There are three evening prayers of Austen herself extant. According to Michael Wheeler, they are written in a standard form: “a plea for grace, a petition for mercy on the day’s sins, thanksgivings for blessings, a petition for protection this night and a petition for a heightened awareness of God’s grace in the redemption of the world.” Each ends with the Lord’s Prayer. Here are two: (more…) Read more
There are three evening prayers of Austen herself extant. According to Michael Wheeler, they are written in a standard form: “a plea for grace, a petition for mercy on the day’s sins, thanksgivings for blessings, a petition for protection this night and a petition for a heightened awareness of God’s grace in the redemption of the world.” Each ends with the Lord’s Prayer. Here are two: (more…) Read more
Metaphysics is making a comeback, but Merold Westphal ( Modern Theology , April 2007) thinks that the project of overcoming metaphysics is still worth the trouble. His article examines Kant, Heidegger, Marion, and Milbank. Along the way he says the following about Kant: On Westphal’s reading, Kant’s effort to overcome knowledge to make room for faith ends up being an overcoming of metaphysics to make room for metaphysics. The faith that Kant wants to make room for “involves (but is... Read more
Anything by Ross Douthat is worth reading. In the current issue of First Things , he examines the role of religion in several TV programs – Battlestar Gallactic a, Lost , and The Sopranos . He notes that the island in Lost is a “microcosm of Western modernity (many of the characters, not coincidentally, share names with modern political philosophers – there’s a Rousseau and a John Locke, a Hume and even a Mikhail Bakunin), and a place where the... Read more
INTRODUCTION Through the Spirit that comes upon Mary, God enters the creation to renew it. In Jesus, God is with His people to save them from their sins. THE TEXT :Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to... Read more
Matthew 1:17: So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations. Last week, we noticed that Matthew begins his gospel using the title of the first book of the Bible, telling us that he is writing a new Genesis story, a story of new beginnings. And then he gives a genealogy that includes 6 weeks of generations, and... Read more
Twice in his genealogy, Matthew refers to “brothers.” Jacob was the father of “Judah and his brothers,” and at the time of the deportation to Babylon “Jeconiah and his brothers” were born to Josiah. This initiates a theme in Matthew’s gospel, the theme of the church as a brotherhood. Alongside Judah and his brothers and Jeconiah and his brothers, Matthew talks about Jesus and His brothers. (more…) Read more
In an article from New Testament Studies on the names in Matthew’s genealogy, Karl-Heinrich Ostmeyer suggests that the names in the last section of the genealogy are predominately priestly names. Thus, the genealogy divides into a patriarchal section, a royal section, and a priestly section, which culminates with Jesus. Further, he notes the function of the number 40 in the genealogy: Jeconiah has to be counted both times he’s named to make the total come to 42 (vv. 11-12). If... Read more
Matthew tells us the story of a new Genesis, a new beginnings story. And then he gives a genealogy that includes 6 weeks of generations (14 x 6 = 6 x 7), and announces the beginning of a seventh week. The history of Israel is numerologically shaped on the model of the creation week. After the ups and downs of Israel’s history, Sabbath – a super-Sabbath, a 7 x 7 Sabbath, a Jubilee Sabbath – has arrived in Jesus. Read more
Some highlights from Clive James’s recent fascinating Cultural Amnesia . Speaking of the lack of adventure in today’s successful careers: “Could there be anything less astonishing than to work day and night on Wall Street to make the millions that will buy the Picasso that will hang on the wall of our Upper East Side apartment to help convince us and our guests that we are lucky to know each other? I have been in that apartment, and admired the... Read more
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