Early Christian Books Found in Jordan

I just did an interview on the Drew Mariani Show (Chicago Metro drive-time radio) about this report on early Christian books found in Jordan.

Margaret Barker and Philip Davies have (apparently) already seen the books, or detailed images of them.  The story is breaking in the British press first and only slowly making it into the U.S. media.  Davies is not a man eager to believe things, but he seems genuinely intrigued by this find.  The small, lead books are bound with metal rings, and appear to be composed by Jewish Christians from the first century.  All this needs to be verified, of course.

Good News! Earth No Longer a Barren Wasteland

I got my copy of the NABRE in the mail yesterday, and quickly perused it, even though I was dead tired, just getting home from seven hours of lecturing and several meetings all the way up to 9:30pm.  I am happy to report that several readings have been changed, very much for the better!  Over the next couple days I will be blogging on some of the significant improvements--and a few changes that are perhaps less than optimal.  I still will be using the RSVCE2 for my personal reading and class teaching, but I do recommend that all Catholics involved in teaching ministry of any kind get themselves a copy of the NABRE, because it will be widely used in the Church.  Moreover, some parts are very good--like the Gospel of John, which was already good in the previous NAB.  The edition of the NABRE I purchased was this one, and I like it very much.  It has the words of Christ in red!  I personally love that, but I am shocked that such a pietistic feature got past the editorial board!  I'll have more to say on that issue in the future.

One of the first major improvements I noticed is that tohu wabohu in Genesis 1:2 is no longer egregiously rendered "barren wasteland," but rather "without form or shape," which is still a little odd but definitely a better representation of the Hebrew.  More on that tomorrow, Lord willing.

The Bridegroom Messiah Shows Up in Samaria: Reflections for the Third Sunday of Lent

The Lectionary Readings for this weekend are so powerful, we can scarcely do them justice in a single blog post.

Beginning with this Sunday, the Lectionary turns to the Gospel of John for the remainder of Lent.  We are treated to the amazing trifecta of John 4, John 9, and John 11: three of the most powerful chapters in the most powerful book in the Bible, the Spiritual Gospel, the Soaring Eagle .... JOHN!

The Church turns to these texts from John at this point in the liturgical calendar, because John is, in so many ways, a mystagogical document, a gospel intended to takes us deeper into the mysteries, that is, the sacraments.

If one is not initiated into the sacraments, John remains in many respects a closed book.  I can attest to this from personal experience.

The Beginning of the New Exodus: Reflections on the Readings for the Second Sunday of Lent

This Sunday we are only eleven days into Lent, still very early along on our Lenten pilgrimage.  The readings today share the theme of beginning the journey of faith, even while giving us a glimpse of our final destination.

In all three years of the Lectionary cycle (A, B, C), the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent always pair a key pericope from the Abraham narrative (Gen 12-22) with an account of the Transfiguration from one of the Synoptic Gospels.

The First Reading is the famous opening of the Abraham narrative from Genesis, recounting God’s initial call to Abram while he was still in Ur:

Hey There Delilah ...

First-person participatory dynamic-equivalent contemporizing exegesis of the Samson narratives:

Jesus the New Adam: Reflections on the First Sunday of Lent

The readings for today’s Mass are exceptionally rich and could be the subject of several weeks' worth of lectures, so we will have to limit ourselves today to a few central themes.

(Disclaimer to my students: many of you have heard this before.  In fact, all of this is in the tradition.  I claim no originality.)

The First Reading is the account of the Fall, in which Eve, followed by Adam, gives in to temptation by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The classic scriptural formulation of the nature of temptation is found in 1 John 2:15-16:

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.

The New Covenant Document is Completed

Covenant themes are shot through today’s readings, as Jesus finishes the Sermon on the Mount in a way reminiscent of covenant documents of antiquity.

Moses told the people,
“Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign,
and let them be a pendant on your forehead.

“I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse:
a blessing for obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today;
a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today,
to follow other gods, whom you have not known.” (from Deut 11:18-32)

Our first reading is from Deuteronomy, which is The Law of Moses par excellence, since Moses takes personal responsibility for the giving of the laws in Deuteronomy in a way unlike anything previously seen in Exodus through Numbers.  We see this in today’s reading: “Moses told the people, ‘Take these words of mine into your heart and soul ...”  Moses’ responsibility for some of the laws of Deuteronomy is highlighted in Jesus’ teaching: “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives ...” (Matt 19:8).  This is significant, because some of the laws of Deuteronomy are not God’s highest and best, but accomodations authorized by Moses.

This Man Puts Things in Perspective

We owe it to this newest of Catholic martyrs, to take two minutes and watch what has become his last testimony to his faith and his struggle for peace and justice in the Middle East:

What Qualifies a Person as an Authority on Scripture or Theology?

I just received, as I am sure a lot of others did as well, several catalogs from the major theological publishers this week.  Browsing through this year's offerings, I found books by experts on every conceivable branch of theology promising to tell me what the "church" really ought to do, and what this or that portion of the bible "really" means.  I began to wonder to myself, what really makes a person an authority in these matters? 

Getting good grades and fellowships in grad school?

Landing a big contract with Brazos, Fortress, etc.?

An ivy league degree?

Being very rhetorically persuasive?

Getting a lot of speaking engagements?

Landing a "cherry" position at a major university or seminary?

What qualifies a person to understand and mediate the divine mysteries?  Is our "system" really designed to do that?

Yes, I know the sword cuts in all directions, because I've been part of the "system" myself!

Feel free to comment below.