Happy Friday the Thirteenth!
I hope that only good luck comes to you today. Even if the number 13 is unlucky in many cultures. And, Friday has fallen afoul of popular superstitions because Jesus was crucified on Friday. And, just perhaps, Jason Voorhees is still lurking about in the shadows.
Tonight, I’m off to see a recital by Walker Whitehouse. Walker is a senior at Oberlin College. He has been the organist at St. Barnabas for the last few years. It has been an honor and a privilege watching this young man grow into the person and musician he has become. Godspeed!
The Bible study at St. Barnabas has just finished a romp through the Apocalypse of John, aka., Revelation. It was good to teach and learn about a piece of literature that has been so abused by uneducated interpreters and scamvangelists. It’s a story of hope, not of war and judgement. We have too much of the latter. We don’t need to misinterpret ancient texts to continue such nonsense.
Speaking of wars and such, the U.S. and Israel are about two full weeks into an illegal and unjust war in Iran. Many are dying and much is being destroyed. Why? Dunno. What I do know is that as I watch our political leaders speak about how the U.S. is so dominate and unbeatable I’m reminded of the old adage, “Pride comes before a fall.” All of the braggadocio and imperialistic rhetoric coming from some quarters is ill-advised and, frankly, dangerous. But, as they say, you can’t fix stupid.
This Sunday in Bible study we’re going to talk about the books of history in the Hebrew Bible. These are sometimes called the Former Prophets and include the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. We’ll be looking at these as part of what’s called the Deuteronomistic history. While this history is not ours, it does effect what has become ours through Messiah Jesus. My goal in all of these studies is not so much to proffer facts to fill up a brain. Rather, it’s to help people become better readers and interpreters of Scripture. There are so many different ideas about what the Bible does and doesn’t say floating around. Confusion and misconceptions abound. (See above note on Revelation.) It seems to be a responsible task for those who actually study these texts on their own merit and help to clarify them. I’m happy to be one of those folks.
The wind is whipping. Trees are bending and losing branches. Birds are huddled away. The weather prognosticators promised this. I’m sure that they’re breathing a sigh of relief that it actually happened as they said. Weather forecasting is one of the few professions where one is paid to be wrong. It looks like this time they got it right!
That’s all I have for today. Next week I hope to get back to chewing on the Church!
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