Unhealthy Idolatries of Jesus & Mary

Last updated on: November 6, 2019 at 8:53 pm By Fellow Dying Inmate

Unhealthy Christology!—Our imagined Jesus and Mary are a far cry from the historical truth of starving Galilean peasants. Is your imagined Jesus unhealthy? How do you picture the historical Jesus, physically speaking? Imagine Jesus walking about in first century Galilee. How does he appear? Did being God’s only begotten Son mean that Jesus was impervious to infectious disease, malnutrition, poor hygiene, nonexistent sanitation, tooth decay, parasites, bad eyesight, and rampant village violence—all common realities to his world? Unhealthy Views of... Read more

“Thanks!” Means “We’re Dunzo!”—Misunderstanding the Samaritan Leper

Last updated on: October 12, 2019 at 11:30 pm By Fellow Dying Inmate

Thanks??!!—Because Western Bible readers use the expression “thank you” differently than does traditional Middle Eastern culture, invariably, we misunderstand the Samaritan Leper. This Sunday’s Gospel reading, Luke 17:11-19, is often mistaken for being a story concerning expressing thanks. It is a story about ten people—nine Israelites and a hated outsider—with a polluting skin condition. All are healed; one gives thanks. Whatever the biological nature of the condition was, it almost definitely was not Hansen’s disease. Perhaps it was what we... Read more

Prayer & Patronage: the Our Father in “Luke”

Last updated on: October 10, 2019 at 8:41 pm By Fellow Dying Inmate

Prayer for Galilean peasants like Jesus and his followers involved a lived experience of Mediterranean Patronage. Prayer tastes quite differently today than it did in Jesus’ world. In these dark days of American disgrace, parishes meander in useless feels addicted to the status quo and a disintegrating clerical culture that would make Jim Henson’s Skeksis blush. Still we proclaim “Good News” at daily Mass. Our muttered through daily Gospel selections turn to prayer and patronage (Luke 11:1-13) this week, two... Read more

Reading Martha & Mary Respectfully

Last updated on: October 9, 2019 at 1:54 pm By Fellow Dying Inmate

“Image”by frecklebaum is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Reading about Jesus, Mary, and Martha in “Luke” takes work if it is to be done respectfully. Reading the Gospels can be a tricky, messy business. What is really going on in yesterday’s Gospel from “Luke” about Jesus entering Martha’s house and teaching Mary? In trying to answer that question, the creative juices begin flowing in many readers’ minds with all sorts of possible (and impossible) answers. How do we gauge them?... Read more

Insults, Questions & Good Samaritans

Last updated on: October 7, 2019 at 7:23 pm By Fellow Dying Inmate

Suspicious of dishonest questions, Jesus proves himself to be a master of the insult by quick responses and the story of the “Good Samaritan.” Insults, questions and Jesus go together in surprising ways. Today’s Gospel from Luke 10:25-37 present a handsome example. Context Group scholars John Pilch, Bruce Malina, and Richard Rohrbaugh help us to see this. Insults & Questions Often Jesus is asked questions by people in the Gospels. Do you think that they are legitimately seeking his wisdom?... Read more

Anachronism Blocks Understanding Scripture

Last updated on: October 7, 2019 at 12:10 am By Fellow Dying Inmate

Anachronism is a widespread plague preventing millions of Western Christians from understanding the Bible or Jesus. Anachronism and Bible reading make a wretched couple whose child is ignorance. In his Commentary on Isaiah, Saint Jerome writes: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Let’s be honest: Do the majority of Catholics care enough about the Bible to be informed as to what it is? Do they read it carefully? Do they understand what they are reading? In pondering these questions,... Read more

Is there Something Cruel about “Almighty”?

Last updated on: October 3, 2019 at 11:26 am By Fellow Dying Inmate

Sadly, the gospel of cruel, coercive force continues to be far more successful and widespread than the Gospel of Jesus. It is a cruel thing that Americans lack connections in understanding our origins. For instance, the word “metropolis” might bring Superman to mind for many us. Metropolis has Greek roots, the terms for mother (mater) and ancient Mediterranean city-state, (polis). In the days of prepaschal Jesus, the polis was the center of administration and residence for Mediterranean “supermen,” the elites.... Read more

The Shrewd Steward Confusion II: Good News for Peasants

Last updated on: October 2, 2019 at 1:10 pm By Fellow Dying Inmate

Although elusive and inscrutable to great ones and elites right down to the present, the Parable of the Shrewd Steward is a story about debt forgiveness, and that spelled Good News to poor Galileans. Last time we explored the Parable of the Shrewd Steward (or Dishonest Manager), the most confounding and confusing of all Jesus’ parables. Even the evangelist we know as “Luke,” who honored Jesus by recording this story down, failed to grasp its meaning! This was illustrated by the... Read more

The Shrewd Steward Confusion I: Even “Luke” Didn’t Get It

Last updated on: September 26, 2019 at 11:55 am By Fellow Dying Inmate

Confusion abounds throughout history for the notoriously difficult Parable of the Dishonest Manager, inscrutable even to the Evangelist “Luke”! There should be no confusion that the historical Jesus, unlike the Jesus depicted in the Fourth Gospel called “John,” certainly told parables. These parables are all from Jesus’ ancient, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean context. Peasants, like Jesus the village artisan (definitely not the “intellectual sage” we Westerners idolize), are good storytellers. Therefore, parables are a great folk medium. And thus they are... Read more

Fellowship with Sinners Justified in Luke 15

Last updated on: September 18, 2019 at 11:50 pm By Fellow Dying Inmate

Fellowship with sinners is justified by the Lukan Jesus. Yesterday we began exploring Jesus’ explanation for his table fellowship with sinners in the Gospel from this past Sunday according to the Common Lectionary. The parable of the Two Lost Sons (often misnamed “The Parable of the Prodigal Son”) is unique to “Luke.” Regardless of whether the historical Jesus actually spoke some primitive version of it or not, the story as is presents a situation that Galilean peasants in the 20s CE... Read more

Who dreamed of a ladder reaching heaven?