Bible Topics

The strongest point that needs developing is the notion "Son of Man." I have every reference lined up from its origin in Daniel to the 4 Gospels. The phrase is clearly a reference to "Adam" and means "real man" or the "Adam who responds to Yahweh" as intended from the beginning.

The second notion that has to get full treatment is the "qahala" or the "church" as first presented. The Biblical meaning has one meaning - the "gathering" of people or animals. It is not a separate entity. It had two qualities: "holy" and "everywhere." How this was done depended on each locality. The oldest creed outside the Bible, the "Apostles' creed" says this. It comes from the Didache.

I thought a lot about the personalities of the apostles and Christ because of the incident with the Samaritan at the well in Sychar. The fact that Christ even talked with her, a Samaritan and a woman, was far more daring than asking a black person to eat with you in the deep south in the 1930's. It just wasn't done. Then the whole group of people came out to see Christ and were captivated by him.

Now the apostles arrive on the scene. They have just been to the McDonalds or Burger King or Herod Quick Stop of the their times. They have food but it looks like there might be a fight first. Then I remember that all of these men were in their late teens or early twenties. They were from Galilee. They hated Samaritans. They were led by Peter who always acted first and then thought about it. All hell could have erupted. Christ calmly keeps control and the incident stands out in John's mind the rest of his life.

This has brought the Gospel story alive in a way I have never seen it before. So often, John's account was considered stiff and formal. This is because we don't make the incidents alive with people in them. The Nicodemus in Chapter 3 will be a real thriller. That wedding feast in Cana has all the makings of a great story.

I finished my notes from the JB up to Exodus yesterday. Then I pulled up my commentary on Genesis to see how they compared. I have Genesis divided into the Creation Story, the Noah Story, the Patriarch Story, and the Joseph Story. What I intend to do is to edit the notes into the commentary at the proper places. The picture will be more complete and all my ideas will gel better. There are a few basic facts in the OT and the rest is a story much like the parables of Christ in the NT. It is Semitic history but not western history. The Semitic mind, even today, is not interested in the "what" of the story rather than the "why." They do not hesitate to add, omit, or maneuver facts to teach their point.

The origin of Israel in the east, near Iran or Iraq is a good guess because of the huge migrations in the 19th and 18th centuries B.C. This would be the Patriarchal story. Then there was a terrible famine and everybody headed for Egypt, a land of plenty, because of the Nile.

The Hyksos, or foreigners, took over in Egypt for about 2 centuries and all non-Egyptians rode the gravy train. About 1500-1250 B.C. the Egyptians came back into power and enslaved every non-Egyptian. The principal work was making clay brick and building.

Then about 1250 B.C. there was a huge exodus of non-Egyptians from Egypt, so the exodus story is told in this setting. All the other details of the stories in Genesis are very probably literary trimming. These were written down in the 10th century for the first time under Solomon. Then they were edited over and over again down to the 1st century B.C. The prophetic movement was an effort on the part of serious reformers trying to restore the true greatness of the people.

Jesus Christ was the last of these reformers. At first, the Jews and Christians were together. Then 68-90 AD, the Jewish nation was decimated and the followers of Christ were on their own.

We were talking about events that take place in our lives and where God fits into this picture. I know a lot of priests and theologians taught the picture you describe and then try to use all sorts of mental gymnastics to explain the seeming contradiction.

The writers of the Bible clearly faced the problem, especially in the last two centuries before the Christian era. The writers ended with Job, Sirach, Proverbs and Wisdom.

Then Christ came along. He presented what I consider the full picture. God is a Father, a truly loving parent. All people are his children. He helps them but like every good parent, he knows there is a time when the child has to operate on his/her own.

You have done it thousands of times with kids in the classroom. You explain the lesson clearly. You leave the floor open to questions. Then you give the assignment. You walk around looking over their shoulders. You see them making a mistake. Sometimes, you point at it. Sometimes you ask a question. Sometimes, you just let the mistake there. The child has to learn from mistakes.

God made everyone of us free. He set the standards of cooperation, effort, mutual love, kindness, etc. However, not all people cooperate. This creates problems for innocent people. But God wants the world to grow up. He is not mean, inconsiderate or lacking in love any more than a parent who lets his child fall off a bicycle or stumble on roller skates to develop a sense of balance.

God made the universe a place of unlimited possibilities. Mankind is beginning to unfold more and more of these. The motor and the car were a giant step forward. Yet every day people use cars carelessly and injure or kill innocent people.

Yesterday, I was writing a short notion of each Gospel for the presentation at Harold's church. I finally have a single word to describe the key trait of each Gospel. Mark is chronologically the oldest and his is "Kerygma" the "Proclamation." This Gospel story is just a bit beyond the basic truth a person had to profess before baptism. Luke is "Salvation." However, I am using its more generic word. Luke was a medical doctor. As such, he was concerned with health. The Greek word he uses is the basic word for "health." He is concerned with Jesus as the source of health in every sense: physical, mental and spiritual. Matthew is the "kingship" and how each person is to share in all aspects of this Kingship. John is "Service." He is concerned with the full practical application of "love" in daily life. This will be expressed and seen in all the interaction of Christians with all people. That's the whole picture: A proclamation of universal health in establishing of Kingship in the service of each other.

It's a great program! It worked wonders for about 3 centuries and then was buried under the Mound of Popes, rituals, sacraments and buildings. -- Aggiornamento is needed.

I was looking at my summaries in the Books of the Bible. I came to 1st Corinthians where Paul talks about the Eucharist. There is no doubt he is talking about the "basket supper" where everyone brought food. The problem was that some people, especially men, just drifted into the assembly for a "free meal." Paul laid down the rule - No work - no eat! Everybody is to carry his share.

Paul says explicitly this is the commemoration of the Last Supper. The difference between Paul and the gospels is that Christ is talking explicitly of the new meaning of the Passover Meal. From that time forward, his followers were to celebrate the Passover in memory of his delivering them from the slavery of sin. The old Passover recalled the deliverance from the slavery of Egypt. The communities of Paul had this Lord's meal, the basket supper, every time they met.

I was mulling over the numerous churches or groups that have been established in the name of Christ. The Vatican denies legitimacy to all of these except the Eastern Uniate group. The answer of Christ was explicitly the opposite. The Apostles had gone out on mission during the second year of Jesus' public life. They met some people who were teaching in the name of Jesus but they did not belong to the 12. They came running back to Jesus and wanted them stopped. Jesus just smiled and said, "Let them alone. If they are not against us they are for us."

There is the principle of unity and growth that allows everyone to work together and see all their talents and zeal.

Another time, the Sanhedrin wanted to condemn the work of the early church. Gamaliel, a Pharisee, finally made himself heard. "If this work is from man, it will fold naturally. If it is from God, you had better tread softly, lest you find yourself fighting against God!"

How easily all the bickering and division in the Christian world could be settled if these principles were followed.

The original prayer of the church was the collection of Psalms. These were read, sung, recited or chanted. Originally, all the Psalms were "occasional" songs to commemorate or describe some event, action or person and to express the people's feelings.

These Psalms were taken right over into the Last Supper. We are told Christ and the Apostles chanted the final psalms on the way to the Garden of Olives. The first Christians continued this practice at their community suppers. Then the monks took over and spread the Psalter through the whole day and night.

The Our Father was to have been a short outline for meditative prayer. Chapter 17 of John is one example. This was the notion of prayer we were taught in novitiate by John Zeller and which I follow through the day. Sometimes, I have questions to answer, problems to solve, works to do, people to meet - what have you.

Each time I work on Mark, I realize I am listening to what he heard from Peter. I can certainly understand why Peter was picked to be the rock bottom of the church. He was certainly not a deep thinker. John wins that category easily. He was not a person everyone liked because he was so blunt and did not hesitate to hurt feelings. He was fearless and that's what was needed in a hostile Israel and Rome. Walking around on the lowest floors of the catacombs of Callistus always made me think of Peter. They dated back to his day.

The Four Gospels roll into a beautiful whole without sacrificing their individuality. The Gospel stories clearly show Christ arriving at these ideas gradually. He saw the problems, especially the rejection and abandonment, and it really scared him. However, he was convinced he was on the right track and he kept pushing forward.

He was raised from the dead to show us just a bit of what we were working for. Then he left for good and offered each person the opportunity and the challenge to share with him.

It is extremely helpful to see all of Paul's letters as the opening years of the NT period. These letters are the first works Luke completed. Out of these letters, Luke saw the need of a full picture of the teaching and heritage of Christ. So he wrote his Gospel. Then he saw the need of a short description of some of the workings of the early church. So he wrote Acts.