Summary: “If pondering Jesus’ crucifixion doesn’t make you uncomfortable, you probably aren’t doing it right.”
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.
Category: <span>Bible commentary: general audience</span>
Summary: What should we take from the biblical passage in which Jesus redefines who qualifies as members of his family? What can this mean for our understanding of what counts as “family” today?
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.
Summary: Maundy Thursday falls during Holy Week and is the day prior to the Christian observance of Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ execution. When the biblical Gospels recount the night before Jesus’ death, they describe Jesus’ final meal with his followers (the Last Supper appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and a scene in which he washes their feet (in John). What are Christians remembering when they observe Maundy Thursday? In the biblical texts that talk about Jesus’ last night before his crucifixion, he gives himself away to his followers.
Read the full article on The Huffington Post.
Summary: The account of Jesus’ death in the Gospel according to Mark highlights the abuses of power perpetrated against him. It appears inevitable that someone like Jesus would meet such a fate in his time and place. Against whom is the deck stacked in our society?
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post and Day1.
Summary: The Gospel according to John describes Jesus as a new temple, a new “place” where God is accessible to people. This suggests that we might encounter God in any and all aspects of life. What does this mean for our public speech about religion, and for the political rhetoric offered by presidential candidates?
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post and Day1.
Summary: Healing a man with a skin disease alters the course of Jesus’ ministry. It’s a reminder that God’s entrance into human existence involves God in the vagaries of human existence. As God is affected by the challenges of alleviating suffering, we should expect the same from our own efforts.
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.
Summary: This article offers a basic introduction to what Paul’s letters say about women exercising public leadership in ancient Christian communities. While some passages from these letters have been used throughout the church’s history to restrict women’s roles and to diminish women’s value, it appears to be the case that Paul knew of, supported, and partnered with women who were church leaders. Some of the more notorious passages were probably written not by Paul but by an admirer who wrote after the apostle’s death. The issue is a complex one, and it reminds us of the challenges inherent in navigating among the various perspectives in the Bible and the need to take account of the cultures in which the biblical documents were written (and to which these documents were addressed).
Read the full article, and listen to an accompanying podcast, in the “Everything You Wanted to Know about the Bible but Were Afraid to Ask” section of EnterTheBible.
Summary: What should we make of those strange parts of the Gospels where Jesus speaks about his future return? Texts like these encourage anything but passive waiting for “pie in the sky.” They call us to see and to ally ourselves with ways in which Jesus is among us.
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.
Summary: When Jesus says, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and God the things that are God’s,” he exposes the ways in which our lives involve us in commitments that demand our allegiances. Without calling us to be ascetics or separatists, he calls us to renewed loyalty to God. This piece explores the difficulty of cleanly navigating the ambiguities of our social and political lives.
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.
Is It Possible to Govern “Biblically”? (Mark 10:35-45)
Summary: Jesus sets his own pattern as a “servant” in contrast to the oppressive, self-serving tendencies of his society’s leaders. Does this passage help us think about government in our time, and about the religious commitments of our candidates?
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.
Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible
gospel of mark government mark 10:35-45 servant leadership