Jesus loved his enemies. We decided the enemies being crushed would be the principalities and powers, the forces of violence and coercion in the world.

We then moved to Jesus' discourse in which he excoriates the scribes and the Pharisees for laying heavy burdens on the poor and devouring widows' houses while at the same time wanting praise and honor. We spent some time discussing examples of how this is true today, not just among people "out there," but in terms of our own group, the Quakers.

Seven of us gathered, which made for a lively discussion. We greeted a new (to us) attender, David Williams.

Bible study: Jesus the Reframer

Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? ... [Jesus] said to them, 'Show me a coin. Whose likeness and inscription has it?' They said, 'Caesar's.' He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar's the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.'" (Luke 20:21-25, also Matthew 22: 15-22, Mark 12: 13-17).

"'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment?' And [Jesus] said to them, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:36-39, also Mark 12: 28-31, Luke 20:25-28).

In the parallel text Bible study last night, Bill, Ken, Johanna, (it was good to see all of you!) Roger and I discussed the above passages. As usual, Jesus takes a dualistic either/or question meant to trap and pigeonhole him and reframes it. When Jesus then tells his listeners to render onto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's, he leaves it up to them to discern which is which.

In the next passage we read, Jesus conflates two separate commandments from Deuteronomy: love God and love your neighbor. This is one of the few instances of Jesus offering straight answer to a question, but, as usual, it's a response that places responsibility for discernment on the listener.

It strikes me how often Jesus is asked questions with an underlying agenda, and it makes me wonder how often we ask still ask questions to trap people. This is neither plain nor authentic.

Last night, we struggled with the question of war taxes: should we pay taxes to that which opposes Jesus' message of peace? Is our money God's or the state's? How important is money to the Kingdom of God? Do we place too much value on it? Is it wrong to withhold it to coerce people?

Jesus rejects simplistic answers to questions. I believe he doesn't give easy answers because he wants to engage us fully in thinking, feeling and understanding what is like to live in his community (the Kingdom of God). Rejecting formulaic answers is part of loving God with all our hearts, minds and souls. Jesus wants us to examine our preconceptions and our grids. He wants us to embrace a world that is not dualistic but holistic. He wants us to become fully human.