In the year of our Lord 2020, Matthew’s warning that we are not to judge our neighbor draws a scowl from those who hear it, even as Christians themselves dismiss it. No sooner do we give lip service to this teaching than we scramble to find self-justifying theories that separate us from others. We want…
Category: The Bible as Literature
We Are All Guests
In Matthew’s gospel, the notion of a guest is a useful metaphor. A guest owns nothing, controls nothing, provides nothing, and can do nothing when the host asks them to leave. If you hate being at the mercy of another, the best way to deal with their invitation is to throw it in the trash….
Hope in Destruction
When human beings seek security and safety, they base their defense on brick and mortar buttressed by a fierce criticism of those they deem unrighteous. What to do when that criticism bounces back like a missile, and your only defense is the stone of instruction, which you rejected? Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 21:40-45….
Running of Out of Chances
When Matthew—or any other gospel—applies a text from the Old Testament, that’s exactly what it is: an application of something old to a new situation. The original teaching itself is static, but the way it is used depends on the new situation presented by the author. In the case of Isaiah 5, we know that…
Talk Is Cheap
When anyone gathers to accomplish a task, there are plenty of people who express a willingness to help and no shortage of expert opinions about the work itself and how it should be completed. Great. With all this amazing expertise and positive thinking, there should be no trouble completing the task, right? Guess again. One…
Consigned to Ignorance
In Matthew 13, Jesus invokes the prophecy of Isaiah against those unable to grasp his teaching because of their ignorance of Scripture: “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is…
An Expiration on Grace
Critics of the Bible puzzle over cursed fig trees and bristle at violence in the Old Testament, all the while ambivalent to modern atrocities carried out in the name of civil society. One need look no further than the forgotten children of Syria, the devastation in Yemen, or the violence committed against migrant children in…
True Worship
When human beings think of worship, our natural inclination is to understand prayer as a bargain with God: if I praise you, Lord, this will happen for me. If we praise you correctly, we will prosper. If we praise you, our “righteous” goals will be achieved. From this idolatrous and self-serving fundamentalism proceeds all manner…
Victory March
In the triumphant entry into Jerusalem portrayed in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is adorned with the standard symbols of a Roman procession: the crowds, evoking bread and circuses; the donkey, a mockery of Caesar Augustus who elevated his stallion to the rank of consul; the gossip in the city, “who is this,” evoking the image of…
A Plan in Motion
In battle, the US Marine Corps trains their soldiers to “adapt, improvise, and overcome” in carrying out the mission. Leading up to Matthew 21, Jesus has been making plans to carry out his mission with little help from his followers. Only now, on the eve of battle, does he find two able recruits—two blind men—willing…