Summary: Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel with nine statements that declare categories of people “blessed,” or content. Yet the people he describes are the ones we usually view with pity. In announcing whom he has come to bless, Jesus upends our ordinary values about where and how success and contentment are found.
Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.
The Super Bowl and the Church in a Culture of Dominance (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)
Summary: The Christian church in Corinth was divided over the question of whether Christians could eat meat that had come from sacrifices to Greek deities. Paul tells them to eat whatever they want but not if doing so would trample the consciences of those in the community who might be enticed back into old idolatrous practices. His words raise questions of what it means to be strong, what it means to be weak, and what it means to pursue unity and mutual harmony. In our American context, in which we’re enticed to equate strength with dominance, Paul’s words encourage us think about our cultural values and how they affect our understanding of what we expect God to be like.
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
1 corinthians 1 corinthians 8:1-13 conscience meat sacrificed to idols super bowl