Category: The Bible as Literature

A committed person is hard to find in 2021. Well, let me rephrase. All of us—every last one of us—are committed to ourselves, and we organize the time allotted to us as such. Few of us, less than a few, are committed to something that does not directly benefit us or someone for whom we…

Trapped by the Reformation and endless reactions against it, it’s difficult for contemporary Christians to escape ongoing and silly theological debates about grace and salvation. Everyone cheapens the Master’s grace by treating it either as a free pass or as some mystical force that controls their lightsaber. The only way to understand grace is the…

We scratch our heads when the Bible repeats a boring statement over and over again, but what should puzzle us is the odd moment when the Bible seems to take shortcuts like the rest of us. Why, after enumerating the words of Jesus twice, does Matthew summarize the third prayer to the Father by saying,…

When English speakers co-opt the Matthean words, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” they inevitably de-scripturalize them. They twist the words of Jesus as though they refer to an inner psychological struggle or matter of conscience: “I want to do the right thing, but my nature fights against it.” After 400 episodes…

We naturally want Jesus to be invulnerable, and the thought of him feeling anxiety or, as Matthew writes, extreme grief about his predicament presents an uncomfortable picture of God’s messiah. We prefer a version of Jesus that manifests perfection and stoic implacability because we believe in this possibility for ourselves. But that’s not what Matthew…

Just as human biology is inevitable, so too are human words about development and growth. We talk about building and sustaining to defend and survive, and we talk about supporting and protecting for deeply selfish reasons tied to our biology. In Matthew, Peter’s zeal when he proclaims, “I will not deny you,” is not for…

When Jesus uses the word “body” in Matthew’s gospel, unless you abandon all assumptions, transporting yourself to first-century Roman society, it is impossible to hear—let alone understand—what the Lord is saying during his Last Supper. The disciples may be concerned with tribe and city, eager to wave their flags and pledge their allegiances, but Jesus…

We Americans love it when it’s about us. We just love it. Until we are sitting with Jesus in the Middle East, eating with our hands, and Jesus says, “it’s the guy sitting with me, eating with his hands.” “Which guy, Jesus?” Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 26:20-25. Photo Credit: “The Last Supper,” by…

We imagine an historical connection between the peoples of the biblical story and the peoples living in the modern world because our premise in 2021 is our identity. Who are you? To what group do you belong? What are your beliefs? On whose side are you? The moment you mistakenly answer these invalid questions (almost…

Tribe, nation, city, patrimony, heritage, religion, flags and bumper stickers—Judas Iscariot. Value, opportunity, market, profit, commerce, civilization, exploitation and slavery—Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot, “man of the city.” Judas Iscariot, “tribe and city.” Judas Iscariot, securing his future by the throwing “the ordinary man” under the bus. Nothing changes under the sun. Richard and Fr. Marc…