May 29, 2009
Let's try this
A Genesis-and-John stew may prove a little too rich; but I am now reluctant to give up either! Please continue to read & comment on either or both; and if any of my current commentors has other material they'd like to post here, please ask.
John 15-28
Here is John's testimony; he cried aloud, "This is the man I meant when I said, 'He comes after me, but takes rank before me;' for before I was born, he already was."
Out of his full store we have all received grace after grace; for while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the only one, the one nearest to the Father's heart, has made him known.
This is the testimony which John gave when the Jews of Jerusalem sent a deputation of priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He confessed without reserve and avowed, "I am not the Messiah."
"What, then? Are you Elijah?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you the prophet we await?"
He answered, "No."
"Then who are you?" They asked. "We must give an answer to those who sent us. What account do you give of yourself?"
He answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, "I am a voice crying out in the wilderness, 'Make the Lord's highway straight.' "
Some Pharisees who were in the delegation asked him, "If you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet, why then are you baptising?"
"I baptise in water," John replied, "but among you, though you do not know him, stands the one who is to come after me. I am not good enough to unfasten his shoes." This took place at Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptising.
Out of his full store we have all received grace after grace; for while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the only one, the one nearest to the Father's heart, has made him known.
This is the testimony which John gave when the Jews of Jerusalem sent a deputation of priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He confessed without reserve and avowed, "I am not the Messiah."
"What, then? Are you Elijah?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you the prophet we await?"
He answered, "No."
"Then who are you?" They asked. "We must give an answer to those who sent us. What account do you give of yourself?"
He answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, "I am a voice crying out in the wilderness, 'Make the Lord's highway straight.' "
Some Pharisees who were in the delegation asked him, "If you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet, why then are you baptising?"
"I baptise in water," John replied, "but among you, though you do not know him, stands the one who is to come after me. I am not good enough to unfasten his shoes." This took place at Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptising.
Genesis 9.18->end of 10
The sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole Earth was peopled.
Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his tent.
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away; and they did not see their father's nakedness.
When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed by Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers."
He also said, "Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.
"May God make space for Japheth
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave."
After the flood Noah lived three hundred fifty years. All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
[begats, begats, begats]... These are the families of Noah's sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations; and from these the nations spread abroad on the Earth after the Flood.
Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his tent.
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away; and they did not see their father's nakedness.
When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed by Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers."
He also said, "Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.
"May God make space for Japheth
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave."
After the flood Noah lived three hundred fifty years. All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
[begats, begats, begats]... These are the families of Noah's sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations; and from these the nations spread abroad on the Earth after the Flood.
May 27, 2009
Okay then, John 1-1.14 (a mix of translations)
When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was.
The Word, then, was with God at the beginning, and through him all things came to be; no single thing was created without him. All that came to be was alive with his life; and that life was the light of human beings.
The light shines on in the dark, and the darkness has never quenched it.
There appeared a man named John, sent from God; he came as a witness to testify to the light, that all might become believers through him. He was not himself the light; he came to bear witness to the light. The real light which enlightens every man was, even then, coming into the world.
He was in the world, but the world, which owed its being to him, did not recognize him.
He entered his own place, and his own people would not welcome him. But to all who did welcome him, to those who gave their allegiance, he gave the power to become children of God--not born of human stock, or by the fleshly desire of their human fathers, but offspring of Spirit.
So the Word became flesh; he came to live among us; and we saw his glory, such glory as befits the Father's true son, full of truth and blessing.
The Word, then, was with God at the beginning, and through him all things came to be; no single thing was created without him. All that came to be was alive with his life; and that life was the light of human beings.
The light shines on in the dark, and the darkness has never quenched it.
There appeared a man named John, sent from God; he came as a witness to testify to the light, that all might become believers through him. He was not himself the light; he came to bear witness to the light. The real light which enlightens every man was, even then, coming into the world.
He was in the world, but the world, which owed its being to him, did not recognize him.
He entered his own place, and his own people would not welcome him. But to all who did welcome him, to those who gave their allegiance, he gave the power to become children of God--not born of human stock, or by the fleshly desire of their human fathers, but offspring of Spirit.
So the Word became flesh; he came to live among us; and we saw his glory, such glory as befits the Father's true son, full of truth and blessing.
May 24, 2009
Let's Explore Your Passages!
The format I inherited here, and followed for a very long time, waiting for participation to please rise above zero, has proved itself utterly deadly.
New plan:
If there is something in the Christian and/or Hebrew scriptures that puzzles you, or strongly speaks to you, or just plain feels like a rich source for group consideration, please comment here and say what that is.
You may find it in the archives, which are partially mine but include much more from previous members. You may want to comment on anything there; if your comment opens something fresh to consider, I'll repost the passage and we can go from there.
But let's take up something that moves somebody!
New plan:
If there is something in the Christian and/or Hebrew scriptures that puzzles you, or strongly speaks to you, or just plain feels like a rich source for group consideration, please comment here and say what that is.
You may find it in the archives, which are partially mine but include much more from previous members. You may want to comment on anything there; if your comment opens something fresh to consider, I'll repost the passage and we can go from there.
But let's take up something that moves somebody!
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