Burl

Detail from Mattias Grunewald

https://relevantmagazine.com/article/the-revolutionary-truth-of-good-friday/

Have not read it.

I haven't seen many, but my favorite is the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, SF. I even experienced a dissociative moment while contemplating the garden in the 90's.

Matthew 21:1-11 The Message (MSG) The Royal Welcome 21 1-3 When they neared Jerusalem, having arrived at Bethphage on Mount Olives, Jesus sent two disciples with these instructions: Go over to the village across from you. Youll find a donkey tethered there, her colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me. If anyone asks what youre doing, say, The Master needs them! He will send them with you. 4-5 This is the full story of what was sketched earlier by the prophet: Tell Zions daughter, Look, your kings on his way, poised and ready, mounted On a donkey, on a colt, foal of a pack animal. 6-9 The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They led the donkey and colt out, laid some of their clothes on them, and Jesus mounted. Nearly all the people in the crowd threw their garments down on the road, giving him a royal welcome. Others cut branches from the trees and threw them down as a welcome mat. Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, Hosanna to Davids son! Blessed is he who comes in Gods name! Hosanna in highest heaven! 10 As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, Whats going on here? Who is this? 11 The parade crowd answered, This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee.

That honestly did make me laugh out loud!

Thank you for this visual hymn. A Maze Zen Graze.

It would be more appropriate if you had a garden with a labyrinth and a cow eating.

John 11:1-48 The Message (MSG) The Death of Lazarus 11 1-3 A man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. This was the same Mary who massaged the Lords feet with aromatic oils and then wiped them with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, Master, the one you love so very much is sick. 4 When Jesus got the message, he said, This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show Gods glory by glorifying Gods Son. 5-7 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. After the two days, he said to his disciples, Lets go back to Judea. 8 They said, Rabbi, you cant do that. The Jews are out to kill you, and youre going back? 9-10 Jesus replied, Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in daylight doesnt stumble because theres plenty of light from the sun. Walking at night, he might very well stumble because he cant see where hes going. 11 He said these things, and then announced, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. Im going to wake him up. 12-13 The disciples said, Master, if hes gone to sleep, hell get a good rest and wake up feeling fine. Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap. 14-15 Then Jesus became explicit: Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasnt there. Youre about to be given new grounds for believing. Now lets go to him. 16 Thats when Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to his companions, Come along. We might as well die with him. 17-20 When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house. 21-22 Martha said, Master, if youd been here, my brother wouldnt have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you. 23 Jesus said, Your brother will be raised up. 24 Martha replied, I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time. 25-26 You dont have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this? 27 Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world. 28 After saying this, she went to her sister Mary and whispered in her ear, The Teacher is here and is asking for you. 29-32 The moment she heard that, she jumped up and ran out to him. Jesus had not yet entered the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When her sympathizing Jewish friends saw Mary run off, they followed her, thinking she was on her way to the tomb to weep there. Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 33-34 When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. He said, Where did you put him? 34-35 Master, come and see, they said. Now Jesus wept. 36 The Jews said, Look how deeply he loved him. 37 Others among them said, Well, if he loved him so much, why didnt he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man. 38-39 Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. Jesus said, Remove the stone. The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, Master, by this time theres a stench. Hes been dead four days! 40 Jesus looked her in the eye. Didnt I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? 41-42 Then, to the others, Go ahead, take away the stone. They removed the stone. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, Father, Im grateful that you have listened to me. I know you always do listen, but on account of this crowd standing here Ive spoken so that they might believe that you sent me. 43-44 Then he shouted, Lazarus, come out! And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face. Jesus told them, Unwrap him and let him loose. The Man Who Creates God-Signs 45-48 That was a turnaround for many of the Jews who were with Mary. They saw what Jesus did, and believed in him. But some went back to the Pharisees and told on Jesus. The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. What do we do now? they asked. This man keeps on doing things, creating God-signs. If we let him go on, pretty soon everyone will be believing in him and the Romans will come and remove what little power and privilege we still have.

Welcome, Mark!

John 9The Message (MSG) True Blindness 9 1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind? 3-5 Jesus said, Youre asking the wrong question. Youre looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the worlds Light. 6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind mans eyes, and said, Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam (Siloam means Sent). The man went and washedand saw. 8 Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, Why, isnt this the man we knew, who sat here and begged? 9 Others said, Its him all right! But others objected, Its not the same man at all. It just looks like him. He said, Its me, the very one. 10 They said, How did your eyes get opened? 11 A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, Go to Siloam and wash. I did what he said. When I washed, I saw. 12 So where is he? I dont know. 13-15 They marched the man to the Pharisees. This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath. The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see. He said, He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see. 16 Some of the Pharisees said, Obviously, this man cant be from God. He doesnt keep the Sabbath. Others countered, How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this? There was a split in their ranks. 17 They came back at the blind man, Youre the expert. He opened your eyes. What do you say about him? He said, He is a prophet. 18-19 The Jews didnt believe it, didnt believe the man was blind to begin with. So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight. They asked them, Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees? 20-23 His parents said, We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we dont know how he came to seehavent a clue about who opened his eyes. Why dont you ask him? Hes a grown man and can speak for himself. (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. Thats why his parents said, Ask him. Hes a grown man.) 24 They called the man back a second timethe man who had been blindand told him, Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor. 25 He replied, I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see. 26 They said, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? 27 Ive told you over and over and you havent listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples? 28-29 With that they jumped all over him. You might be a disciple of that man, but were disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from. 30-33 The man replied, This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! Its well known that God isnt at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard ofever. If this man didnt come from God, he wouldnt be able to do anything. 34 They said, Youre nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us! Then they threw him out in the street. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, Do you believe in the Son of Man? 36 The man said, Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him. 37 Jesus said, Youre looking right at him. Dont you recognize my voice? 38 Master, I believe, the man said, and worshiped him. 39 Jesus then said, I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind. 40 Some Pharisees overheard him and said, Does that mean youre calling us blind? 41 Jesus said, If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, youre accountable for every fault and failure.

Temptations of Christ. Mosaic, Basilica of St. Mark, Venice.

John 4:5-42The Message (MSG) 4-6 To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacobs well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon. 7-8 A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, Would you give me a drink of water? (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) 9 The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink? (Jews in those days wouldnt be caught dead talking to Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered, If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water. 11-12 The woman said, Sir, you dont even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this living water? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us? 13-14 Jesus said, Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirstnot ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life. 15 The woman said, Sir, give me this water so I wont ever get thirsty, wont ever have to come back to this well again! 16 He said, Go call your husband and then come back. 17-18 I have no husband, she said. Thats nicely put: I have no husband. Youve had five husbands, and the man youre living with now isnt even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough. 19-20 Oh, so youre a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right? 21-23 Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. Gods way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is comingit has, in fact, comewhen what youre called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. 23-24 Its who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. Thats the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itselfSpirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. 25 The woman said, I dont know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, well get the whole story. 26 I am he, said Jesus. You dont have to wait any longer or look any further. 27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldnt believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it. 28-30 The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah? And they went out to see for themselves. Its Harvest Time 31 In the meantime, the disciples pressed him, Rabbi, eat. Arent you going to eat? 32 He told them, I have food to eat you know nothing about. 33 The disciples were puzzled. Who could have brought him food? 34-35 Jesus said, The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldnt you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, Im telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at whats right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. Its harvest time! 36-38 The Harvester isnt waiting. Hes taking his pay, gathering in this grain thats ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. Thats the truth of the saying, This one sows, that one harvests. I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others. 39-42 Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the womans witness: He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out! They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, Were no longer taking this on your say-so. Weve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. Hes the Savior of the world!

The value of transliterations is that they are easy to read and the authors do add a bit of interpretation. They really can't avoid that. Compared to using a scholarly translation and a commentary it's a bit like doing your lawn with weed 'n feed instead of seperate fertilizer and weed killer. Quick and easy, gets the job done, but not as thorough or effective. Good practice is to first read the whole book in one sitting, making an outline and taking note of whatever strikes your interest. Then you go back through the book a second time slowly and prayerfully. The Message is really good for step one, and a good solid translation is good for the second read. I like the ESV study bible for that. Lots of people try to read the Bible and quit because they pick a difficult translation and get bored. Better to get a good overview first and then go back later and hand pull the nutsedge and thistles. Where I think we agree is that reason and logic are essentials. God gave us brains for a reason so we ought to use them. Right?

Yes but generosity is by nature general, incremental and tempered with reason. The passage argues strongly against strictly literal or legalistic interpretations of Scripture.

Every argument is hyperbole. Jesus was not seriously recommending that people poke out their eyes or cut off their limbs. He was making examples of how imperfect the written law was. I didn't want to get too deep or Tariki might hurt himself looking for more Monty Python clips (funny and on point, btw) but you should catch the quote from Isaiah and how it relates to Jesus proving the inadequacy of the Torah in his conviction and execution. He followed it in every respect, and yet was executed under color of law. This a second line of logic demonstrating that Jesus was preaching the inadequacy of strict interpretation when compared to spiritual and logical suasion. Even Rom agrees with me in his peculiar way, but he will probably deny that three times before sunrise.

Yes, it does engender discussion. This is why it is important to read in context. As I pointed out, Jesus is not prescribing behavior here. In fact, he is doing the exact opposite by preaching that one must discern the purpose of the law and act intelligently; NOT to brainlessly follow rigid instructions. The law is a compass which points one towards righteousness but if you follow a compass blindly you will walk into a tree. I added the Message transliteration for interest, and because it is really good for first-time and casual readers. Also for our cynics. I am using The Message for my weekly lectionary posts as well. I think it does well here by identifying generosity and not self-sacrifice as a primary theme.

Transliteration of Lissie's selected text from The Message. Matthew 5: Love Your Enemies 38-42 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. 43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. 48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Yes indeed.

Somehow, I doubt you would have gotten where you are without having first been where you were.

Tariki's link works. Wink has some interesting thoughts, many of which I agree with, but I do not think his overall interpretation is solid. This section of Matthew 5 is a single unit usually labeled "The Antitheses" . It is single diatribe where every argument is of the form "the law says this, but I say that". The point is comparing the written law with true righteousness. Wink ignores the overall sermon to focus on a single point without context, and then amplifies his inadequate selection. He pulls one theme of many, but Jesus is doing the opposite by using many different themes to make a single point. Wink's logic is not like Jesus', but Wink does have some good thoughts. Jesus also uses extreme hyperbole in these statements. If we are to take his 'turn the other cheek' statement literally, we would have to take the rest of the monologue the same way. There is no difference between naughty thoughts and physical adultery. Eyes should be plucked out and arms removed (FYI, on average, 3 US males self-amputate their every year based on a literal interpretation of Matthew 5). Divorced women could not remarry. Jesus really goes over the top in absurdity to make His point. This is not a sermon on violence. We do learn a little about violence and self-defense, but Wink is essentially off-topic. The sermon is about how simply following the literal, written law is insufficient. The law is intended to point towards a greater spiritual righteousness, not to codify and define it. It is about the importance of intention and attitude and not just physical actions in approaching righteousness.

Link is 404.

A good plan, but better to discuss each gospel seperately. It is easy to get them confused when the same stories are told slightly differently by different authors or even miss things entirely. Making an outline of Mark before you move on will help too, especially since you are reading all four gospels before reading the commentaries. Dividing each book into manageable pieces is a huge help. The chapter and verse organization was added in Merrye Olde England and is not particularly helpful. Developing good questions is more important than looking for answers. Write your questions down as they occur so you can go back to them. I assume you are reading Matthew next?

Your hypothesis is testable and someone has certainly done it. One can fairly easily analyze the word usage in the original Greek and see how both parts compare. There are some commentaries online where you can read an academic opinion. It's a good practice to read a couple after finishing a book. There is a lot of understanding that you miss if you don't.

Yet. Seriously, Jesus was not accepting of other faiths and spoke harshly. He did call people hypocrites and vipers, and railed against those of "lukewarm" faith who tried to get along without conflict.