By Greg<\/strong> Carey<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>\u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans that they were prepared for Ebola. Less than two weeks ago here at the White House, they insisted they knew how to stop this virus in its tracks. But so far, the virus appears to be outrunning the government.\u201d<\/i><br>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">So began Scott Horsley\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2014\/10\/15\/356451363\/ebola-seems-to-stay-two-steps-ahead-of-government-response\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">report<\/span><\/a> from the White House, one of three separate stories NPR\u2019s news show <i>All Things Considered<\/i> devoted to Ebola on Wednesday, October 16. According to yet <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2014\/10\/15\/356451168\/poll-40-percent-of-americans-feel-at-risk-for-getting-ebola\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">another<\/span><\/a><span class=\"s1\"> report<\/span>, a recent Harvard School of Public Health survey finds that 40 percent of Americans feel \u201cat risk\u201d of contracting the disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">We have Ebola on the brain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Several of my friends expressed alarm when the first Ebola patient flew to the United States for treatment. Now we find that not one but two Dallas nurses have contracted Ebola, likely <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2014\/10\/14\/health\/texas-ebola-nurses-union-claims\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">because<\/span><\/a> their hospital did not adopt proper Ebola protocols. Americans know that their medical system is far better equipped to prevent an Ebola outbreak than are those in West Africa. We know our system is better prepared to offer effective treatment. But the appearance of multiple cases, one involving a nurse who took a commercial flight while possibly contagious, has people concerned. When a key public health expert says, \u201cIt\u2019s a learning process, and . . . our confidence in the hospitals was ill-founded,\u201d the rest of us might get a little nervous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Amid so much anxiety, we turn to All Saints\u2019 Day in the church\u2019s calendar. All Saints\u2019 Day usually recalls our communion with of our spiritual ancestors throughout the centuries, celebrating our unity with saints as far away as North Africa in the fourth century and as close as our deceased relatives. But All Saints\u2019 Day also reminds us of our bond with all believers in the here and now. That includes many of the more than 4500 who have died from Ebola already outside the United States, and it includes the tens of thousands who soon will contract Ebola <i>every week<\/i> if the international community does not produce a more robust response. Jim Wallis reminds us that Ebola is \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/jim-wallis\/ebola-is-an-inequality-cr_b_5965656.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">an inequality crisis<\/span><\/a>,\u201d more deadly among the have-not nations than among the haves. How does All Saints\u2019 Day speak to our relationship to those who are more vulnerable than we are?<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IxS6XeD4LJI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><i>A look at what faith communities can do about best practices around Ebola.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Enter Jesus to mess things up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">On All Saints\u2019 Day we read the Beatitudes, Jesus\u2019 declaration of blessing to his would-be disciples (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+5:1-12\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">Matthew 5:1-12<\/span><\/a>). Blessing involves God\u2019s presence and favor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">These blessings begin with four groups of people no one wants to join. We remind ourselves that Jesus\u2019 audiences lived tough lives. Poverty was normal, and lives were short. The \u201cpoor in spirit\u201d suffer destitution that grinds people down; \u201cthose who mourn\u201d grieve because they encounter suffering at every turn; \u201cthe meek\u201d are those without power, and people \u201chunger and thirst for righteousness\u201d when true justice is scarce. While we in the United States are rallying to protect ourselves, Jesus announces that God is also at work in West Africa, where the Ebola outbreak has wrought grief and terror.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Jesus\u2019 next four blessings apply to people who live the values he proclaims: the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who suffer persecution for the cause of justice. (The Greek and Hebrew words we often translate in terms of \u201crighteousness\u201d ordinarily refer to uprightness or justice.) God also dwells with persons who commit everything to the cause of mercy and peace. Think of the volunteers for Doctors Without Borders, whose personnel in West Africa has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/10\/15\/doctors-without-borders-ebola-aid_n_5991298.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">grown<\/span><\/a> from 650 at the beginning of August to 3,000 right now: Jesus pronounces God\u2019s blessing upon them as well as upon the communities they serve.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">According to sociologist Rodney Stark, early Christianity <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Rise-Christianity-Marginal-Religious-Centuries\/dp\/0060677015\/ref=asap_B000APQGM6_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413483944&sr=1-2\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">gained notoriety<\/span><\/a> for its adherents\u2019 commitment to care for the sick during the devastating epidemics that ravaged the Roman Empire, on occasion decimating as much as a third of the population. By providing basic nursing care to one another, Stark speculates, the Christians achieved higher survival rates than did the general population. But Christians also earned a reputation for love and courage that won them both admiration and converts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Our current Ebola scare confronts us with an ugly fact. In the United States we possess the world\u2019s richest resources for medical research. But Ebola hasn\u2019t been \u201cour\u201d problem until just now, and we haven\u2019t invested nearly as heavily in it as we have toward other medical concerns. The Beatitudes remind us that God\u2019s blessing dwells among those who suffer\u2014and among those who offer help to the suffering.\u00a0 I am not suggesting that Ebola counts as a blessing: of course not! I am suggesting that God is present and active where and when people suffer. Moreover, God calls us to active involvement on behalf of those who suffer. The Beatitudes reject a selfish \u201cAmerica-first\u201d response to Ebola. Instead, these blessings call us to extend our resources and join in the work God is already doing in West Africa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><em><b>Bible Study Questions<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\">\n<li class=\"li3\">Many Christians have understood the Beatitudes as a set of moral requirements. This week\u2019s commentary treats them as an announcement of God\u2019s blessing. Which interpretation do you find more compelling?<\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\">This week\u2019s commentary emphasizes the importance of translation. This week\u2019s commentary understands terms like \u201cpoor in spirit,\u201d \u201cthose who mourn,\u201d \u201cgentle,\u201d and \u201chunger and thirst for righteousness\u201d in terms of social standing as much as spiritual disposition. Do you think Jesus was blessing people who possessed particular spiritual characteristics, or was he blessing people who live outside the protections of privilege?<\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\">In your opinion, what counts as true blessedness?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p3\"><em><b>For Further Reading<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Carter, Warren. <i>Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading<\/i>. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Stark, Rodney. <i>The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries. <\/i>New York: HarperOne, 1997.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Wallis, Jim. \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/jim-wallis\/ebola-is-an-inequality-cr_b_5965656.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">Ebola is an Inequality Crisis<\/span><\/a>.\u201d <i>Huffington Post<\/i>, October 10, 2014.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\n<\/p><p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2014\/10\/s200_greg.carey_.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2398\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2014\/10\/s200_greg.carey_-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"s200_greg.carey\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>Greg Carey is the Professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA. His most recent book,<\/i> Sinners: Jesus and His Earliest Followers, <i>pursues the role of transgression in early Christian identity. His research interests include apocalyptic literature, the Gospel of Luke, and literary and rhetorical interpretation of the New Testament, and he has appeared on the BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Channel. Greg lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his two daughters, where he actively volunteers in the local United Way. He is a native Alabamian and a graduate of Rhodes College, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Vanderbilt University (PhD, 1996). He enjoys golf, tennis, hiking, and crying over the Atlanta Braves. A layperson, Greg serves as Scholar in Residence at Lancaster\u2019s Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<\/p><p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.odysseynetworks.org\/on-scripture-the-bible\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>About ON Scripture<\/strong><\/a><br>\nLearn more about the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/odysseynetworks.org\/on-scripture-the-bible\/on-scripture-editorial-committee\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">ON Scripture Editorial Committee<\/a><\/strong><br>\nLike ON Scripture on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/onscripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><br>\nFollow ON Scripture on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/OnScripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">@OnScripture<br>\n<\/a>ON Scripture \u2013 The Bible is made possible by generous grants from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lillyendowment.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lilly Endowment<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hluce.org\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Henry Luce Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lillyendowment.org\/images\/logo_theendowment.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"51\" height=\"52\" align=\"middle\" border=\"0\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hluce.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/odysseynetworks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/logo01.jpg\" alt=\"\" height=\"100\" align=\"middle\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Greg Carey. \u00a0 Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims. \u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans that they were prepared for Ebola. Less than two weeks ago here at the White House, they insisted they knew how to stop this virus in its tracks. But so far, the virus appears […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":625,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[649,341,647,648,646,645,125,565],"class_list":["post-2397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-scripture","tag-all-saints-day","tag-compassion","tag-ebola","tag-globalization","tag-illness","tag-medicine","tag-poverty","tag-sacred-texts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>All Saints' Day: Facing Death (Matthew 5:1-12)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Greg Carey. \u00a0 Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims. \u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/2014\/10\/all-saints-day-facing-death-matthew-51-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All Saints' Day: Facing Death (Matthew 5:1-12)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Greg Carey. \u00a0 Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims. \u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/2014\/10\/all-saints-day-facing-death-matthew-51-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"On Scripture - 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<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>\u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans that they were prepared for Ebola. Less than two weeks ago here at the White House, they insisted they knew how to stop this virus in its tracks. But so far, the virus appears to be outrunning the government.\u201d<\/i><br>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">So began Scott Horsley\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2014\/10\/15\/356451363\/ebola-seems-to-stay-two-steps-ahead-of-government-response\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">report<\/span><\/a> from the White House, one of three separate stories NPR\u2019s news show <i>All Things Considered<\/i> devoted to Ebola on Wednesday, October 16. According to yet <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2014\/10\/15\/356451168\/poll-40-percent-of-americans-feel-at-risk-for-getting-ebola\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">another<\/span><\/a><span class=\"s1\"> report<\/span>, a recent Harvard School of Public Health survey finds that 40 percent of Americans feel \u201cat risk\u201d of contracting the disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">We have Ebola on the brain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Several of my friends expressed alarm when the first Ebola patient flew to the United States for treatment. Now we find that not one but two Dallas nurses have contracted Ebola, likely <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2014\/10\/14\/health\/texas-ebola-nurses-union-claims\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">because<\/span><\/a> their hospital did not adopt proper Ebola protocols. Americans know that their medical system is far better equipped to prevent an Ebola outbreak than are those in West Africa. We know our system is better prepared to offer effective treatment. But the appearance of multiple cases, one involving a nurse who took a commercial flight while possibly contagious, has people concerned. When a key public health expert says, \u201cIt\u2019s a learning process, and . . . our confidence in the hospitals was ill-founded,\u201d the rest of us might get a little nervous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Amid so much anxiety, we turn to All Saints\u2019 Day in the church\u2019s calendar. All Saints\u2019 Day usually recalls our communion with of our spiritual ancestors throughout the centuries, celebrating our unity with saints as far away as North Africa in the fourth century and as close as our deceased relatives. But All Saints\u2019 Day also reminds us of our bond with all believers in the here and now. That includes many of the more than 4500 who have died from Ebola already outside the United States, and it includes the tens of thousands who soon will contract Ebola <i>every week<\/i> if the international community does not produce a more robust response. Jim Wallis reminds us that Ebola is \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/jim-wallis\/ebola-is-an-inequality-cr_b_5965656.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">an inequality crisis<\/span><\/a>,\u201d more deadly among the have-not nations than among the haves. How does All Saints\u2019 Day speak to our relationship to those who are more vulnerable than we are?<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IxS6XeD4LJI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><i>A look at what faith communities can do about best practices around Ebola.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Enter Jesus to mess things up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">On All Saints\u2019 Day we read the Beatitudes, Jesus\u2019 declaration of blessing to his would-be disciples (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+5:1-12\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">Matthew 5:1-12<\/span><\/a>). Blessing involves God\u2019s presence and favor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">These blessings begin with four groups of people no one wants to join. We remind ourselves that Jesus\u2019 audiences lived tough lives. Poverty was normal, and lives were short. The \u201cpoor in spirit\u201d suffer destitution that grinds people down; \u201cthose who mourn\u201d grieve because they encounter suffering at every turn; \u201cthe meek\u201d are those without power, and people \u201chunger and thirst for righteousness\u201d when true justice is scarce. While we in the United States are rallying to protect ourselves, Jesus announces that God is also at work in West Africa, where the Ebola outbreak has wrought grief and terror.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Jesus\u2019 next four blessings apply to people who live the values he proclaims: the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who suffer persecution for the cause of justice. (The Greek and Hebrew words we often translate in terms of \u201crighteousness\u201d ordinarily refer to uprightness or justice.) God also dwells with persons who commit everything to the cause of mercy and peace. Think of the volunteers for Doctors Without Borders, whose personnel in West Africa has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/10\/15\/doctors-without-borders-ebola-aid_n_5991298.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">grown<\/span><\/a> from 650 at the beginning of August to 3,000 right now: Jesus pronounces God\u2019s blessing upon them as well as upon the communities they serve.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">According to sociologist Rodney Stark, early Christianity <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Rise-Christianity-Marginal-Religious-Centuries\/dp\/0060677015\/ref=asap_B000APQGM6_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413483944&sr=1-2\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">gained notoriety<\/span><\/a> for its adherents\u2019 commitment to care for the sick during the devastating epidemics that ravaged the Roman Empire, on occasion decimating as much as a third of the population. By providing basic nursing care to one another, Stark speculates, the Christians achieved higher survival rates than did the general population. But Christians also earned a reputation for love and courage that won them both admiration and converts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Our current Ebola scare confronts us with an ugly fact. In the United States we possess the world\u2019s richest resources for medical research. But Ebola hasn\u2019t been \u201cour\u201d problem until just now, and we haven\u2019t invested nearly as heavily in it as we have toward other medical concerns. The Beatitudes remind us that God\u2019s blessing dwells among those who suffer\u2014and among those who offer help to the suffering.\u00a0 I am not suggesting that Ebola counts as a blessing: of course not! I am suggesting that God is present and active where and when people suffer. Moreover, God calls us to active involvement on behalf of those who suffer. The Beatitudes reject a selfish \u201cAmerica-first\u201d response to Ebola. Instead, these blessings call us to extend our resources and join in the work God is already doing in West Africa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><em><b>Bible Study Questions<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\">\n<li class=\"li3\">Many Christians have understood the Beatitudes as a set of moral requirements. This week\u2019s commentary treats them as an announcement of God\u2019s blessing. Which interpretation do you find more compelling?<\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\">This week\u2019s commentary emphasizes the importance of translation. This week\u2019s commentary understands terms like \u201cpoor in spirit,\u201d \u201cthose who mourn,\u201d \u201cgentle,\u201d and \u201chunger and thirst for righteousness\u201d in terms of social standing as much as spiritual disposition. Do you think Jesus was blessing people who possessed particular spiritual characteristics, or was he blessing people who live outside the protections of privilege?<\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\">In your opinion, what counts as true blessedness?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p3\"><em><b>For Further Reading<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Carter, Warren. <i>Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading<\/i>. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Stark, Rodney. <i>The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries. <\/i>New York: HarperOne, 1997.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Wallis, Jim. \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/jim-wallis\/ebola-is-an-inequality-cr_b_5965656.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"s1\">Ebola is an Inequality Crisis<\/span><\/a>.\u201d <i>Huffington Post<\/i>, October 10, 2014.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\n<\/p><p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2014\/10\/s200_greg.carey_.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2398\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/132\/2014\/10\/s200_greg.carey_-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"s200_greg.carey\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>Greg Carey is the Professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA. His most recent book,<\/i> Sinners: Jesus and His Earliest Followers, <i>pursues the role of transgression in early Christian identity. His research interests include apocalyptic literature, the Gospel of Luke, and literary and rhetorical interpretation of the New Testament, and he has appeared on the BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Channel. Greg lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his two daughters, where he actively volunteers in the local United Way. He is a native Alabamian and a graduate of Rhodes College, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Vanderbilt University (PhD, 1996). He enjoys golf, tennis, hiking, and crying over the Atlanta Braves. A layperson, Greg serves as Scholar in Residence at Lancaster\u2019s Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<\/p><p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.odysseynetworks.org\/on-scripture-the-bible\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>About ON Scripture<\/strong><\/a><br>\nLearn more about the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/odysseynetworks.org\/on-scripture-the-bible\/on-scripture-editorial-committee\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">ON Scripture Editorial Committee<\/a><\/strong><br>\nLike ON Scripture on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/onscripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><br>\nFollow ON Scripture on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/OnScripture\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">@OnScripture<br>\n<\/a>ON Scripture \u2013 The Bible is made possible by generous grants from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lillyendowment.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Lilly Endowment<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hluce.org\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Henry Luce Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lillyendowment.org\/images\/logo_theendowment.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"51\" height=\"52\" align=\"middle\" border=\"0\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hluce.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/odysseynetworks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/logo01.jpg\" alt=\"\" height=\"100\" align=\"middle\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Greg Carey. \u00a0 Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims. \u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans that they were prepared for Ebola. Less than two weeks ago here at the White House, they insisted they knew how to stop this virus in its tracks. But so far, the virus appears […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":625,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[649,341,647,648,646,645,125,565],"class_list":["post-2397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-scripture","tag-all-saints-day","tag-compassion","tag-ebola","tag-globalization","tag-illness","tag-medicine","tag-poverty","tag-sacred-texts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>All Saints' Day: Facing Death (Matthew 5:1-12)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Greg Carey. \u00a0 Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims. \u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/2014\/10\/all-saints-day-facing-death-matthew-51-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All Saints' Day: Facing Death (Matthew 5:1-12)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Greg Carey. \u00a0 Bishop Kevin Farrell comments on giving shelter to potential Ebola victims. \u201cAdministration officials have repeatedly assured Americans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/2014\/10\/all-saints-day-facing-death-matthew-51-12\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"On Scripture - 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