Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Week 2 Signs cont./ Venning it//Theme 2: Guidelines for Community


   We'll start by reading our letters (texts) to a neighbor).

--------------------------------------------
After last week, everyone will be used to "text" language in class.
And "sign" language:


We'll get a lot of mileage out of this symbol/sign(#10) tonight, "Venn it!"  It's a simple "Venn" diagram, and it simply means that it is helpful to Venn/compare/contrast two texts that seem to be relayed (or don't seem to be)>










We'll review the 12 signs for Week 5's quiz, adding a bit more info on most; and explaining those we didn't get to last time.

For example, even though i posted it on last week's post, we didn't talk about Mike Rinaldi's story (

Chiasm led me to Christ"

 (a great story from a recent FPU grad)), and large chiasms.

We didn't yet cover the last 2:




 11)INTERTEXTUALITY/HYPERLINKING:

 This means one text quotes another text.  When both texts are biblical, this is often called cross-referencing.  When we get into today's theme, we;ll see intertexting between The Ten Commandments (OT) and The Sermon on the Mount (NT)
One of Chris Harrison's projects is called "Visualizing the Bible":


"Christoph Römhild sent me his interesting biblical cross-references data set. This lead to the first of three visualizations. Intrigued by the complexity of the Bible, I derived a new data set by parsing the King James Bible and extracting people and places. One of the resulting visualizations is a biblical social network. The other visualization shows how people and places are distributed throughout the text."  Chris Harrison-

But why should I tell you when I can show you?:

"The bar graph that runs along the bottom represents all of the chapters in the Bible. Books alternate in color between white and light gray. The length of each bar denotes the number of verses in the chapter. Each of the 63,779 cross references found in the Bible is depicted by a single arc - the color corresponds to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect." .More info about this chart, and charts of the Bible as a social network  here.

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SUBVERSION OF EMPIRE
Subversion of Empire
The Herodian

We moved into the "Christmas" story in Matthew 2 (noting how it compared and contrasted with modern manger scenes and Christmas cards), and we watched the Ray VanDer  Laan"In the Shadow of Herod" video below as a classic example of how a verse that at first seems so matter of fact,  comes alive when we grasp the historical and literary world. we learn about Herod, and we see that he is a very different kind of king than Jesus,
and we learn it by the literary world of Matt. 2:1a, and the historical world image of the Herodian fortress, in whose shadow is baby Jesus).  REWATCH IT BELOW.. 


VanDer Laan writes:

THE MASTER BUILDER
There was another side to Herod. His visionary building programs, his ingenious development of trade with the rest of the world, and his advancement of the interests of his nation are legendary. Many of his building projects were designed to strengthen the loyalty of his subjects, a goal he never achieved. Most seem to have been built to strengthen his relationship with Rome and to establish himself as the greatest king the Jews had ever had. Herod built on a magnificent and grandiose scale. His building projects included:

The Herodion: This mountain fortress overlooked the town of Bethlehem. Standing on a high hill, the upper fortress was round and more than 200 feet in diameter. Originally, it was seven stories high, with an eastern tower that stood more than 40 feet higher. Packed dirt covered the first four stories, giving the upper fortress a cone shape. Inside were a peristyle garden, reception hall, Roman baths, and countless apartments. The lower palace included an enormous pool, a colonnaded garden, a 600-foot-long terrace, and a building more than 400 feet long. The Herodion was the third-largest palace in the ancient world....

....The visitor cannot help being impressed with Herod's vision and ingenuity. However, all that remain are spectacular ruins, because Herod lived for Herod. By contrast, another builder, a humble carpenter born in Bethlehem, used a different material than did Herod (Matt. 16:18; 1 Peter 2:4-8). Jesus' buildings continue to grow because He built for the glory of God. Like David (1 Sam. 17:46), Elijah (1 Kings 18:36), and Hezekiah (Isa. 37:20), He lived so that the world may know that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is truly God. His construction projects will last forever because He built for the glory of God the Father.  -link
                                               
More Vander Laan articles on the Herodian and Herod vs. Jesus as King:



Here's another version, "The True Christmas Story":

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Extra credit signs: 




13 Kingdom
14 Drop Down Box
 15Six Degrees of Separation
 16Aggregate
17 Collectivity




13Kingdom discussed below

14 Drop Down Box
This "literary technique"  of two phrases being so related as to be almost synonymous/interchangeable is called, in computer language,

DROP-DOWN BOX
a "DROP DOWN BOX.  We will picture it by this symbol:



In the same way as  when you encounter a drop-down menu on a website, and you know you can choose different options, when we talk about "drop-down boxes" in the "text message" of the Bible, will mean a place where you can choose between two options/terms.





15Social networking/6 Degrees of Separation: see 1/28
The point here is that everything (in the gospels, and in life) is more interconnected than we realize,
and social networks help us grasp that (Have you ever been surprised at who you are common/mutual faecebook friends with?


Fun diversion: See Jesus' Facebook feed for the last week of his life here

Examples:
>>Jesus' geneology in Matthew.. Jesus is "facebook friends"  and even "family" with four Gentile women, etc.
>>I Corinthians chs 12:
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 1718 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.


Kraybill says,

"The Kingdom of God is a collectivity--a network of persons....more than a series of
individualized email connections linking the King to each subject*...[It] infuses the web of relationships, binding King and citizens togeter" -Kraybill (p, 19 emphases mine)

 
Kraybill further illustrates the point of community over self by discussing the distinction between an aggregate and a collectivity.[5] He illustrates an aggregate as a group of people who occupy a time and space together but lack any true community (i.e. people at a crosswalk). The key is that they do not influence each other. A collectivity, as Kraybill defines it, has an element of interdependence. These individuals “influence each other, formulate common goals, and together decide how to reach them.”[6] The Kingdom of God functions as a collectivity. The individual lays down his life for the good of the collective. For the church to bear witness to this Kingdom, the body of Christ must exercise this practice.  link

-


  • --

  • Remember VENNING the two creation accounts last week?
  • Remember 300A, comparing, VENNING the two birth narratives of Jesus?
  • (Here is that section below).:


    • Purpose/objectives: In this section students compare the birth narratives and genealogies in Matthew and Luke to each other and to the way the Christmas story is often presented today. Students should gain an understanding of the different emphases in the two birth narratives and should recognize that this points to larger hermeneutical issues. Each of the gospels is answering the question “Who is Jesus” in a unique way, given the author, audience, and purpose.

    Relevant reading: Matthew, H &Y ch 12 on Mt and Lk

    Relevant prep assignments: none

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

    Two of the four NT gospels (Matthew & Luke) contain narratives about Jesus birth. In groups, students should first explore the text and make their drawing (the assignment below). Then move to discussion of their findings and draw from the notes below.

     

    Activity [master included for photocopying in appendix of this faculty guide]

    Research teams (4-6 per group), half assigned to Matthew 1:18 - 2:12, half to Luke 2:8-20.

    1.    Discuss and list significant events in the order in which they occur in this passage.

    2.    Try to determine the writer’s emphasis by identifying:

    a.       Who is Matthew or Luke declaring Jesus to be?

    b.       What kind of people are present or involved?

    c.       What is missing when compared with how we usually tell the Christmas story? Be prepared to give feedback to the larger group.

    d.       On the newsprint provided, draw a scene from the story, being careful not to include anything in the drawing that is not expressly mentioned in your story.

     

    Presentations/discussion/lecture

    Put order of events on board, note differences in the two accounts, make comparisons. Ask groups to explain their drawing, and the choices involved. Use a combination of lecture and discussion to cover the material below. DO NOT present the conclusions about the comparison of these texts first. Rather allow students’ exploration of the texts, their drawing, and the large group discussion of these to develop their understanding. Allow the conclusions to emerge, then expand, clarify, or correct them as necessary.

     

    Matthew 1:18 - 2:12

    Mary and Joseph engaged

    Mary pregnant

    Angel appears to Joseph and explains

    Fulfillment of prophecy: virgin, Emmanuel

    Joseph marries Mary

    Jesus born in Bethlehem

    Magi come from east asking, “Where is child born king of Jews? We come to pay homage.”

    Herod freaks, asks about Messiah, told to be born in Bethlehem (quotes Mic. 5:2)

    Herod asks magi when star appeared to them, says go find him so I can pay homage

    Magi follow star to where child was, are overjoyed

    Magi enter house and see child with Mary

    Magi kneel, pay homage, give gifts

    Magi warned in dream about Herod. They return home by another way

    (No real story of the birth, no shepherds and angels, no stable or manger, no # of magi)

    Who is Matthew declaring Jesus to be? Emphasis? Type of people involved?

     

              Luke 2:8-20

    Shepherds in field watching flocks

    Angel appears, glory shines, shepherds terrified

    Angel speaks: no fear, good news, savior Messiah Lord born. sign--wrapped in cloth, manger

    Multitude of heavenly host praising God: glory to God, on earth peace

    Angels leave

    Shepherds: let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing Lord has revealed to us

    Shepherds go with haste, find Mary, Joseph, baby in manger.

    Shepherds make known what was told them about child; “all” (?) who hear it are amazed

    Mary treasures the words of the shepherds, ponders them

    Shepherds return, glorifying God for all they heard and seen

    (No magi, no animals, so stable named, no date)

    Who is Luke declaring Jesus to be? Emphasis? Type of people involved?

     

    What do we make of two very different presentations of Jesus’ birth? Two main concerns/issues:

     

    1.  Nature of the gospels

    Birth narratives give us two different perspectives on Jesus’ birth, varying considerably in emphasis and even in the people and events they describe. This is true throughout the four Gospels--no two are identical. The Gospels give us four different perspectives on Jesus’ life, four portraits of person and work of Jesus. Some use the example of four witnesses to accident or four men and elephant (leg=tree, trunk=snake, tail=rope, side=wall). The Gospel writers give us different perspectives on the person of Jesus; no one person can know everything there is to know about another person, especially about Jesus it seems.

     

    2.  Distinctives in birth narratives/genealogies

     

    The differences are also due to another factor, that of the purpose of the Gospel writers. For example, the birth narrative in Matthew includes the magi, Joseph’s experience of dreams and visions, and Jesus’ kingly, messianic credentials are emphasized. In contrast, the birth narrative in Luke includes shepherds, Mary’s experience of dreams and visions, and Jesus as savior and bringer of peace. The different perspective of each is tied to different emphasis of each. Matthew concerned to show Jesus as fulfillment of OT Scripture prophecy (structure of 5 quotes), expectations of Messiah. Focus is on Joseph receiving dreams and his reaction to the divine intervention in Mary’s life (1. 18f, 2.13, 2.19f). Joseph as devout Jewish man who is led by dreams to do God’s will. Matt is concerned with showing Jesus’ credentials as Messiah in the line of David. He does this through giving Jesus’ genealogy. (Overhead of Matthew’s genealogy first, note emphasis on David, character of ancient genealogies, 3 groups of 14 as way of structuring Israelite history, interesting inclusion of 5 women [controversial, unexpected people God uses], change in grammar with Mary and Joseph. Link students’ Q/A re: meaning of name or family claim to fame as a way of explaining what the genealogy communicates.] Jesus as Messianic King.

     

    Luke The genealogy is actually another place where we see very clearly the different emphases of the Gospel writers. (Overhead with Luke’s genealogy revealed.) Note “the son, so it was thought.” Note the numbers are different 77 vs. Matt’s 42, just a running list, reverse order not Abram to Jesus but Jesus to Adam, still through David is important, but back to Adam first man and calls him son of God. Jesus as universal savior. Comes at different place in gospel—after baptism (this is my son) and before temptation (if you are the son). Luke seems to emphasize Jesus as savior, and the prominence of lowly, regular people. Luke’s gospel focuses on liberation for the poor and oppressed and Jesus as the light to the Gentiles (vs. Jewish messiah). Luke is part of Luke/Acts, which shows mission to the Gentiles. The prominence of lowly people like shepherds and women is part of this Universalizing. Luke focuses on Mary’s dreams and visions and her response--not Joseph as righteous Jewish man but women as figures of faith in Luke—Mary (vs. Joseph), Elizabeth (vs. Zechariah), Anna (vs. Simeon).


    -------------------


    THEME 2: GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY

    Tonight's guiding symbol:
















  • VENNING: What do the Ten Commandments to do with a wedding?

    • Off the top of your head, list words and ideas that come to mind when you think of the story of the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai.
    Then do the same for the idea of a wedding.




    Was "wedding" on your  Commandments list?
                                            .....or "love"?

    What does all this have to do with a wedding?

    Were the lists you made:

    • 2 bounded sets?
    • one fuzzy set?





    THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AS A WEDDING:

    The   Ray VanderLaan video  on Mount Sinai  is  not online but  on this DVD.

    It dealt with the many"historical world" hyperlinks from Ten Commandments to wedding.


    Too bad  the video is not  online, but most of the study guide IS..

    see pp.197-251  here

    THANKFULLY, though, here are ) the wedding videos of the Laughing Bride... these actually apply to our "historical world" conversation comparing the giving of the commandments to a wedding imagery:
    Remember the 10 Commandments as a wedding?
    Watch this:


    We'll  enjoy the Laughing Bride's wedding video:

    Even more:

    Here is a longer version with yet some more classic moments.

    --

    Which list of the Ten Commandments is the "real" list??

    We joked you could win $100 by saying, :Let me read you a list of the Ten Commandments, the only list the Bible explicity calls the Ten Commandments.  Tell if this is the list.  A hundred bucks says I'm right.  Then read them the Ten Commandments from Exodus 34!!:


                          Exodus 20                                                                     Exodus 34: Note: this list, NOT THE 
                                                                                                           OTHER, is the one that says "THESE ARE    
                                                                                                            THE TEN COMMANDMENTS"                                                          


    1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.
         		 1. Thou shalt worship no idol. (For the Lord is a jealous god).  Smash all idols,
     
    2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.
         		 2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
     
    3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.  3. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep in the month when the ear is on the corn.
     
    4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
         		 4. All the first-born are mine.
     
    5. Honor your father and your mother.
         		 5. Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh thou shalt rest.
     
    6. You shall not kill.
         		 6. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.
     
    7. You shall not commit adultery.
         		 7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread.
     
    8. You shall not steal.
         		 8. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until the morning.
     
    9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
         		 9. The first of the first fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God.
     
    10. You shall not covet.
         		 10. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
     


    These look only loosely related to the list we've all heard from Exodus 2O!

    ..
    Here's  Colbert (interviewing a congressman about the Ten Commandments), which
    turns out to have several helpful serious points about the "literary world" of   the  topic Here it is:
    Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

    --
    Sermon on the Mount:

     Q.What does the  Matthew 1-7  have to do with OT story:  Moses and Pharoah ,slavery in Egypt, crossing Red Sea,  Wilderness Temptations, Ten Commandents etc?

    A> Just about everything in these 7 chapters hyperlinks back.
    Matthew seems patterned upon it.
    Give some examples
    1 Crossing Red  Sea/Baptism in Jordan (Jordan as symbol of barrier
    2 Jesus and Moses were both in Egypt
    3  In the OT, Israel is corporately called "SON" of God.  In NT, Jesus is the SON,
    4
    5

    And the Ten Commndments connect to Sermon on the MOUNTain,






    I f Jesus is a NEW MOSES of sorts,  on a new MOUNTAIN then we should look at
    SERMON ON THE MOUNT...maybe as NEW COMANDMENTS..




    Who was the sermon addressed to?
    Why did Jesus sit down to teach? --
    --

    Compare and contrast the two versions of the Lord's Prayer:

    Matthew 6:

    Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your name,
    10 your kingdom come,
    your will be done,
        on earth as it is in heaven.
    11 Give us today our daily bread.
    12 And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.
    13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]        but deliver us from the evil one.
    Luke 11:
    “‘Father,[a]
    hallowed be your name,
    your kingdom come.[b]
    3 Give us each day our daily bread.
    4 Forgive us our sins,
        for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.[c]
    And lead us not into temptation.[d]’”

    -
    Especially note the conTEXT (what Matthew and Luke place before and after the prayer and the conTEXTURE (feel, emotion of each)
    What have you learned about comparing two accounts?:

    • Two creation accounts
    • Two versions of Ten Commandments
    • Two baptism/temptation accounts
    • Two versions of the beatitudes


    ====================
    Discuss/debate this from Peter H. Davids:





            Your Kingdom Come

    I pray the Lord’s Prayer frequently, for, after all, Jesus said it was the way to pray. So I pray it in church on Sunday, daily in Morning and Evening Prayer, and at other times as well. I focus on it, rejoice in it, and reflect upon it (I also sometimes expand it). It is easy to see that it is quite different than the usual extemporaneous prayers that I hear, for at least the first half is not about me or even about us, but is a collective all to “our Father” to establish his rule, his Kingdom. This, of course, builds on Jesus’ announcement of God’s rule as his basic good-news message (Mark 1:14 and parallels). I also use as a “prayer word” the single Aramaic term, Maranatha, a call to Jesus, “our Lord,” to “come.” He is God’s Anointed One (which is what we say when we use the transliterated term “Christ”) and he is to return a rule this world. The word is a prayer for him to do just that It is a term that in one form or another Paul uses and Revelation uses. It was the prayer of the early followers of Jesus.
    Yet it struck me the other day as I was walking around the ponds at HBU and praying as I walked, that I was in effect praying for the dissolution of the United States of America (and other countries as well, of course, but I live in a particular location in the USA). I was, in 1 Peter’s terms, an undocumented immigrant, a foreigner, and unregistered alien, since I am re-born into a different nation that that of my natural birth (the USA), I am reborn into the people of God, the priestly kingdom, that inherits the promises of Exod 19:6. And I am a foreigner who is a subversive, for I am actively praying for the dissolution of the USA. I am asking for a king to come and to openly set up his monarchy. I am asking for God’s rule to be established, not the sovereignty and empire of the USA. I am in fact praying Thy Will Be Done: Praying the Our Father as a Subversive Activity. An I am doing that in an election year, when Jesus is not standing for election (although all presidential and vice presidential candidates say that they are his followers) – nor would he, since he is a God-appointed (or God-annointed) king. And I am doing that, not in a crowd somewhere chanting slogans for charging police barricades, but walking around some ponds, all by myself praying, or standing in church and proclaiming Jesus as king, or leading liturgy in which the Lord’s Pray is embedded, or sitting in my study at home and praying Morning Prayer.
    Apparently Jesus thinks that there is more power in such prayer and such proclamation than in the combined powers of the all of the world’s armies, for, he says, it will succeed. And some day someone will be praying that prayer or chanting maranatha and he will indeed come.  -Peter H. Davids


    --------------

    If you think about it,  and look at context, it's obvious that "seek first the Kingdom"  (6:33 in most translations)  cannot be what Jesus means.

    "First" implies one would seek something second, third, etc.  But he says "seek...the Kingdom, and all these things [food, clothes etc] will be added to you."  Not: "seek the Kingdom, and then you can seek food , clothes."  No, "all these things" are given you, without you seeking them at all.  They are a by-product of seeking the one thing.

    To seek them..even sincerely; even secondly... would be idolatry.
    "Purity of heart," Kierkegaard said, "is to will one thing."
    Christianity is seeking one thing: the Kingdom thing.

    How often have you seen it suggested  (here in the West, of course, that our priority list should follow this order:

    God>family>church  etc etc.

    Give it up.  Get your priorities right, and ditch the priority list.

    Read Joel Green  (below) carefully and carefully; and then check out Matthew 6 all over again:

     When Jesus calls on would-be disciples to "seek first the Kingdom," is he thinking of a list of priorities with "my relationship with God" at the head?  In fact, a closer reading of this part of the Sermon on the Mount may indicate that putting God at the top of our list of priorities is precisely what we must never do.

    Some may take offense at this suggestion.  After all, they may say, look at the passage!  Doesn't Matthew 6:25-24 teach just this order of priorities?  Doesn't it say, "Don't put food and drink first; don't put clothing concerns first; rather, out the Kingdom of God first'?"  On the basis of this passage, should we not say that "seeking first God's kingdom" must occupy the top spot on our list of priorities?  Is this not what Jesus is teaching?"

    Maybe be can get closer to the meaning of this passage if we paraphrase Matthew 6:33 differently.  Consider these alternatives: "Let the Kingdom of God be at the center of your life...not at the top."
    "Let the Kingdom of God set the standards for your life."  "Let the kingdom of God determine how you live, how you work, how you communicate, how you play."  These alternative readings make good on the fact that the Greek word often translated "first" in this context, proton, is used in the gospels not only to denote "the first in a series," but also "that upon which everything hinges."

    In other words, do not put the Kingdom of God first on your priority list; rather, let the Kingdom of God determine your priority list! [emphasis mine]

    In order to measure our response to Jesus' message in Matthew 6:33, we must ask more than, have I prayed today, or have I read the Bible today?  As important as those spiritual disciplines are, they are not the heart of Jesus' message here.  We must go further, deeper.  We must begin to ask: What had God's kingdom to do with the job I am doing?  The way I drive?  The church I attend?  The friends I have?  How I relate to my next-door neighbor.  And so on. -Joel Green, The Kingdom of God: It's Meaning and Mandate, pp. 68-69 (review and summary here)
    Here is how FPU professor Tim Geddert pictures it:

    --



    Thoughts inspired by the excerpt of "Resident Aliens":

    Ethically speaking, it should interest us that, in beginning the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, Jesus does not ask disciples to do anything. The Beatitudes are in the indicative, not the imperative, mood. First we are told what God has done before anything is suggested about what we are to do.


    Imagine a sermon that begins: "Blessed are you poor. Blessed are those of you who are hungry. Blessed are those of you who are unemployed. Blessed are those going through marital separation. Blessed are those who are terminally ill."


    The congregation does a double take. What is this? In the kingdom of the world, if you are unemployed, people treat you as if you have some sort of social disease. In the world's kingdom, terminally ill people become an embarrassment to our health-care system, people to be put away, out of sight. How can they be blessed?


    The preacher responds, "I'm sorry. I should have been more clear. I am not talking about the way of the world's kingdom. I am talking about God's kingdom. In God's kingdom, the poor are royalty, the sick are blessed. I was trying to get you to see something other than that to which you have become accustomed." The Sermon  rests on the theological assumption that if the preacher can first enable us to see whom God blesses, we shall be well on the road to blessedness ourselves.  We can only act within a world we can see. Vision is the necessary prerequisite for ethics...

    The Sermon is eschatological.  Matthew 4:22-12 sets the context for the Sermon...
     The eschatological context helps explain why the Sermon begins not by telling us what to do, but by helping us to see.  We can only act within that world which we see. So the primary ethical question is not, What ought I now to do? but rather, How does the world really look? The most interesting question about the Sermon  is not, Is this a practical way to live in the world? but rather, Is this really the way the world is? What is “practical” is related to what is real. If the world is a society in which only the strong, the independent, the detached, the liberated, and the successful are blessed, then we act accordingly. However, if the world is really a place where God blesses the poor, the hungry, and the persecuted for righteousness’ sake, then we must act in accordance with reality or else appear bafflingly out of step with the way things are.  -Hauerwaus and Willimon, Resident Aliens, pp, 84-88


    Richard Rohr:
    In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says there are three basic obstacles to the coming of the Kingdom. These are the three P’s: power, prestige and possessions. Nine-tenths of his teaching can be aligned under one of those three categories.
    I’m all for sexual morality, but Jesus does not say that’s the issue. In fact, he says the prostitutes are getting into the Kingdom of God before some of us who have made bedfellows with power, prestige and possessions (see Matthew 21:31-32). Those three numb the heart and deaden the spirit, says Jesus.
    Read Luke’s Gospel. Read the Sermon on the Mount. Read Matthew’s Gospel and tell me if Jesus is not saying that power, prestige and possessions are the barriers to truth and are the barriers to the Kingdom.
    I’m not pointing to Church leadership, I’m pointing to us as the Church. The Church has been comfortable with power, prestige and possessions for centuries and has not called that heresy. You can’t see your own sin.
    (Richard Rohr, Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, p.18, day 16 



    LAW IN NEW TESTAMENT Matthew 5-7 Briefly introduce the Sermon on the Mount. In smaller groups, compare/contrast Exodus 20 and Matthew 5:17-47, discussing the following: 1. How is Jesus restating the law in Matthew (think about it in sections – 5:21-26, 5:27-32, 5:33-37, 5:38-42, 5:43-48)? How would you characterize the shift he is making as he shapes the law for the new community? What is the change? 2. For each of the 5 sections, articulate the law “you have heard that it was said…”, the amplification of the law “but I say to you…”, and how to exceed the law. --

  • The "Lord's Prayer" does NOT say "daily bread". 

  • Kingdom Now and Not Yet






    • >>How does the Kingdom "come" from the " past"?:
    In light of  (and in spite of ) everything we just said  there also  WAS a sense  in which the Jews believed  that --in a  limited but vital way--- the Kingdom had begun on earth..  at a specific Old Testament  time and place... and worked "forwards" from there.
    Thus today's video field trip..




    Today's video on The Exodus and the "Dance Party on the Beach" is not online in any form (though you can buy it as episode 5 on this DVD).    The points to remember are how this was the seminal/foundational/formative microcosmic event of   (perhaps all) Scripture, in that:

    1)It presents a pattern and prototype of any deliverance from bondage/slavery; and every "way out" (Ex-Odus)
    from an old way/world to a new way/world.  We had some good discussion about "in-between times" in our lives that we recognized  (maybe only in retrospect) as pivotal  and formative.  Crossing the sea is often meant to call to mind crossing a barrier (remember the Jordan River video from Week One) into a while new world, creation  or order; from allegiance to forbidden gods to The One God.  Jesus is seen in Matthew as the New Moses in that just as Moses led God's people out of bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Pharoah) and an empire that infected them (Egypt), so Jesus leads God;s people out of spiritual bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Herod) and an empire that infected them (Rome).  This is a classic intertexting/hyperlinking/parallelism.

    2)It is really the first time God's people are formed/forged into a community; they have "been through stuff together" and are inevitably bonded and changed through a corporate experience.  Thus:

    3)Also, remember  (for the test) the Jewish tradition that the Kingdom of God functionally, and for all practical purposes began (or landed in a foundational way on earth) when God's people there on the beach danced and sang, "The Lord is reigning" ( Exodus 15:18 )...remembering that "reigning" could be translated "King" or "Reigner".  Thus, God's Kingship "began" when God's people publicly recognized it after seeing God in action in dramatic way as King.  Vander Laan: "The Kingdom begins when God acts"
    ...Exodus 15:18:


    • "The Lord is                           reigning from this point onward."
    • "The Lord is   King      from this point onward."






    When we read the "beatitudes," the first section of the Sermon on the Mount:
    -- do you catch any inclusio? (Note the first and last beatitudes (only) of chapter 5 end
    with a promise of the kingdom of heaven, implying that the other promises in between "being filled," "inherit the earth," "be comforted" all have to do with Kingdomness.)


     --Any chiasm  (see this  and this)?
    See 5:38-7:15 in this clip:



    ----------------------

    How do you see the shift in the law?  Is Jesus making it harder? easier?  more interior?
    Is he making it impossible on purpose?


    See 5:17 as a GENERALIZATION and the rest of the chapter as 6 PARTICULARIZATIONS(symbol 6 below, see Monday's post)






    Discussion on how Jesus was interpreting/reinterpreting the law of Moses/Torah(Matt 5:17-48).
    Some would suggest that he is using the rabbi's technique of "Building a fence around the TORAH."
    For example, if you are tempted to overeat, one strategy would be to build a literal fence around the refrigerator...or the equivalent: don't keep snacks around.

    See:

    Some wonder of this is what Jesus is doing here.  See:
    Jesus' Antitheses - Could they be his attempt to build a fence around the Torah?


    One can see how this could turn to legalism...and when do you stop building fences? See:

    A Fence Around the Law



    FPU FACULTY Camp and Roberts write:


    In each of the  examples, Jesus begins by citing an existing commandment. His following statement may be translated as either "And I say to you... " or as "But I say to you ...” The first option shows Jesus' comments to be in keeping with the commandments, therefore his words will be an expansion or commentary on the law. This is good, standard rabbinic technique. He is offering his authoritative interpretation, or amplification, to God's torah, as rabbis would do after reading the torah aloud in the synagogue. The second translation puts Jesus in tension with the law, or at least with the contemporary interpretations that were being offered. Jesus is being established as an authoritative teacher who stands in the same rabbinic tradition of other rabbis, but is being portrayed as qualitatively superior to their legal reasoning.
    After citing a law Jesus then proceeds to amplify, or "build a hedge" around the law. This was a common practice of commenting on how to put a law into practice or on how to take steps to avoid breaking the law. The idea was that if you built a safe wall of auxiliary laws around the central law, then you would have ample warning before you ever came close to breaking the central law. A modern example might be that if you were trying to diet you would need to exercise more and eat less. In order to make sure that that happened you might dispose of all fats and sweets in the house so as not to be tempted. Additionally, you might begin to carry other types of snacks or drink with you so as to have a substitute if temptation came around, and so forth. In the first example of not killing, Jesus builds a hedge that involves not being angry and not using certain types of language about others. One of the difficulties is that it becomes very difficult not to break his hedges. This might drive his hearers to believe that he is a hyper-Pharisee. Some interpreters have wanted to argue that Jesus does this in order to drive us to grace—except grace is never mentioned in this context. This is a wrong-headed approach to get out of the clear message that Jesus is proclaiming: you must have a transformed life. By building his hedges, Jesus is really getting to the heart of what the law was about. In the first example, the intent is not just to get people not to kill each other (though that is a good thing to avoid), rather it is there to promote a different attitude about how to live together. Taken together, the 10 Words (Commandments) and the other laws which follow in Exodus-Numbers paint a picture of a people who will look out for one another rather than just avoiding doing injury to one another. This becomes clear in Jesus’ solution at the end of the first example. The solution is not to throw  yourself on grace or to become paralyzed by fear, but to seek right relations with the other person. There seems to be an implicit acknowledgment that problems will arise. The solution is to seek the best for the other person and for the relationship. This is the heart of the law.  The problem with the law is that it can only keep you from sin, but it cannot make you do good.  The rabbi Hillel said “what is hateful to you, do not do to others.”  In 7:12, Jesus provides his own interpretation “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.”  He changes the saying from refraining from sin, to actively doing good.  The thesis statement in 5:20 is “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This then is how to exceed, or go beyond the law.  In each of the five examples, the way to exceed the law is to make the relationship right.
    Instead of drawing a new line in the sand that you are not supposed to cross before you are considered guilty, Jesus, confirms that the center is "love your neighbor" and then just draws an arrow (vector) and tells you to go do it. There is never a point at which you are able to finally fulfill the commandment to love. You can never say that you have loved enough. In the gospel of Matthew, the supreme example of this is Jesus' own life and death. His obedience and love knew no boundaries.  --by  Camp and  Roberts




    Ted Grimsrud, in "God's Healing Stragegy" suggests:

     "A better way [as opposed to legalistically legislating morality] to approach [the commandments] would be to ask first, 'What does this commandment teach us about God?'...Hence, the point of the commandments is not establishing absolute, impersonal, even coercive rules which must never be violated.  The point rather is that a loving God desires ongoing relationships of care and respect....Paul's interpretation of the Law in Romans 13 makes clear the deepest meaning of the law not as rule-following, but as being open to God's love and finding ways to express that love towards others: 'The commandments..are summed up in this word, Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  (pp. 33-34)

    But it can get tricky living the elevated life, building fences around Law...If not prayerful/careful, one can become legalistic...Ever noticed the CHIASM Jesus uses to comment on the litmus test for law-keeping, the SABBATH?  "The Sabbath was made for humans,
                                       not humans for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27)...

    I'll never forget taking the elevator from our towering Jerusalem hotel room down to the lobby for breakfast one  Saturday.

    Not only could I not push the lobby button,

    but the elevator stopped automatically on every floor.
    I wondered if I would make it down for lunch.

    When I ordered, I realized that the waitress was not writing down any orders;
    even the most complicated ones.

    Writing was "work" on the sabbath,
    as was pushing elevator buttons.
    Thus, the "sabbath elevator"

    -------------------------------------------
    OK,  below is the backstory  (HISTORICAL WORLD/WORLD BEHIND THE TEXT) of the "LAUGHING BRIDE,"  (remember here from last week) which illustrates "building a fence around the Torah":




    How about my story: "Ever committed adultery, Bill?"











    Clarification re: signature assignment and homework.
    You can choose to do your signature assignment on either text:

    • Philemon
    • 2 Kings 5

    We will spend much more time in class talking about Philemon; so most students will probably choose this text.  We will discuss it some on most nights.  The 2 Kings 5 text we will discuss Week 3.

    You'll see that week 5's homework asks you to choose one of these to read.

    The way the syllabus is designed on Weeks 5 and 6, you are choosing one, and doing some prep homework based on which you choose.  The prep homework are questions on the Three Worlds of that passage.

    On week 5 , you'll see there is a a Historical World assignment where you choose one:
    Philemon (p 23) or 2 Kings (p24).

    On week 56 , you'll see a Literary World/Contemporary World assignment where you choose one:
    Philemon (p 25) or 2 Kings (p 26).





    ---
    Next week..Week 3:
    BLUE=new info
    RED=you may skip
    Week 3                                                                                                                                                                 
    Topics:  Living in Community: Leadership, Power & Authority

    Preparation Reading:
    Hauer & Young ch 5 “The Nation Israel: Joshua, Judges, 1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings (entire)
    Grimsrud ch 4 “Kings and the Need for Prophets” (entire)
    Grimsrud ch 11 “The Cost of Faithfulness” (entire)
    1 Samuel 8 - 18
    Deuteronomy 17:14-20
    2 Samuel 5 – 7, 11 – 12, 22
    2 Kings 14 – 17
    Hauer & Young ch 12, “Mark: The Secret Revealed through Suffering” (pp. 243-245 only)
    Hauer & Young ch 12, “Mark” (pp. 256-257 only)
    Bunge ch 7 “Children in the Gospel of Mark….” (pp. 150-154,162-168)
    Mark 9: 33 – 10:45
    Matthew 18 FOCUS HERE
    Kraybill chs 10-12 (review)

    Preparation Assignments:
    1) One Great Person worksheet (attached to this syllabus USE THE WORKSHEET P 20) and response essay: Interview people in various stages of development (children/adolescents, adults, senior adults, etc.) Interview approximately 5 children/adolescents and 5 adults/senior adults. Your response essay see p, 20  should focus on what characteristics make a great person for each of the age groups.  1-2 page essay OK  FACEBOOK/TWITTER/TEXTING OK

    2) Hauer & Young ch 5 Questions for Discussion and Reflection (p. 123): answer #3a-d

    3) Bunge ch 7: Compare and contrast how children are viewed in the ancient world with Jesus response to children described in this ch. Be sure to cover the various cultures identified in the text. You may write this as a compare/contrast essay or you may present it in the form of a side by side chart:
    Jesus                     Group 1                 Group 2   etc….
    Provide a description of children and their treatment/response under each group. Conclude with a paragraph explaining the similarities/differences that the chart demonstrates.



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