Category: The Bible as Literature

Names have functional meaning. Students of this podcast know that our ability to hear a name spoken in the original language can unlock the meaning of a sentence, within a paragraph, within a story. In some cases, a common word taken from the story, like γρηγορέω, enters spoken language as a proper noun, unlocking the…

In the film Avengers: Infinity War, the story’s arch-villain, Thanos, destroys one-half of humanity with the snap of a finger. In the Book of Genesis, and later, in the Gospel of Matthew, one-half of humanity is threatened, not by an arch-villain, but by God himself. This mechanism, in which God undermines instead of lifting up,…

It’s been nearly two millennia since Matthew’s Gospel was written—that’s roughly 80 generations. Every 25 years, for the last 2000 years, every generation has been warned about the end, but the end has not yet come. So what does Jesus mean when he says, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away…

As Matthew 24 consolidates the fall of Jerusalem (and therefore, the fall of Rome) the centrality of St. Paul’s teaching of the Cross comes clearly into view. The glory of God’s Kingdom can only be present to us through the destruction of human infrastructure and might. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 24:29-31. Episode 376…

In Matthew’s gospel, it’s the teaching you follow that controls how you understand what you see. So when “false Christs and false prophets arise and show great signs and wonders,” your only hope is to hear what Jesus told you in advance: the truth is not out there. “On the contrary, the word is very…

It is human instinct to nest before giving birth, pack before a trip, and plan around bad weather. Safety, supplies, and comfort are the hallmarks of city life—or so we tell ourselves. But what to do when destruction comes? When human nesting instincts can’t save a nursing mother, and you don’t have time to grab…

Power and ideology are joined at the hip. There’s no point in saying “religious” ideology since (and let’s be honest with ourselves) all ideology in all its forms—secular or otherwise—is religion predicated on fear. Will we have enough? Will we be safe? Will we suffer? In Matthew, the answer is clear: God will provide what…

When we refer to an interpretation or discuss interpretation theories, we do so to claim authority over the text or to avoid accountability. A written text in any language says what it says. You need only see with your eyes what is written on the pages. Note the use of the plural: “pages.” You have…

It’s tempting to think that the study of literature—the discipline of hearing and understanding the written word—is more accessible than the so-called “hard sciences.” Our collective laziness bolsters this ill-conceived but commonly held view. Unlike Semitic languages, anyone can pronounce English words correctly without analyzing grammar or syntax. This basic fact enables an army of…

It is practically impossible for human beings to consider any question without worrying about what’s in it for them. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for us, the Lord’s teaching in Matthew disallows this question. Jesus blows past the many anxious and self-involved human questions to posit the post-apocalyptic, divine premise of Genesis: everything created is already returning…