Thursday, March 21, 2013

Week 3: Signs/Remple tantrum/ Text Practice/ Culture and Crack/Greatness and Power


We finished the signs for quiz


6)bounded set
7)centered set
8)fuzzy set ('yep")




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and added some for extra credit;
 16)subversion of empire (will explain next week)The story of Jesus offers a counter-story to the dominant story/worldview of his day
17)six degrees of separation: people/themes are more related/interconnected than it would seem
18)intercalation/sandwiching  a literary technique in which one story/narrative is inserted into the middle of another story/narrative.  Example.  The temple tantrum is inserted in the middle of the fig tree episode in Mark 11
19)double paste  This represents hitting the "CONTROL V" button, "pasting" two scriptures together, or "splicing" two scriptures into one new one.  Classic example is Jesus in the temple tantrum.
ISAIAH 56:6-8 + JEREMIAH 7:11=MARK 11:16
20)ellipsis/hemistiche  When the last section of a well-known phrase is omitted for emphasis:  Matthew says "My house shall be a house of prayer......," intentionally leaving out the "...for all nations" clause.



a

Detail  explained below under ":temple tantrum"


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 TEMPLE TANTRUM

 NTERCALATION is a "sandwiching" technique. where a story/theme is told/repeated at the beginning and ened of a section, suggesting that if a different story appears in between, it too is related thematically.  We looked at  this outline of Mark 11:

CURSING OF FIG FREE
CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
CURSING OF THE FIG TREE


We discussed how the cursing of the fig tree was Jesus' commentary of nationalism/racism/prejudice, because fig trees are often a symbol of national Israel.  That the fig  tree cursing story is "cut in  two" by the inserting/"intercalating" of the temple cleansing, suggested that Jesus action in the temple was also commentary on prejuidice...which become more obvious when we realize the moneychangers and dovesellers are set up in the "court of the Gentiles," which kept the temple from being a "house of prayer FOR ALL NATIONS (GENTILES).

This theme becomes even more clear when we note that Jesus  statement was a quote from Isaiah 56:68, and the context there (of course) is against prejudice in the temple.


double paste: Often, two Scriptures/texts are combined into a new one. Ex. : Jesus says “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.” The first clause (before the comma) is from Isaiah 56:6-8, and the second is from Jeremiah 7:11  
 

hemistiche/ellipsis: when the last section of a well-known phrase is omitted foremphasis: Matthew says "My house shall be a house of prayer......," intentionally
leaving out
the "...for all nations" clause.
”


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 class discussion on Matthew 21 (

Three Acted Parables about Nationalism)

especially focusing on the temple tantrum..


Note, the chapter started with "Palm Sunday":
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we watch (next class)the "Lamb of God" video and discussed how it was actually a nationalistic misunderstanding.  If Jesus showed up personally in your church Sunday, would you wave the American flag at him, and ask him to run for president? Post your answer in the comments section below...at bottom of this post





a)Van Der Laan:
Jesus on his way to Jerusalem
On the Sunday before Passover, Jesus came out of the wilderness on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives (just as the prophecy said the Messiah would come).
People spread cloaks and branches on the road before him. Then the disciples ?began, joyfully, to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen? (Luke 19:37). The crowd began shouting, ?Hosanna,? a slogan of the ultra-nationalistic Zealots, which meant, ?Please save us! Give us freedom! We?re sick of these Romans!?
The Palm Branches
The people also waved palm branches, a symbol that had once been placed on Jewish coins when the Jewish nation was free. Thus the palm branches were not a symbol of peace and love, as Christians usually assume; they were a symbol of Jewish nationalism, an expression of the people?s desire for political freedom   __LINK to full article


b)FPU prof Tim Geddert:
Palm Sunday is a day of pomp and pageantry. Many church sanctuaries are decorated with palm fronds. I’ve even been in a church that literally sent a donkey down the aisle with a Jesus-figure on it. We cheer with the crowds—shout our hosannas—praising God exuberantly as Jesus the king enters the royal city.
But if Matthew, the gospel writer, attended one of our Palm Sunday services, I fear he would respond in dismay, “Don’t you get it?” We call Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem “The Triumphal Entry,” and just like the Jerusalem crowds, we fail to notice that Jesus is holding back tears.
Jesus did not intend for this to be a victory march into Jerusalem, a political rally to muster popular support or a publicity stunt for some worthy project. Jesus was staging a protest—a protest against the empire-building ways of the world.
LINK: full article :Parade Or Protest March

c)From Table Dallas:


Eugene Cho wrote a blog post back in 2009 about the irony of Palm Sunday:
The image of Palm Sunday is one of the greatest ironies.  Jesus Christ – the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the Morning Star, the Savior of all Humanity, and we can list descriptives after descriptives – rides into a procession of “Hosanna, Hosanna…Hosanna in the Highest” - on a donkey – aka - an ass.
He goes on to say it’s like his friend Shane Claiborne once said, “that a modern equivalent of such an incredulous image is of the most powerful person in our modern world, the United States President, riding into a procession…on a unicycle.”
          -Link 


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Article By Dave Wainscott
“Temple Tantrums For All Nations"
Salt Fresno Magazine, Jan 2011:


Some revolutionaries from all nations overlooking the Temple Mount, on our 2004 trip


I have actually heard people say they fear holding a bake sale anywhere on church property…they think a divine lightning bolt might drop.



Some go as far as to question the propriety of youth group fundraisers (even in the lobby), or flinch at setting up a table anywhere in a church building (especially the “sanctuary”) where a visiting speaker or singer sells books or CDs.  “I don’t want to get zapped!”



All trace their well-meaning concerns to the “obvious” Scripture:

"Remember when Jesus cast out the moneychangers and dovesellers?"

It is astounding how rare it is to hear someone comment on the classic "temple tantrum" Scripture without turning it into a mere moralism:


"Better not sell stuff in church!”

Any serious study of the passage concludes that the most obvious reason Jesus was angry was not commercialism, but:



racism.



I heard that head-scratching.



The tables the Lord was intent on overturning were those of prejudice.

I heard that “Huh?”


A brief study of the passage…in context…will reorient us:


Again, most contemporary Americans assume that Jesus’ anger was due to his being upset about the buying and selling.  But note that Jesus didn't say "Quit buying and selling!” His outburst was, "My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations" (Mark 11:17, emphasis mine).   He was not merely saying what he felt, but directly quoting Isaiah (56:6-8), whose context is clearly not about commercialism, but adamantly about letting foreigners and outcasts have a place in the “house of prayer for all nations”; for all nations, not just the Jewish nation.   Christ was likely upset not that  moneychangers were doing business, but that they were making it their business to do so disruptfully and disrespectfully in the "outer court;”  in  the “Court of the Gentiles” (“Gentiles” means “all other nations but Jews”).   This was
the only place where "foreigners" could have a “pew” to attend the international prayer meeting that was temple worship.   Merchants were making the temple  "a den of thieves" not  (just) by overcharging for doves and money, but by (more insidiously) robbing precious people of  “all nations”  a place to pray, and the God-given right  to "access access" to God.


Money-changing and doveselling were not inherently the problem.  In fact they were required;  t proper currency and “worship materials” were part of the procedure and protocol.  It’s true that the merchants may  have been overcharging and noisy, but it is where and how they are doing so that incites Jesus to righteous anger.


The problem is never tables.  It’s what must be tabled:


marginalization of people of a different tribe or tongue who are only wanting to worship with the rest of us.


In the biblical era, it went without saying that when someone quoted a Scripture, they were assuming and importing the context.  So we often miss that Jesus is quoting a Scripture in his temple encounter, let alone which Scripture and  context.  Everyone back then immediately got the reference: “Oh, I get it, he’s preaching Isaiah, he must really love foreigners!”:
 “Foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord…all who hold fast to my covenant-these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:6-8, emphases mine)
Gary Molander, faithful Fresnan and cofounder of Floodgate Productions, has articulated it succinctly:

“The classic interpretation suggests that people were buying and selling stuff in God’s house, and that’s not okay.  So for churches that have a coffee bar, Jesus might toss the latte machine out the window.
I wonder if something else is going on here, and I wonder if the Old Testament passage Jesus quotes informs our understanding?…Here’s the point:
Those who are considered marginalized and not worthy of love, but who love God and are pursuing Him, are not out.  They’re in..

Those who are considered nationally unclean, but who love God and are pursuing Him, are not out.  They’re in.

God’s heart is for Christ’s Church to become a light to the world, not an exclusive club.  And when well-meaning people block that invitation, God gets really, really ticked.”
(Gary Molander, http://www.garymo.com/2010/03/who-cant-attend-your-church/)

Still reeling?  Hang on, one more test:


How often have you heard the Scripture  about “speak to the mountain and it will be gone” invoked , with the “obvious” meaning being “the mountain of your circumstances” or “the mountain of obstacles”?  Sounds good, and that will preach.   But again,  a quick glance at the context of that saying  of Jesus reveals nary a mention of metaphorical obstacles.   In fact, we find it (Mark 11:21-22) directly after the “temple tantrum.”  And consider where Jesus and the disciples are: still near the temple,  and still stunned by the  “object lesson” Jesus had just given there  about prejudice.  And know that everyone back then knew what most today don’t:  that one way to talk about the temple was to call it “the mountain” (Isaiah 2:1, for example: “the mountain of the Lord’s temple”) .


Which is why most scholars would agree with Joel Green and John Carroll:
“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.”  (“The Death of Jesus in Early Christianity,” p. 32, emphasis mine).
In Jesus’ time, the temple system of worship had become far too embedded with prejudice.  So Jesus suggests that his followers actually pray such a system, such a mountain, be gone.


Soon it literally was.


In our day, the temple is us: the church.


And the church-temple  is called to pray a moving, mountain-moving, prayer:


“What keeps us from being a house of prayer for all nations?”


Or as Gary Molander summarizes:


“Who can’t attend your church?” -Dave Wainscott, Salt Fresno Magazine
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the money changers  were in the Gentile courts of the temple..Jesus' action opened up the plazaso that Gentiles could pray."  -Kraybill, Upside Down Kingdom, p. 151.
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FOR ALL THE NATIONS: BY RAY VANDER LAAN:

 Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke of the Temple as ?a house of prayer for all the nations? (Isa. 56:7). The Temple represented his presence among his people, and he wanted all believers to have access to him.
Even during the Old Testament era, God spoke specifically about allowing non-Jewish people to his Temple: ?And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord ? these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer? (Isa. 56:7).
Unfortunately, the Temple authorities of Jesus? day forgot God?s desire for all people to worship freely at the Temple. Moneychangers had settled into the Gentile court, along with those who sold sacrificial animals and other religious merchandise. Their activities probably disrupted the Gentiles trying to worship there.
When Jesus entered the Temple area, he cleared the court of these moneychangers and vendors. Today, we often attribute his anger to the fact that they turned the temple area into a business enterprise. But Jesus was probably angry for another reason as well.
As he drove out the vendors, Jesus quoted the passage from Isaiah, ?Is it not written: ?My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations??? The vendors had been inconsiderate of Gentile believers. Their willingness to disrupt Gentile worship and prayers reflected a callous attitude of indifference toward the spiritual needs of Gentiles.
Through his anger and actions, Jesus reminded everyone nearby that God cared for Jew and Gentile alike. He showed his followers that God?s Temple was to be a holy place of prayer and worship for all believers. - Van Der Laan

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Excerpts from a good Andreana Reale article in which she sheds light on Palm Sunday and theTemple Tantrum:
,, Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem actually echoes a custom that would have been familiar to people living in the Greco-Roman world, when the gospels were written.
Simon Maccabeus was a Jewish general who was part of the Maccabean Revolt that occurred two centuries before Christ, which liberated the Jewish people from Greek rule. Maccabeus entered Jerusalem with praise and palm leaves—making a beeline to the Temple to have it ritually cleansed from all the idol worship that was taking place. With the Jewish people now bearing the brunt of yet another foreign ruler (this time the Romans), Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem—complete with praise and palm leaves—was a strong claim that He was the leader who would liberate the people.
Except that in this case, Jesus isn’t riding a military horse, but a humble donkey. How triumphant is Jesus’ “triumphant entry”—on a donkey He doesn’t own, surrounded by peasants from the countryside, approaching a bunch of Jews who want to kill Him?
And so He enters the Temple. In the Greco-Roman world, the classic “triumphant entry” was usually followed by some sort of ritual—making a sacrifice at the Temple, for example, as was the legendary case of Alexander the Great. Jesus’ “ritual” was to attempt to drive out those making a profit in the Temple.
The chaotic commerce taking place—entrepreneurs selling birds and animals as well as wine, oil and salt for use in Temple sacrifices—epitomized much more than general disrespect. It also symbolised a whole system that was founded on oppression and injustice.
In Matthew, Mark and John, for example, Jesus chose specifically to overturn the tables of the pigeon sellers, since these were the staple commodities that marginalised people like women and lepers used to be made ritually clean by the system. Perhaps it was this system that Jesus was referring to when He accused the people of making the Temple “a den of robbers” (Mt 21.13; Mk 11.17; Lk 19.46).
Andreana Reale



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So Jesus is intertexting and ddouble pasting two Scriptures  and making a new one.
But he leaves out the most important part "FOR ALL NATIONS"...which means he is hemistiching and making that phrase even more significant by it's absence,
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"If anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done.'  (Mark 11:23). If you want to be charismatic about it, you can pretend this refers to the mountain of your circumstances--but that is taking the passage out of context.  Jesus was not referring to the mountain of circumstances.  When he referred to 'this mountain,' I believe (based in part on Zech  4:6-9) that he was looking at the Temple Mount, and indicating that "the mountain on which the temple sits is going to be removed, referring to its destruction by the Romans..

Much of what Jesus said was intended to clue people in to the fact that the religous system of the day would be overthrown, but we miss much if it because we Americanize it, making it say what we want it to say,  We turn the parables into fables or moral stories instead of living prophecies  that pertain as much to us as to the audience that first heard them."
-Steve Gray, "When The KIngdom Comes," p..31

“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.” 

"The word about the mountain being cast into the sea.....spoken in Jerusalem, would naturallly refer to the Temple mount.  The saying is not simply a miscellaneous comment on how prayer and faith can do such things as curse fig trees.  It is a very specific word of judgement: the Temple mountain is, figuratively speaking, to be taken up and cast into the sea."
 -N,T. Wright,  "Jesus and the Victory of God," p.422 


see also:



By intercalating the story of the cursing of the fig tree within that of Jesus' obstruction of the normal activity of the temple, Mark interprets Jesus' action in the temple not merely as its cleansing but its cursing. For him, the time of the temple is no more, for it has lost its fecundity. Indeed , read in its immediate context, Jesus' subsequent instruction to the disciples, "Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea'" can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!

What is Jesus' concern with the temple? Why does he regard it as extraneous to God's purpose?
Hints may be found in the mixed citation of Mark 11:17, part of which derives from Isaiah 56:7, the other from 11:7. Intended as a house of prayer for all the nations, the temple has been transformed by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem into a den of brigands. That is, the temple has been perverted in favor of both socioreligious aims (the exclusion of Gentiles as potential recipients of divine reconciliation) and politico-economic purposes (legitimizing and
consolidating the power of the chief priests, whose teaching might be realized even in the plundering of even a poor widow's livelihood-cf 12:41-44)....

...In 12:10-11, Jesus uses temple imagery from Psalm 118 to refer to his own rejection and vindication, and in the process, documents his expectation of a new temple, inclusive of 'others' (12:9, Gentiles?) This is the community of his disciples.
-John T, Carroll and Joel B. Green, "The Death of Jesus in Early Christianity," p. 32-33


FIG TREE: FOLLOW SCRIPTURES WHERE IT IS A SYMBOL OF NATIONIAL ISRAEL/jERUSALEM/GOD'S BOUNDED SET:

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Fig Tree:

s to the significance of this passage and what it means, the answer to that is again found in the chronological setting and in understanding how a fig tree is often used symbolically to represent Israel in the Scriptures. First of all, chronologically, Jesus had just arrived at Jerusalem amid great fanfare and great expectations, but then proceeds to cleanse the Temple and curse the barren fig tree. Both had significance as to the spiritual condition of Israel. With His cleansing of the Temple and His criticism of the worship that was going on there (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17), Jesus was effectively denouncing Israel’s worship of God. With the cursing of the fig tree, He was symbolically denouncing Israel as a nation and, in a sense, even denouncing unfruitful “Christians” (that is, people who profess to be Christian but have no evidence of a relationship with Christ).
The presence of a fruitful fig tree was considered to be a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the nation of Israel. Likewise, the absence or death of a fig tree would symbolize judgment and rejection. Symbolically, the fig tree represented the spiritual deadness of Israel, who while very religious outwardly with all the sacrifices and ceremonies, were spiritually barren because of their sins. By cleansing the Temple and cursing the fig tree, causing it to whither and die, Jesus was pronouncing His coming judgment of Israel and demonstrating His power to carry it out. It also teaches the principle that religious profession and observance are not enough to guarantee salvation, unless there is the fruit of genuine salvation evidenced in the life of the person. James would later echo this truth when he wrote that “faith without works is deadt also teaches the principle that religious profession and observance are not enough to guarantee salvation, unless there is the fruit of genuine salvation evidenced in the life of the person. James would later echo this truth when he wrote that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). The lesson of the fig tree is that we should bear spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), not just give an appearance of religiosity. God judges fruitlessness, and expects that those who have a relationship with Him will “bear much fruit” ( LINK



T 

 


TEXT reading practice:
Here are the two version of "Where The Streets have No Name" we did some text-interpretation on:


1)U2 "Where the Streets Have No Name"  version 1


2)U2 "Where the Streets Have No Name"  version 2
What did you notice?

at the close of the song, "like the heavens have opened..Bono appears to be actually experiencing the beatific vision at stage right" (Beth Maynard,p.120, "Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog")...."Note how the band be Nhaves at curtain call moment at the end (p. 180)." What is drummer Larry looking at, Who is Bono applauding? Why can't guitarrist The Edge keep his eyes open? (from 5:01 till the end).

Watch the clip already:

 

  • What did you learn about the "historical world" backstory of the song?

  • Be prepared to talk about SITZ IM LEBEN in comparing texts 

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contemplating Rublev's Trinity icon as a text

Just like you would at a museum, spend some time pondering this work of art below(Rublev's icon of  The Đ¢Ñ€Đ¾Đ¸Ñ†Đ°: Trinity) before reading the links below:



 Okay, just kidding.  That photo  above was indeed an artistic reeenactment of the Trinity at one of our gatherings.  The worst part of it is that I am arrogant enough to "direct" the Trinity (what else are pastors for?".  And  Keltic Ken, Shy Stevens and Kevin Deisher ARE quite godly (read about it at this link "most guys do" : pregnant dancing with the Trinity)

But here is the art to ponder before reading the links:

  Links (I would love to hear Mark DeRaud's take on all this, feel free to comment below, Mark):

1)See page 12-15 of "Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service" by Stephen Seamands here

  2)See this by Emergent Kiwi: Does the Trinity and Rublevs Icon prioritise worship over mission?

  3)See Richard Beck's\My Rublev Icon Tattoo

 4)"Rublev’s Icon: Contemplating the Trinity, Inwardly
and Outwardly" by Paul Fromont

 5)Trinity (Andrei Rublev) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Jasper on "reading a painting" as text:

The last chapter was a discussion on postmodern hermeneutics and he notes the following, “It has even been recently suggested that the painter Rembrandt is the greatest biblicla critic ever to come out of the Netherlands.  But how do we ‘read’ a painting?” (128)  He suggests that reading a painting is closer to “what we have traditionally called meditation.”  Intriguing to me since I have been exposed to the use of art in some of my spiritual formation studies and have tried to use it with some groups.  Certainly, spending time gazing at Rembrandts, “The Prodigal Son,” is a valuable tool in helping us understand this great passage in the book of Luke.  link


-for 'fun"...text-related words
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 As we begin a couple weeks in which we pause to retrieve the "Old" Testament backstory (uh, 'front-story') to the "New" Testament Gospel of Matthew, we introduce the topic of
CULTURE 

We often take "culture" for granted, as it is simply the way we (one or more person) thinks and feels.
(Note: we didn't say "race"...and we are defining "culture" broadly.  So, all marriages are cross-cultural, even if both persons are of the same race, as everyone thinks/feels differently, and has different "cultural" preferences.

It's easy to assume our cultural identity or preference is the "best" or "right" way (as in a bounded set that everyone should be in)....or the way everyone else sees/interprets  things.



"We don't see things as they are,
 we see things as we are."
 -AnaĂ¯s Nin



"Gaithers on Crack: a conversation on cultural preferences":





CULTURE: a way of thinking, feeling, valuing and acting by one or more persons.

Wow!  All communication is texting, and all communication is cross-cultural.
All marriages are cross-cultural..


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Give a quick, gut-instinct, first response answer; filling in the blanks for these two sentences:


  1. "In England, they drive on the __________ side of the road."
  2. "Boy, you can sure tell _________ is at work in the secular world nowadays; all you have to do is look around!
  • 3)"Israel is on the continent of __________."
  • 4)How many of you are in a cross-cultural marriage? ___

 Click here to see my suggested "right answers."


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WEEK 3 THEME: GREATNESS AND POWER:

Pope Francis and humble power

In 2008, on the Holy Thursday, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio(Pope Francis) washed the feet of 12 recovering drug addicts at a rehabilitation center in Buenos Aires, Argentina(in this Pic).

As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he showed compassion for the victims of HIV-AIDS and in 2001, visited a hospice to kiss and wash the feet of 12 AIDS patients.  Link: 
Catholic Charismatic Renewal'
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 One of the first things I noticed about the new pope is that when he first came out on the balcony,
he tried to hold the microphone himself.
(microphones themselves raise crucial questions; see chapter 38 of Pagitt's "Preaching Reimagined"),

 He eventually let his (literally) righthand man )  (=servant)take it.

But as is obvious with what we know so far about Francis I...

 (has always insisted on speaking on same level as his audience,  went to evangelical pastors meetings in Argentina and asked for prayer,  asked for prayer from the crowd at installation, rode the train and subway to work as arcbishop, checked out of the hotel himself, and then took the bus with other bishops after installation
etc
          etc.
                        etc)

....  the guy is humble with his approach to power.
And he doesn't seem to be proud of his humility.
This will be interesting to see how we navigates all the trappings and pompenstance.

How far can he/will he take this?

   "No title, Just call me Francis "  (:
    (on titles, see this, this, this, this  and  especially this )


See John Thavis' post, reflecting on How does Pope Francis understand “papal power”?
Observations on his first mass: 

-- He eliminated the offertory procession, which typically features many Catholics or groups of Catholics bringing gifts directly to the seated pope. Vatican officials said this, too, was a move designed to save time. I can’t help but think it also reflected Francis’ desire to remove himself from the center of the liturgical stage.
-- He decided not to distribute Communion, leaving that task to priests and deacons. Some have suggested that the pope may have wanted to avoid the embarrassment of giving Communion to VIPs – including some international politicians – who may disagree with some church teachings.
My own theory is that, again, he was removing himself as a celebrity celebrant. For years, people have pulled strings to get into the pope’s Communion line, and it’s often seen as some kind of reward or sign of prestige.
LINK:complete article: Simplicity and compassion front and center How does Pope Francis understand “papal power”?

As Bono..in character (or not) has said in concert:
"We got the show,
We do the business.
But this is not show business." (video)

Another of my first thoughts on Francis was the famous apocryphal (?) story of St Francis visiting the Vatican.  A quick googling shows others have connected these dots:

G.K. Chesterton tells the story of the time that St. Francis of Assisi visited Rome and the pope of the day proudly showed him all the wondrous treasures of the Vatican. Referring to a story in the Biblical Book of Acts in which St. Peter spoke with a beggar in Jerusalem and told him he had no money, the pope pointed to the treasures around him and said, “Peter can no longer say ‘Silver and gold have I none.’”
St. Francis’ response: “Neither can he say, ‘Rise up and walk.’” 
... St. Francis’ point was that the triumphal, institutional church of his day was prestigious and wealthy, but it had lost the inner fire and dedication that made Christianity a world-transforming faith. 
So now we have a Pope Francis, and we are about to see what he can make of the papacy, and whether the Catholic Church in his day will be able to rise up like the beggar and walk. In some ways, Francis was a typically canny choice by the oldest electoral college in the world.  link
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See:

"What if the Pope was one of us..."


News this week:
Of all places one would expect to find Pope Francis celebrating a major ceremony before Easter, a youth prison probably ranks pretty low on the list.
Yet that's precisely where Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Thursday next week, washing and kissing prisoners' feet at Rome's Casal del Marmo jail for minors.
The move breaks from tradition set by Pope Francis' predecessors, who typically have held the Mass of the Lord's Supper in either St. Peter's Basilica or the Basilica of St. John Lateran, reports Catholic News Service.
The service involves washing and kissing the feet of 12 people and is intended to commemorate Jesus' humility toward his 12 apostles.
In Francis' previous capacity as Argentina's Cardinal Bergoglio, he often held theHoly Thursday ceremony in jails, hospitals or other locations associated with the poor and infirm.
According to Agence France-Presse, Pope Francis has spoken in favor of narrowing the gap between laypeople and the Church.--link

And don't get me started on Francis' marvelously missional mindset:
"Jesus goes out to meet people, instead of waiting for people to come looking for Him...Today the place for Christ is the street; the place for the Christian is the street." -Pope Francis/ Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 3/21/09LInk, along with many sermons

Did you catch the chiasm in that quote?

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Chiasms can get bigger:

NOTE: don't forget how bug CHIASMS can get.. see Genesis 6:

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:

Tell a few stories about your "One Great Person" worksheets and videos.
Two of my greats are Wayne from Delano and Dack from "Dallas" !  Take home lesson: don't betray a friend for (literally) a million dollars!
(story here) 
 
Last week's topic is "Greatness, Leadership, Power."
r
The symbol for last week suggests that a biblical model/worldview often looks like the CEO/top-down model turned downside up..

Jesus came to serve.
             The last shall be first.
                         That's who is great in the Kingdom  economy:
                                    The one who serves
                                               The one who has splagchizomai..

Jesus said in it yet another chiasm:
But those who exalt            themselves will be               humbled, 
and those who humble     themselves will be                exalted
(Matt 23:12)
 
Tonight we meet a couple of great contemporary servant-leaders:

like this little sphepherdette/llamaherder I filmed in Peru.  She was leading a huge flock...just one tiny girl, with a sheepdog...and amazingly, leading effectively from _________________!" (See  from 1:30 to the end,   and freeze frame 2:05-2:09 if you didn't spot her).   If you didn't fill in the blank, see  Isaiah 30:21.  What a great leader!)

(rest of that story here)
  

and like this guy with "splangizomai" glasses:

--


n we apply some "Three Worlds" theory to Matthew 18 and the topic of "Who is great?":

Related outtakes: 





Page 22 of Syllabus,Matthew 18 Outline:


1 Question #1: Who is Greatest?

2-17 Responses (each are counter proposals)
2-10 Response #1: Children
2-4 Counter Proposal: Accept children
5-9 Threat: If cause scandal
10 Show of force: Angels protect

12-14 Response #2: Sheep
12-14 Counter Proposal: Search for the 1 of 100 who is lost

15-17 Response #3: Brother who sins (counter proposal)
15a Hypothetical situation: If sin
15-17 Answer: Attempt to get brother to be reconciled
17b If fail: Put him out and start over

18-20 Statement: What you bind or loose

21-22 Question #2: How far do we go in forgiveness?

23-35 Response #1: Parable of the forgiving king/unforgiving servant


----------------------------------------------------------------o

"Historical World" of this passage:



What did you learn about a millstone from tonight's video clip?:
----------------Read verses 15-17 and then ask yourself:
"What did it mean in their historical world to treat  people like



"tax collectors and sinners?"
Two answers

1)Don't allow them in your bounded set.

2)How did Jesus treat  tax collectors and sinners? In a centered set way. Tony Jones writes: 


but because anyone, including Trucker Frank, can speak freely in this  church, my seminary-trained eyes were opened to find a truth in the Bible that had previously eluded me.”...That truth emerged in a discussion of Matthew 18's "treat the unrepentant brother like a tax collector or sinner.":
"And how did Jesus treat tax collectors and pagans?" Frank asked aloud, pausing, "as of for a punchline he'd been waiting all his life to deliver,"....., "He welcomed them!""

More on Trucker Frank here; he can interrupt my sermons anytime..

S
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trucker Frank: Excommnicated From Christian Bookstore For Being Christian:



Tony Jones posted this letter of excommunication, watch for updates here



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






















SOO..We might see the whole unit as a chiasm with inclusio.  See below (copied from here):
Jesus foretells His death: Matthew 17:22-23
A. Jesus speaks of giving freely/sacrificing self: Matthew 17:24-27
B. Little children are the essence of the kingdom: Matthew 18:1-7
C. Sacrifice the body for the sake of the kingdom: Matthew 18:8-9
D. Do not despise what God values: Matthew 18:10-14
E. Entreating a brother about sin or offense: Matthew 18:15-17
F.Agreement between Heaven and Earth: Matthew 18:18-20
E. Entreating a brother about sin or offense: Matthew 18:21-35
D. Do not despise what God values: Matthew 19:1-9
C. Sacrifice the body for the sake of the kingdom: Matthew 19:10-12
B. Little children are the essence of the kingdom: Matthew 19:13-15
A. Jesus speaks of giving freely/sacrificing self: Matthew 19:16-20:16
Jesus foretells His death: Matthew 20:17-19

--

Discussion/debate church and gay marriage










HOMEWORK HELP



ONLY homework (besides Moodle) is the Chapman assignment.
Remember you can do the assignment per syllabus OR a 1-3 page summary of book review

 spend a few minutes acculturating ourselves to Philemon, prepping for our final paper.  Video:

SHHHHHH... don't tell...The other day a tab appeared at the top of this website, it says
"Philemon help?"/  Whatever you do, do not click it..unless you want tons of help for your Philemon paper.
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