Today's Reading
Genesis. I am always intrigued by the interaction between Joseph and his brothers after their father died. If revenge is a dish better served cold, Joseph had every opportunity to force-feed it to his brothers... but he didn't! What a powerful picture of forgiveness!
This concludes a Bible book for us. It is one of the longer books, but it is also mostly told as a story and easy to follow. We will have some challenges ahead.
Exodus. The account continues. The Bible hits the fast forward button here and we jump about 400 years ahead. Notice the change in status for the descendants of Jacob. Notice the care of God as He continues His redemptive plan in the midst of such human indignity.
Matthew. What do you think He meant when Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church?" Today's reading includes that and other very interesting lessons. I can't wait to hear your questions and comments!
King David was a warrior. In today's Psalm, he rejoices in God's victory over his enemies.
Proverbs today contrasts the "sweetness" of temptation with the reality of the consequences. It's a great lesson, no matter what tempts you.
Please comment. Your participation is what makes this community work!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Matthew-Peter means "rock"-So Jesus is building his Church on Peter, relying on him to spread the word of the Church, be the Church. I never thought of the Church as being a person, but it is. The Church is the people.
ReplyDeleteOne thing impossible to tell from the English translation, Roberta, is that "Peter" and "rock" (upon which Christ is building His church) are different forms of the word. One (the name) is masculine. The other is feminine. This makes us believe, based on the rest of the context, that the rock upon which Jesus is building his church is actually the testimony, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus didn't build His church on a man. He built His church on the truth of who He is.
ReplyDeleteMasculine/femine-This is very complicated. I thought I had it figured out.
ReplyDeleteRoberta, as someone who lives next to Mexico, you are probably familiar with the idea of common nouns appearing in the masculine or feminine. The original language of the New Testament was, at first glance, more complicated. On the other hand, it is very clear most of the time. Imagine the confusion of someone learning English, if they heard you say, "I'm going to pare a pair of pears." Our language is easy for us, but often confusing to others. The Greek of the New Testament was much more exact.
ReplyDeleteI know. To someone unfamiliar with it, our language is complex. I'm going to have to pay more attention. I am really enjoying this learning process.
ReplyDelete