The New Testament in 90 Days

The short second letter of Peter begins by remind us what it means to live as Christian people in the world:  moral excellence, self-control, endurance, godliness, affection for others, and love.  But this reminder has a larger purpose:  the author of 2nd Peter knows that we are in this faith for the long haul  The earlier letters of Paul spoke of the imminent return of Christ.  They believed and hoped that he was coming back soon.  but now, well, he's still coming back, but perhaps not so quickly:  so what do we do, in the meantime? We wait.  And we live.  And we live faithfully.  Which means.... we are on guard against false teachers, which are everywhere trying to lead us astray, by by teaching and by life style.  The author speaks about teachers who proclaim that there is no ultimate truth, and therefore no point to living a chaste and humble life. The two other things the author of 2nd Peter does are: 1.  he recall...

The next section of this letter begins by exhorting Christians in community to live in peace with one another.  It is not just about mutual submission of husbands and wives, but also brothers and sisters in Christ.  "Don't pay back evil for evil or insult for insult.  Instead, give blessing in return."  Imagine if Christians were known for just this kind of attitude.   The letter admonishes us to be patient in suffering and to consider Christ as our example as well as our savior. In this section the author also compares Baptism to the journey on Noah's ark, which was salvation and safe refuge for eight people.   He will keep us safe, somehow, even in the midst of terrible times. I have to admit that, as I continue reading the first letter of Peter, I have some discomfort with some of the author's advice, especially his advice to slaves to obey their masters and just keep taking the abuse.  Although this was certainly written at a different time...

The Letters of Peter, James, John and Jude are called by scholars the "catholic" epistles -- because they don't seem to be written to any one church (as Paul's letters were) but seemed meant to be shared among many churches.  So they are not known by who they are to, but by who (supposedly) wrote them.  I say supposedly because not all scholars are agreed that every one of these catholic epistles was written by the person to whom it is ascribed. Aside:  the word catholic means "universal." That being said, there does seem to be a theme for this short letter.  It is written to a church, or to churches, that are experiencing persecution.  So there is a combination of the inspiration, encouragement an exhortation in this letter.  There's the wonderful images of the church as living stones, chosen, gathered up and built into a house by God.  Peter wants the people to remember that God first loved and chose them; this will help them to resist the tempta...

That's what the people say at the end of chapter 7.  Jesus has been teaching (and wrangling with the Pharisees), healing and throwing the demons out.  Again, he feeds a crowd; this time it is 4,000, not 5,000, and he has seven baskets left over, not twelve.  The disciples don't understand the significance of the bread, and Jesus asks them so many questions that it appears that he is exasperated. The wrangling with the Pharisees is over the fact that his disciples don't follow all aspects of the law. Jesus points out that the Pharisees themselves have (ahem) loopholes; they are supposed to Honor their parents and help provide for them, but they can declare everything an offering to God, and then they don't have to help their families.  Jesus declares them hypocrites.  Later on, he explains that it is not what goes into us that makes us unclean, but what comes out (of our mouths, he means.) Jesus heals the daughter of a gentile woman -- although he doesn't wan...

Now is the beginning of the end (and the beginning) of the story.  Everything is set in place.  First note that it begins with the religious leaders, conspiring about how and when to get rid of Jesus. In Bethany, an unnamed woman comes to the house of Simon the leper with an alabaster jar of ointment.  She pours it over Jesus head, angering his disciples.  For some reason, they are concerned that she is wasting her money on this act.  And why is she doing it, anyway?  It is an extravagant act of devotion.  Jesus tells us what it means:  she is anointing him for burial.  (I wonder what the woman thought of this.)  Jesus also proclaims that everyone will remember this woman, because of her action.  But do we? Then Judas agrees to betray Jesus.  Jesus celebrates the passover with his disciples, and tells them that one of them will betray him.  He tells them that the bread they break is his body, and the wine is his blood....

Today's reading begins with the murder of John the Baptist.  It is a grisly story, in many ways, and when Jesus hears about it, he retreats to a lonely place.  But he can't really get away, can he?   That's one thing I notice when I read these three chapters.  Jesus tries to get away but the crowds follow him.  He feeds 5,000 (with the help of the disciples), and later he feeds 4,000, and his disciples, who see both miracles, don't really understand what they mean (hint:  it's not just about the bread and fish.)   I also notice that Peter is beginning to emerge as one of the "main disciples".  He gets two important scenes -- in chapter 14, when the disciples are stuck in a boat during at storm, Peter steps out on the water to go to Jesus, even in the middle of the storm.  Now, to be honest, he is not entirely successful in his attempt to walk on water, but at least he tries.   i will confess to you that this is one of the Bibl...