After 5 weeks looking exclusively at the Old Testament, we move now to the New Testament. This week's readings focus on the birth of Jesus, although we find ourselves approaching Easter and the dramatic events of the end of Jesus' life.
The readings for days 31 to 35, starting Monday 17th March, are:
Luke 1:26-56
Matthew 1:18-25
Luke 2:1-40
Matthew 2:1-23
Luke 2:41-52
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I just want to echoe what EJ says today. Mary is truly a biblical heroine. Its hard to imagine her faith in todays context. God has not spoken directly to his people (well had it recorded) in 500 years.His word even back then was overlooked by the Kings of the day.For us thats roughly a gap of Shakespeare being alive until now.Think how much has changed for Britain in that time how many beliefs and assumptions. This young lady from a small rural town is told that out of wedlock she'll have a baby.This was a stoning offence that would bring shame to her,her family and Joseph. And does she protest or bargain? No. Moses did. He bargained at the burning bush when faced with God. She doesn't when faced with an angel. How amazing is her faith? She accepts and creates a worship song to express her joy. We should without deifying her recognise her as a true heroine of the faith.
Does anyone else think our pal Whitney is overdosing on some serious cheese this week? A movie indeed...
Anyway what caught my attention today was Anna. I've heard of Simeon before but I can't honestly say I've heard of her which is a great shame. Clearly we have a new Biblical heroine here. She recognises who Jesus is without a choir of angels to point the way.As a prophetess she has a clear relationship with God and is able to tell Mary and Joesph of Jesus' future. presumably as a widow her status may not have been so elivated so she like the sheperds is a sign of the kind of social reversal Jesus preached on. Its a shaming thing that we tend to focus on Simoen or the sheperds who don't forsee the future at the cost of overlooking Anna.
Its been good to read these Scriptures during Easter week. I see parallels which I would not have otherwise seen.
The first thing I saw was that death did not defeat Jesus at the beginning of his earthly life nor at the end. Herod was using earthly tactics to try to dispose of Jesus by killing all baby boys under two. Again, at the Crucifixion, it was the earthly tactics of the Jewish officials who tried to do away with him. However, as we know, no plan of God's is thwarted.
Another point;in today's reading Herod called together the chief priests and teachers to ask them where the Christ was to be born. They immediately pointed him to the prophecy in Micah.They must have believed the prophcies then, so what happened 33 years later to their faith, when all the prophecies were fulfilled at the cross?
They were looking for a warrior king to overthrow the Romans. Jesus didn't fit that bill. Instead, he was a servant king who overthrew the tables in the temple and placed a challenge on peoples lives.
It's interesting reading this week's reminders of Jesus' birth, the events and announcements surrounding that amazing new beginning at the same time as reflecting on Easter, the end and another new beginning.
In today's reading the Magi are looking for "the one who has been born king of the Jews" (2:2). Later Roman soldiers who mock him with this same title (27:29), and it would be charge pinned above him on the cross (27:37). But these men were coming to see the king to worship him.
It struck me again how people can see Jesus in such different ways: irrelevant, a good man, never existed, interesting, a religious prophet, or a saviour, God in the flesh. What you make of him determines how you respond. And lots of people just don't know enough to know what to make of him.
I'm glad for example that the BBC are screening the Passion - not that I've seen it - if only to reinforce the message that Easter is about Jesus, and his death on a cross, and his resurrection, and that these happened in human history, and prompt us to ask of Jesus: who do you say I am?
Apologies for the flippancy of my comment today but I can't help but feel that "Just the facts" Matthew was kind of well...cinematic today.Mass child murder, Wise men with expensive gifts and an excursion into photogenic Egypt. Very Hollywood.
Seriously though I like the way that whilst the two accounts of Jesus' birth focus on different details they do not rule out the possibility of both happening.Todays account goes some way to filling in the the gap between birth and Jesus aged 12 as presented in Luke. Aside from the highly suspicious Ann Rice novel that claims to tell the story of that period I wonder what it was like for the young Jesus growing up a foreigner? Also given the Jewish peoples zeal for uncorrupted Judaism I wonder how Mary, Joseph and Jesus where recieved when they returned to Nazareth having spent so much time emersed in another culture?
thought you might be interested to know that we've just passed the 500 mark for the number of visits to this blog.
I hope you're enjoying it, even if you haven't added a comment.
(And dont be shy - the more the better: nobody can tell who is reading or who the writers are, although "james roach" isn't hard to guess!)
The birth of Christ seems such a familiar storey but each time it throws up something new. What struck me this time is the attitude of the Magi. No indication here that they converted to Christianity but they were prepared to to look for truth beyond their own faith system. I realize that there are things to learn from other faiths even if I don't except that faith.
I had not thought before that the reference to 'my fathers house' indicated Christs deity. I had thought that this showed the relationship of Christ to God that he also wants us to have. But I see that the Jerusalem Bible translates this passage 'I must be busy with my Father's affairs.'
Finally I would reccomend seeing The Passion for its visuals. I am not so sure about its script and some of the acting but it gives a terrific feeling of what life must of been like in Jerusalem at the time.
Post a Comment