From the Evangelicals to the Catholics, from Wheaton to Mount St Mary’s:

Professors from universities across the country — from Stanford to North Carolina Central to the University of Nebraska to Harvard — signed a petition Tuesday calling on the Mount St. Mary’s University administration to reinstate professors who had been fired.

Within hours of being posted, the petition had more than 2,400 digital signatures, a symbol of the  outrage from some in the campus community as well as in broader academic circles who viewed the terminations as retribution against faculty who had opposed the president. They also said the decisions threaten the academic freedom at the private Catholic university in Maryland and violate the school’s core principles.

Alumni wrote letters to the university’s board, parents emailed the Archdiocese, and students planned a day of fasting and prayer for the campus on Ash Wednesday.

The controversy began months ago, when the provost and some professors had raised concerns when the president asked for a list of students unlikely to succeed in college several weeks into the school year; one said it was too early to separate those who would do well from those likely to drop out. Simon Newman, the president, told professors, “there will be some collateral damage.”

Leah Donnella:

In 1996, when Dominque Dawes became the first black woman to win an individual gymnastics medal at the Atlanta Summer Olympics, critics said her look wasn’t quite right.

In 2012, Gabby Douglas became the first black woman to win the title of individual all-around champion at the London Summer Olympics. She was then asked again and again to comment on critiques about her hair.

In 2013, Simone Biles became the first black woman to be world all-around champion at the gymnastics World Championship. Following her win, Italian Gymnastics Federation official David Ciaralli said there was “a trend in gymnastics at this moment, which is going towards a technique that opens up new chances to athletes of colour (well-known for power) while penalising the more artistic Eastern European style that allowed Russians and Romanians to dominate the sport for years.” Ciarelli also said black people were unsuited to be field managers, general managers, or swimmers.

Black female athletes, especially the ones who make it to the very top, have faced a history of being criticized for their bodies, their hair and their strength. In performative sports, like gymnastics, figure skating and ballet, they’re often subject to more elusive critiques about style and grace. The exact meaning of these comments can be hard to pin down, but they still send a clear message: This is not a black woman’s sport. Black women don’t belong here.

Which is part of what makes a video that went viral this weekend so exciting. It shows a young woman named Sophina DeJesus, a senior on the gymnastics team at UCLAwho identifies as African-American and Puerto Rican, incorporating dance moves into her Saturday floor routine that are strongly rooted in blackness.

Churches sheltering immigrants:

U.S. churches are again defying federal immigration authorities. Across the country, a handful of congregations are opening their doors to offer safe haven to Central American immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally and are under deportation orders.

The new sanctuary movement echoes an earlier civil disobedience campaign by churches in the 1980s.

The newest church in America to openly challenge federal immigration laws is St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin, Texas. Ten days ago, the congregation took in Hilda and Ivan Ramirez, a Guatemalan mother and her 9-year-old son.

“I’m really afraid that they’ll deport me. That’s why I came here,” she says, sipping coffee in the parish hall. “I don’t think immigration agents will break down the door and take me away. I feel safe here.”

The mother and son’s new residence inside the church in a middle-class suburb in north Austin is a safe gamble. A 2011 memo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement states that agents will avoid arresting anyone at churches, schools, hospitals and public demonstrations — unless the person is a terror suspect or a dangerous felon.

Elaine Rogers, and do you practice “integrative” medicine?

D’Agostino is among a growing branch of physicians practicing what is called integrative medicine, acknowledging the merits of healing traditions such as acupuncture, massage therapy, yoga and nutrition — termed complementary and alternate medicine (CAM) in medical circles — and actively incorporating them into their patients’ treatment plans.

He and others say that integrative medicine and the concept of “treating the whole person rather than just the symptoms of illness” is becoming more mainstream, and even conventional physicians are increasingly likely to discuss the nutraceuticals and wellness therapies patients have already prescribed for themselves, or to make suggestions about CAM treatments they might pursue.

“I believe there is a benefit with integrating complementary and alternative medical treatments such as nutrition, exercise, yoga, massage, etcetera, into traditional/conventional medical practices,” says Lea Krekow, an oncologist at Texas Breast Specialists-Bedford and Texas Oncology’s Bedford and Grapevine locations. “Wellness is more than just the absence of disease.”

Trisha Smith, an internist with Baylor Family Medicine at Highland Village, Tex., explains that integrative medicine is about combining the best of both worlds.

“Traditional medicine, unfortunately, does focus on treating disease, and most alternative medical systems focus on tapping into the innate healing powers of the human body,” she says. “More and more we are seeing a trend in traditional medicine towards prevention and wellness.”

Thomas Cromwell reconsidered:

There is a difficulty in ever writing Cromwell’s life story properly. His papers survive in abundance, thanks to a political accident: at his arrest they were seized from his filing system, and have stayed in government hands ever since – but they amount to the contents of his in-tray, rather than letters he wrote himself. I suggest that this is the result of a quick decision made by his household when he was arrested: they burned the out-tray because that is where the incriminating material would be. It would, they believed, be much harder for Cromwell’s enemies surrounding the king to build an accusation on letters written by others.

Once we try to penetrate the silence, a rather different Cromwell emerges. His intimate friendship with thoughtful, carefully candid Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, is telling: I have deduced from surviving archives that in the 1530s they were so much a team that Cranmer kept a special file just for their exchanges of letters, separate from other correspondence. During his service to Cardinal Wolsey in the 1520s, Cromwell became a quiet friend to the Thames Valley Lollards, a group of religious dissenters that questioned the established church.

Over the following decade, when Henry VIII effectively granted him Wolsey’s powers in the church, he became a busy and effective promoter of the new religion and its enthusiasts. And in his latter years, he became a discreet organiser of contacts with the most radical European mainstream Reformations, in Zurich and northern Switzerland – far beyond anything the king could have approved, and highly dangerous for him. That was not the action of a political cynic.

Walking away from a car?

A growing number of Americans are driving less and getting rid of their cars.

The trend is gaining traction in middle-aged adults, to the point where fewer of them are even bothering to get or renew their driver’s licenses, but it’s been prominent among younger adults — millennials — for years now.

“Honestly, at this point, it just doesn’t really seem worth it,” says 25-year-old Peter Rebecca, who doesn’t own a car or have a driver’s license. “I mean, I live in Chicago, there’s really good access to, you know, public transits for pretty cheap.”

The student at Harold Washington College downtown lives just a couple of blocks from a rail stop on the Northwest side. In the warmer months, Rebecca says, he uses a bike.

“I’ve got a bunch of grocery stores in walking distance, and even then I can use the bus if I have to get further,” he says.

Rebecca is hardly alone, especially among young adults in urban areas.

“Over the past several decades, particularly for the youngest age groups, there’s been a pretty large decrease in the number of people who have been getting driver’s licenses,” says Brandon Schoettle, a researcher at the University of Michigan.

He led a new study published by University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute that studied the proportion of people with driver’s licenses over the years.

Christopher Elliott:

British Airways shouldn’t have charged Jim Arnold and his wife $400 for their checked bags. After all, the couple were flying from London to Newark in premium economy class. But when they tried to check in, that’s what the computer demanded.

So they forked over their credit card number.

Later at the airport, a representative apologized for the glitch. “I was told that this happens all the time,” says Arnold, a retired chief financial officer who lives in Bellevue, Wash. “I needed to contact customer service at British Airways for a refund.”

The airline representative was right. This happens all the time. When in doubt, an airline charges for bags, because luggage has become a massive source of revenue. The domestic airlines are on track to break last year’s record of $3.5 billion in luggage fees. By comparison, domestic airlines collected only $464 million in such fees eight years ago.

The industry is resorting to increasingly creative tactics in an apparent belief that there’s still room to grow this revenue source. They include everything from simply raising luggage fees to creating complicated pricing menus that confuse customers and prodding them into participating in loyalty programs with the promise of a “free” bag in exchange for signing up for a branded credit card. Fortunately, there are ways around all of that.

Kristin Kirkpatrick on addictive foods:

Just the other day, a patient told me she had eaten a full meal: a burger, french fries, and a soda. Then, not even two hours later, she was hungry again. She craved something sweet.

After all of those calories, how could she still be hungry, she asked? And she’s not alone.

In overweight and obese patients especially, it turns out the brain’s reward processing system for food is similar to the brain’s mechanisms related to substance abuse. If unchecked cravings affect you, you might need to make a conscious effort to control them.

Below are four of the most “addictive” foods — and tips on how to curb your cravings.

By John Frye.

“Give us today our daily bread.”

Jesus cloned a bunch of bread. The disciples must have sounded like the Dr. Pepper man, “Get yer bread heah! Hot bread heah!” Let’s continue to explore the theme of bread (aka “loaves”) in Mark. In Mark 8:1-13 we read about the feeding of the 4000 (mainly Gentiles, though the audience was undoubtedly mixed; against Stein who sees Jesus back in Galilee feeding mostly Jews). In Mark the terms “bread” and “loaves” occur 17 times in Chapters 1-8. Only 4 times in chapters 14-16 (regarding the Passover Meal). Most of the uses occur in the two massive feedings of hungry people (6:30-44 and 8:1-13) and in Jesus’ conversation with his disciples about those feedings (8:17-21). While similar Markan terminology in both feedings leads some to conclude that there was only one feeding expressed two ways, many others see enough differences in the accounts to conclude there were, indeed, two different events where Jesus fed thousands of people with minimal food on hand. One major objection to the one feeding view is Jesus’ own questions to his Twelve about two different events (see Mark 8:17-21).

Jesus had some big shoes to fill.  The feeding of the 5000 in Mark 6 presents Jesus as the New Moses providing bread to God’s people in the wilderness. The hungry people were “like sheep without a shepherd,” i.e., explicit Old Testament phrases meaning “like people without a leader” (see these words from Moses in Num. 27:17 and echoed by Ezekiel in Ezek. 34:5). Jesus is the leader that Israel was always looking for. That is until their vision of leader got skewed by the compelling dynamics of power. The feeding in Mark 8 of mainly Gentiles in the area of Decapolis is prompted solely by Jesus’ compassion for hungry people. “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance” (8:2-3 NIV). Many have come from far away, i.e., Gentiles (see Ephesians 2:13). Jesus is the Deliverer for the Jews and the compassionate Savior for the Gentiles. Does Mark’s use of eúlogásas in 8: 7(“thanksgiving”) portend the eucharistic feast when Jews and Gentiles join in table fellowship?

“Hot bread heah!” Think about the amount of bread In the Jewish crowd 5000 men were fed, plus women and children. Grant each man a wife and at least 1 child. That is 15,000 loaves and left-overs. Now for the Decapolis feeding. Mark records there were 4000 men (8:9). Let’s do similar math. That means 12,000 loaves with huge baskets of left-overs. Combined, we have 27,000 loaves of bread. Why bring this up? Because of a statement Jesus’ disciples will soon make: “It is because we have no bread” (8:16). Oh, my. They couldn’t see the Baker because of the bread crumbs in their eyes. Jesus will ask, “Do your eyes fail to see?”

Unseeing eyes are critical eyes. For some reason, Mark pops up again a fussy argument still being carried by the Pharisees (8:11-13). These leaders need a sign they say. It’s not a miracle they want; it’s God’s seal of approval that fits into their judgmental categories. Theirs is a question to expose Jesus as a fraud, not to trust Jesus as Savior, much less as the Messiah. They want a God-validation for Jesus’ undeniable supernatural ministry because they have already concluded that Jesus is empowered by Satan (Mark 3:22). This testy question irked Jesus deeply. What Jesus simply wants is faith, as the Syrophoenician woman expressed. The answer Jesus gives to the religious police is to get away from them. And to get his disciples away from them (8:13). Jesus will give his Twelve some spiritual direction about the Pharisees and Herod. We’ll explore that next time.

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Several years ago I posted a long series on the book of Job (See here for the posts) using the commentaries written by John Walton (Job (The NIV Application Commentary)) and Tremper Longman III (Job (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms)) both published in August 2012.   The book of Job is an often misunderstood and misused or overlooked book, but it is a powerful book and one we would do well to study. The book of Job is a profound exploration of wisdom and suffering, of the nature of God, the nature of Creation, the nature of man, and the interaction of God with his creation and his creatures. The series on Job and the detailed reading of both of these excellent commentaries along with a handful of other sources was one of the most satisfying series of posts I’ve done. This is a book that we should study more often as Christians.

Of course, two 400+ page commentaries are rather daunting and hard to plow through. Fortunately Longman and Walton have teamed up to put out a short study of the book of Job designed especially for bible studies in small groups or adult classes. How to Read Job (IVP 2015) draws on their combined insights to bring the interested readers through the book. A mere 200 pages, with discussion question, the book is an excellent resource.

The structure of the book gives some insight into its strengths.

Part One: Reading Job as Literature
1. What Is the Book of Job About?
2. What Is the Rhetorical Strategy of the Book of Job?
3. Job in the Context of the Ancient Near East
4. Is Job a Real Person?

Both Walton and Longman see the book of Job as a literary work designed as a thought experiment to explore some very important questions concerning God and his governance of the world. It is not a historical book.

We therefore adopt the position that , though job himself may have been a real person who actually lived, the rest of the book is a literary work of art providing a wisdom discussion that is framed by extremes. … This is important for some readers because it is easy to get distracted by this picture of a God who is “making wagers with the devil” or has no knowledge of what Satan is doing or of what motivates Job’s righteousness. Instead we should take this scenario as a hypothetical one: what if we imagine …? In this view, the truth of the message of Job is preserved while potential concerns about the nature of God are avoided. … Whether we label it a thought experiment or simply a hypothetical scenario built around extremes, we can encounter the God-given message of the text undistracted from incidental curiosities and without the angst that comes with wondering why God killed Job’s children. (p. 39)

This is a very important point. Too many times Christians get hung up on the problems with Job as history and simply cannot see the book for its intended message and effect.

Each chapter of the book ends with further reflections – questions that will make good discussion starters in any bible study class.

After chapter 4 Longman and Walton pose questions including:

Why is it important to determine the genre of the book of Job?

How would you describe its genre?

How does thinking of the book as a thought experiment affect the way we interpret the book?

I’d add another to the mix:

Is Job as thought experiment consistent with our understanding of the nature and purpose of scripture?

Walton and Longman deal with this issue in the chapter, making reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan. Certainly it is possible to convey important theological messages in the form of stories using places and situations. All truth is not bald fact. But this is a question that gets to the core of the problem that many Christians face when considering the genre of Job.

Part Two: Getting to Know the Characters of the Book of Job
5. What Do We Learn About God from the Book of Job?
6. Who Is “Satan” in Job?
7. What Is the Role of Job in the Book of Job?
8. How to Assess Job’s Human Advisers
9. Who Is Job’s Advocate?
10. Behemoth and Leviathan, the Most Powerful Creatures Imaginable

The challenger (transliterated and capitalized as a proper name in most English translations of Job 1 and 2) should not be confused with Satan of the New Testament. Walton and Longman conclude chapter 6:

The challenger comes among the sons of God, who are the members of the heavenly council (not mere angels, who are messengers for the council). This standing him a legitimate status and identifies him as one whom God has delegated to perform certain tasks. The challenge that he brings concerns a potential unintended consequence in the way God acts in the world. He is right about the potential that anticipated reward has for undermining human righteousness. God does not rebuke him; instead, he actively addresses the challenge by giving the challenger freedom to test the system. In that way, Job, unknowingly, becomes the star witness for the defense of that system. (p. 55-56)

When I first read the commentaries by Longman and Walton, I also listened to the NIV dramatization of Job provided on Bible Gateway. In this dramatization the man speaking the role of  the challenger had a sinister voice intended to convey the image of Satan to the hearer. With the new 2011 update and a new dramatization, this has changed. Satan is simply portrayed as a challenger. This is actually an important part of understanding the genre and purpose of the book. In no way does Job portray God as “making wagers with the devil” because the devil, the New Testament Satan, has no part in the book.

Part Three: The Theological Message of the Book of Job
11. The Retribution Principle and Theodicy in Job
12. The Retribution Principle in Wisdom Literature
13. Does Job Believe in the Afterlife?
14. Learning About the Cosmos from the Book of Job
15. The Theology of Suffering in the Book of Job
16. Job’s View of God

Chapter 13 raises another excellent point for discussion. Often we read our New Testament understanding of life, death, and the age to come into the Old Testament. But the Old Testament understanding was often quite different. There are hints that the Israelites hoped for something better than death and Sheol, but no clear theology of the afterlife until Daniel 12.

Once we recognize that the Israelites had no hope of heaven and begin to read the contexts of the Old Testament in light of their limited understanding, we gain valuable insight into important theological issues. First we learn that a relationship with God need not be construed around a hope of heaven. This is important for Christians to understand because it is common for people to think that the work of Christ is primarily intended to offer us the benefits of going to heaven and living forever rather than going to hell. Such an understanding is a distortion. The work of Christ makes it possible for us to be in relationship with God now and forever. … We learn from the book of Job and from Israelite theology that we should focus more on our present relationship with God than on our future benefits. We should be focused on God rather than on ourselves.

Second, when we come to understand the limited revelation that Israel had about the afterlife, we gain a greater appreciation of the emphasis on the retribution principle. With no hope of enjoying the benefits of God’s justice in eternity, the Israelites believed that if God was indeed just, that justice would have to come into play in this life. (p. 118)

We have a hope for ultimate justice, even when it fails in this world. Would the absence of such a hope change your passion for God?

Part Four: Reading Job as a Christian
17. Job and Jesus
18. The Message of the Book of Job for Today
19. Does the Book of Job Provide Comfort?
20. Applying the Book of Job

This is an excellent little book that should provide important understanding and foster productive discussion of the purpose and message of the book of Job. It makes me eager to lead a class on Job. With How to Read Job available to all, and augmented by the full commentaries by Longman and Walton, any such class will be an enriching experience.  Perhaps I’ll get the chance some day.

What is the message and purpose of the book of Job?

What does it teach us today?

If you wish to contact me directly you may do so at rjs4mail[at]att.net.

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One of the most notable features of American evangelicalism in the last generation has been a powerful surge toward “social justice.” At times it is no different than the old-fashioned social gospel, at times it simply catches up to mainline Protestantism — and most of the time evangelicals have completely ignored the rigorous and comprehensive thinking on “social justice” on the part of Roman Catholics. Whatever one makes of it — and I’m both deeply appreciative of the commitment to justice and at the same time concerned that it becomes far too political — one can’t deny the radical commitment to social justice on the part of evangelicalism. In the days of fundamentalism, so the story goes, social justice fell off the table.

But what does social justice mean?

What is the most common meaning at work when you hear “social justice”?

Three big ideas. First, the term “justice” runs right through the Old Testament (tsedek, tsedeqah, tsaddik) into the NT’s use of the term “justice” and “righteousness” and “justification.” This Jewish theme of words refers to God being just/righteous, to God’ revealing his will to God’s people, and to God’s people conforming to God’s will. The “just” person is the one who lives out God’s will — and this will is comprehensive. To be “just” is to be Torah observant in a comprehensive way.

Second, in classical Greek the term “just” refers to a virtue of someone whose character had been formed through the habits of living in light of the laws and telos of the polis and lived it out for the common good of that polis. Yet, in classical Greece and Rome there is a vision of the virtuous person who lives out that vision — it is not so much a society as it is personal character formation. Of course, a society composed of just persons will be a just society.

Third, the modern term has gotten fuzzy, and the best sketch I’ve seen how the term is used today — when scholars, when politicians, when bloggers, when pastors and priests, when skinny jeans activists use this expression, can be found in Michael Novak and Paul Adams, with Elizabeth Shaw, Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is.  In chp 2 Novak, whose memoir is called Writing from Left to Right, provides six varieties of social justice as found in “secular” usage, but he has his eye on the progressives (and not Roman Catholics, and I’ll provide his understanding of social justice in Catholic thinking at the end):

1. It means “distribution”: some kind of fair distribution of advantages and disadvantages. For this to happen requires federal government power.

2. Or it means “equality”: he opines that this far too often means “equality-as-uniformity.” He is among the many today who more than wonder about the viability of a pursuit of equality — who decides? how is this achieved?

3. Or it means the “common good”: The 2d Vatican spoke to this theme with this: “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment” (31). Here Novak contends the emphasis is on opportunity, but he thinks the common usage of social justice as common good runs again into the problem of Who decides what is the common good? Communism operated totally from the notion of common good, and CS Lewis worried about “omnipotent moral busybodies” (32). And what happens when the common good violates a person’s freedom or rights?

4. Or it means the “progressive agenda”: Novak critiques this with this explanation of the agenda: “activists on behalf of larger government and more spending for their favorite causes: the poor, Planned Parenthood, solar and wind power, restrictions on the use of fossil fuels, and two of their most passionately held causes, abortion and gay marriage” (33). He goes on on p. 34: “Nanny, nanny, everywhere the nanny state. Progressives now play the role that Puritans used to play in saying no. No smoking, no ozone, no gun-ownership, no this, that, and the other thing… it is the relentless nagging in the progressive character than is new and troubling.”

5. Or it means “New Civil Rights: Gender, Sex, Reproduction.” Civil rights set the agenda, the method, the manner, the morality and now other issues are defended by use of the same method, manner, and morality.

6. Or it means “compassion.” He knows it comes in a true and a false form, but the question for him is what results from the justification a variety of platforms and practices that are shaped by compassion.

Which all leads to how Roman Catholic thought — in Novak’s mind — comprehends social justice. Here is his point:

It is a personal virtue, not a social vision; its “specific character is social in two ways: the skill in forming associations, and the aim of benefiting the human community” (24-25). As such — and this is big for Novak — it turns to the federal government as little as possible.

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The Bread Winner, by John Frye

“He has done everything well” (Mark 7:37).

We are currently following Jesus into “unclean” territories. Jesus had radically redefined “unclean” and his definition is so big, it was hard for the church to wrap it arms around (see, for example, Acts 10 with Peter thrust by the Spirit into Cornelius’ house).  Jesus has gone into the region of Tyre and Sidon and is now hanging around in Decapolis. Notorious Gentile (unclean) regions. Robert H. Stein admits that Mark’s geographical references in Mark 7:31 are highly debated, but chooses to think that Jesus has returned to the Jewish side of Galilee. (I’ll not share what one of Scot’s TEDS students, who had a PhD in geography, said about Mark’s grasp of Jesus’ itinerary as expressed in Mark 7:31, but let’s just say Mark is not the sharpest knife in the drawer on such things.)  Jesus is in Gentile territory and is asked to touch (lay hands on and heal) a deaf and mute (speech- impaired) man.

Have we stumbled upon a pericope, i.e., a story about Jesus’ life and ministry that Mark decided to weave into his Gospel? Why ask such a question? Because in the space of a few verses we have a number of words used by Mark only once in a story about Jesus! The Gospel writers were able to draw upon many oral and written accounts of Jesus’ life (see Luke 1:1-4 and John 20:30) to create their own Spirit-guided accounts of Jesus’ life. This is apparently one of those stories.

Whatever Mark’s limitations in geography, he got one thing powerfully correct: Mark reports that the people declared, “He [Jesus] has done everything well!”

William Lane offers the thought that the people’s declaration harkens back to Isaiah 35:5-6. Isaiah wrote, “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” Even more, the work of Jesus may reach all the way back to Genesis 1:31a—  “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” All that Jesus does in new creation mirrors and exceeds original creation: “He does all things well!”

In a territory were Hebrew or Aramaic (either one Jesus’ native language) was not known, Jesus speaks “Ephphatha!” (“Be opened!”). A Jewish teacher bent on finding rest for his own life and his Twelve is still throwing the bread of life around (see last week’s post). How do we know? Because Mark once again inserts the verb “to cast,” to throw.” How unusual: Jesus “casts” his finger into the deaf man’s ears. The NIV limply translates the verb as “put.”

Come on! Jesus has got the bread. The bread of life. He’s got lots of it. He can cast bread to Jews (Mark 6:30-44). He can give it to a Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30). He can “cast” it into the ears of deaf-mute in Decapolis (Mark 7:31-37). Jesus has bread galore! The mana-maker is not choosey with his bread. He is so free, so generous, so prodigal! Evangelism is simply one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread. Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.”

Christian formation has developed from the early days when it was a kind of bricolage of various Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant spiritual practices into a far more developed theory of practices, but what has changed most is that the experience of spiritual formation directors with “students” has formed a much deeper and theologically sound understanding of spiritual formation. Jim Smith, with Apprentice Institute and the Apprentice Experience, is in my estimation one of the brightest lights in the whole movement. I am therefore more than happy to endorse the Apprentice Experience.

Jim has authored several books over the years.  His most notable works are found in a trilogy entitled the “Apprentice Series,” made up of The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful Life, and The Good and Beautiful Community.  Jim also serves as the Executive Director of the Apprentice Institute at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.  I commend these books because their core formation theory is rooted in a deep biblical and formation narrative.

There is important work in the field of Christian spiritual formation currently being done by the Apprentice Institute.  Over the past two years, I have enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in a new initiative by teaching in the Apprentice Experience.  This is an adult certificate program in Christian spiritual formation designed for pastors, church staff, para-church ministry workers and laity.  The participants are eager to learn and fully engaged in group discussions.  The questions they ask and the feedback they provide has been impressive. I’ve not been in any group formation class I’ve enjoyed this much.

I would recommend — and have done so — that my students at Northern Seminary take this Experience as part of their own formation into a life of ministry. I also recommend this program for both those in ministry or for those who simply want to deepen their walk with the Lord.

The curriculum, based on Jim Smith’s Apprentice Series, creates unique learning opportunities for participants.  The Apprentice Experience is focused on helping people learn more about their God narratives, putting on the character of Christ, and living their Christian faith amongst others.  Perhaps the most important teachings involve helping people gain a deeper understanding of the Kingdom.

Frankly, some forms of spiritual formation are unknowingly rooted in an exclusively individual soterian gospel leading to a purely individualistic spiritual formation. But the gospel begins with Jesus and his narrative and incorporates our narrative into his along with others in the way of Jesus so that formation is formation as well into community.

Based in a comfortable retreat center, the Apprentice Experience blends class lectures with personal spiritual practices and group dialogue.  Essentially, participants hear it, do it, then process it together.  I find this to be an effective model for transformation.

If you would like to apply to the Apprentice Experience or simply learn more about the program, go to: www.apprenticeexperience.org.  You can also reach John Carroll, the Director of the Apprentice Experience, directly at [email protected]

By John Frye

I like it when Mark, the gospel writer, plays with words. We find an example in today’s pericope regarding the demonized daughter of the Greek, Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:23-30). Let’s note the context. Jesus had unflinchingly redefined what creates clean and unclean (Mark 7:1-23). With great courage, Jesus rewrote the script about what truly defiles human beings. Jesus moved from externals to the internal—the heart (Mark 7:21). Meticulous cleanliness rituals foisted upon the people (and in particular in this episode, the disciples—Mark 7:5) are overridden by Jesus’ new perspective. Unclean hands, unclean utensils, unclean foods, unclean people—are reframed in Jesus’ kingdom vision. How extensive is this new, redefined world? Jesus shows us geographically.

Jesus enters unclean territory, the vicinity of Tyre. Gentile dirt will be on his and the disciples’ sandals. An unclean person, a Greek, a Gentile woman whose daughter is tormented by a demon disturbs Jesus’ attempt to finally find peace and quiet for himself and the Twelve in a private home (see 6:31-32).  On her face before Jesus, this unclean woman begs Jesus to liberate her daughter. Jesus responds. The question is: is Jesus being rude and abrupt with the woman? I don’t think so.

First, Jesus reminds this Gentile woman that his first Messianic priority is to his own people, the Jews. Jesus refers to his people as the children. It’s not that Gentiles cannot have the bread of “the children” (is this a reflection on the feeding of the 5000?), only that the Gentiles aren’t first. Many think this is pointing toward the future, to Paul’s mission priorities (see Romans 1:16). Jesus is not outright rejecting this woman. He is simply stating his mission priorities. Second, we observe the diminutive word for dogs, i.e., puppies. Then we see the creative play on words. Jesus says that it is not right to take the children’s bread and “cast” (βαλειν) it to puppies. It’s not as the NIV reads— a mere “toss.” It’s a vigorous fast ball. Mark will use this word again.

What is the play on words? We have to fast-forward to verse 30. The woman went home and found her daughter “cast” upon the bed. One scholar writes that the use of the strong verb “appears somewhat strange” (Stein 2008: 354). Again, the NIV lamely reads “lying.” William Lane writes that the strong verb βεβλημενον (“cast”) in vs. 30 suggests the last convulsive act of the demon as it left the girl (Lane: 1974, 263). I would suggest a gentler meaning. What Jesus has done for the girl without a word and from a distance is answered the Gentile woman’s plea. He delivered the daughter from the demon. In doing so Jesus has “cast the bread to the dogs.” More bread will be cast, so to speak, to dogs in chapter 8:1-10 in the region of the Decapolis.

The woman’s witty reply to Jesus’ priorities was to talk her way into his saving power. Crumbs from the children fall off the table to the dogs (we need not milk the difference between dogs and puppies). In effect she says, “I’m not presuming to be first. I’ll be happy with just measly bread crumbs when they fall.” I can imagine Jesus giving a hearty laugh, elbow-poking Peter, saying, “Did you hear that? That is humble faith. That is kingdom stuff!”

Who is this Jewish man in Tyre, and soon Decapolis, throwing the bread around? We’re getting there.

I started a series on Biblical womanhood last Thursday with a look at women of the Old Testament. Not commands and laws, but stories about people, what they did and how they did it. It is quite an amazing variety.  Today we will look at women of the New Testament. Like the ancient Near East and ancient Israel, first century Galilee, Judea, and the Greek and Roman world were patriarchal cultures. This culture is reflected in the narrative. Still, in the New Testament, even more than the Old Testament, biblical women were not passive wives and mothers staying in the background. Nor were they condemned for their actions (except for the same kinds of failures that condemned men).  If there are other specific New Testament examples that we should consider, add them in a comment.

People of Faith

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” (Luke 8:47-48, also Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-33)

Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” … He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:22-28, also Mark 7:24-30)

When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:3-5)

This is a group of references, but Mary (in a class of her own) and the two women who came to Jesus for healing were clearly women of faith. They had faith in God and faith in Jesus as God’s prophet … Mary may have known more, but the people who came and heard Jesus in his life probably had no other idea concerning him than that of prophet.

Devout Prophet

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2: 36-38)

It is significant that Luke includes two witnesses here – one male, one female – when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple for his presentation as first born son. Anna is a prophet. What is the role of a prophet? Isn’t it to speak the word of the Lord to the people?  In both the Old and New Testament to prophesy  (to speak as a mediator between God and humankind or in God’s stead) is an equal opportunity calling, not one limited to men.

Sincere Questioner and Witness

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” (John 4:39)

The entire story of the encounter at the well is worth considering (John 4:1-42). Jesus met the woman when she came for water. She had an openness that is a positive contrast to Nicodemus who came at night (John 3).

Connivers

Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” (Matthew 14:8, also Mark 6:22-25)

As in the Old Testament not all examples are laudatory.

Followers and Supporters of Jesus

The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. (Luke 8:1-3)

The twelve and some women, three of whom are named, were in the closest circle of followers who were leaving all for Jesus. They traveled with the group, didn’t just support it from afar.

Avid Student of Jesus

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. … “Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

The women sat with the men to listen to Jesus. This passage is interesting because Jesus specifically commends this attitude and ordering of priorities. Nor should we neglect Martha who was also a devout follower.

Devout

… “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4)

Not Quite Getting It (But then neither did the twelve, Mark 9)

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” (Matthew 20:20-21)

A worldly understanding of power and prestige afflicts both men and women.

Anointing Jesus

Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. (Matthew 26:6-13, also Mark 14:3-9)

And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. … And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:37-50)

Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:1-8)

Each of the gospels has some variation of this incident or these incidents. The versions in Matthew, Mark, and John seem to refer to the same incident, but Luke’s story is quite different, making a different point, and doesn’t seem to mesh with the others completely.

Present at the Cross

But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. (Luke 23:49)

Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Matthew 27:55-56)

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. (Mark 15:40-41)

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (John 19:25)

The women who traveled with Jesus, the twelve, and the other disciples, were witnesses at the cross to the crucifixion.

The First Witnesses to the Resurrection

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. … Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. (Luke 24:10)

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. … But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. … So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. (Matthew 28:1-10)

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. … But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; (Mark 16:1-8)

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. … When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” … Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (John 20)

All of the Gospels agree on this point. It was the women, Mary Magdalene and others, who traveled with Jesus who were the first to find the empty tomb, to learn that he was risen, and to spread the news.

In a Central Circle with the Disciples

When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. (Acts 1:13-14)

The remaining 11 and certain women comprised the core circle here. They traveled with Jesus in his ministry.

Independently Responsible for Deceit

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” (Acts 5:7-9)

Sapphira was a co-conspirator with her husband. She wasn’t condemned for his misdeed, but for hers.

Devoted to Good Works and Charity

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. (Acts 9:36)

Business Woman, Head of Household

A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us. (Acts 16:14-15)

Note in particular that she and her household were baptized, the same phrase used when men are the lead in the story (Cornelius and the head of the guard for example.)

Fellow Traveler, Witness with Paul

Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. (Acts 18:18)

He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. (Acts 18:26)

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. (Romans 16:3-4)

Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19)

Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Oneisiphorus. (2 Timothy 4)

This couple clearly had a role in the early church. Both of them were involved and are emphasized in every story.

The letters of Paul could be quite personal, especially in the final greetings at the end. Priscilla and Aquila figured here, but so did many others.  These personal greetings include an interesting array of both men and women. Here we are concerned with the women.

Deacon and Benefactor

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. (Romans 16:1-2)

A deacon and a benefactor. Quite the reference from Paul!  This recommendation probably means that Phoebe delivered Pauls letter to the church in Rome.  N.T. Wright in his Commentary on Romans notes:

The implication is that Phoebe is a businesswoman who is able to travel independently, and for Paul to trust her with a letter like this speaks volumes for the respect in which she was held, so it is no surprise that she is a deacon in the church. … She was in a position of leadership, and Paul respected here as such and expected the Roman church to do so as well. … The word “benefactor” means much more, in Paul’s world, than simply “she has been a great help” (NIV): benefaction and patronage were a vital part of the culture, and this makes Phoebe someone to be reckoned with socially and financially and a leader – of whatever sort – in her local church. (p. 761-762)

In this section Wright’s complaints with the NIV on the word “deacon” (the material bypassed by the first ellipse in the quote) and “benefactor” relate to NIV1984. The 2011 update uses deacon and benefactor.

Hard Workers in the Lord

Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. (Romans 16:6)

Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. (Romans 16:12)

Outstanding Among the Apostles

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. (Romans 16:7)

Here Wright comments that, for Paul, an apostle was one who witnessed the risen Christ.  “Junia is thus one of the female “apostles,” the only one so called; though presumably others, such as Mary Magdalene, were known as such as well.” (p. 762)

A Woman of Standing

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. (1 Corinthians 1:11)

Presumably another woman of standing. Members of her household traveled abroad.

Contending for the Gospel (and at odds)

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Philippians 4:2-3)

Hostess (perhaps more)

Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. (Colossians 4:15)

Recipient of 2 John

To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth (2 John 1)

Several things are apparent from this list.

• Anna, the prophet, was one of the two to welcome the Messiah in the temple.

• Jesus preached to and taught both men and women. Mary was welcome to learn with the others.

• Women played a prominent role in band of people who traveled with Jesus during his earthly ministry. The twelve were all men, and there is important symbolism in the selection of twelve. But it is not clear that inner circle of followers were all male. Women were provided support, traveled along, were at the cross, witnessed the resurrection, and were with the 12 in the upper room before Pentecost, received the Holy Spirit.

• Women, including women of substance, played an important role in the early church.

These women are multidimensional people capable of almost anything, good or bad.  All of the images were taken from Wikipedia and again convey as much or more about the artist and his culture as they do about the subjects.

Is there any example you would add to the list?

If you wish to contact me directly you may do so at rjs4mail[at]att.net.

If interested you can subscribe to a full text feed of my posts at Musings on Science and Theology.

By Jovan Barrington

Jovan is the Senior Minister at the Littleton Church of Christ in Denver, CO.
@JovanBarrington

I got dumped. I tried to think of other ways to begin this article but I feel too much like Taylor Swift. Breakups are good material for writing articles and writing songs.

I received a call from a friend recently sharing some interesting bits from a conversation he recently had with someone whom I have not met. In part of the conversation it was shared that this person was puzzled as to why I was not still at the congregation that I served for 13 years.

I have been doing my best to avoid these phone calls and conversations. They stir up in me feelings of entitlement like, “thats what I’m saying, they were so wrong,” and “I deserve to be there.” It validates those feelings of resentment and bitterness.

For a while, I was somewhat of a stalker. I would look at my old church’s web page, read their bulletins and listen to who was preaching. I would occasionally call someone to say hello and get the inside information on what was going on with my former ministry. That was until I shared this with a close friend during a video call. He told me to “hold on” and I took a break from what I was saying long enough for him to retrieve a pair of scissors from his desk drawer.

Do you know what these are?

Yes, those are scissors.

Do you know what they are for?

Cutting things?

Why are you looking at their web page, listening to their sermons and meddling with phone calls.

Cut the cord.

After the conversation I went and found a pair of scissors from the office resource room and held it in my hands. He was right. Why did it matter so much to me that I get some kind of validation that I was good enough. Either overtly of subversively hoping for a “we never should have let you go” or “things sure are hard without you.”

But even if I received the kind of validation I was looking for it was met with my cynicism and sarcasm. Still I wanted to be close.

Have you ever been hurt so bad that the only thing that seems to bring you solace is returning to the person or people who hurt you? You may need a friend or someone to say “cut the cord.” Only then can you realize that this practice of seeking validation or peace from those who rejected you is unhealthy and doesn’t deliver the solace you seek.

I recently learned about differentiation. Particularly, how I respond emotionally to conflict. I learned something that helped me to understand my ability to cope with the anxiety present in all human interactions. When faced with conflict, even when I am hurt by the interaction, I really want to remain connected to the person or persons involved. Its called fusion.

One of the elders at the church where I was “let go” shared that he did not want what happened to change our relationship. My reply was that our relationship would never be the same again. In actuality, my mouth was saying one thing but heart desired another. Despite my pain I still wanted closeness. Yet when I reached out to connect it was never really satisfying. Instead it was saddening. I got the exact opposite result that I desired.

Forgiveness doesn’t always lead to reconciliation.

I used to think that to forgive someone meant that you had to be reconciled. It would baffle me that many people I knew did not maintain close relationships with their mother or father. Some had not spoken to them in years. There was a lot of painful history there. I had loving and engaging parents. They were always there for me. Their love was unconditional and they did not bring harm to me physically or emotionally. Maybe that is why forgiveness without reconciliation was hard for me to understand. I did not have a bad breakup with my parents. I had not experienced something so tragic.

Maybe you are holding on to something – a relationship where you were rejected. You are living in agony in your attempts to become reconciled. What if you took a break from that idealistic pursuit and instead pursued forgiveness with no strings attached? What that means is you forgive with the goal of freeing yourself.

Hey I know that any and arguably all relationships deliver unavoidable pain. When you choose to love you may be rejected. I am not saying that you should never attempt to be reconciled because you may suffer discomfort. I am simply advocating forgiveness first. Reconciliation is a close second. Your relationship may never mend but you can choose to have Jesus heal your broken heart by choosing to forgive.

Create space. Let go.

I will never be able to remove myself from the emotional pain that can come from making myself vulnerable to someone else -or the emotional anxiety from serving as a minister of the Word in a local church. However, I can choose how I will attach or detach to certain people and situations.

I am hopeful that you will choose forgiveness first and reconciliation second.  Choose to give yourself enough space for healing, free from bitterness and contempt.

Grace and peace!