tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post8844350317029836027..comments2024-03-28T13:59:11.445-07:00Comments on Left Behind and Loving It: Sharing Discontent v. Sharing JoyD. Mark Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-37237510737690295872022-09-11T15:59:18.656-07:002022-09-11T15:59:18.656-07:00That'll preach, Russell. Thanks.
MDThat'll preach, Russell. Thanks.<br />MDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-51332772483631961842022-09-10T19:08:18.385-07:002022-09-10T19:08:18.385-07:00I’m learning to read scripture outside the capital...I’m learning to read scripture outside the capitalist narrative. That narrative says the pursuit of wealth through self-interest is the moral standard. Sinners are those who don’t seek their own economic accumulation. Thus we blame the poor. This reverses scripture.<br /><br />Sinners are those “add field to field”, ignore the plight of the widow and orphan (the families of peasant soldiers fallen in battle), and charge interest on loans to those suffering crop loss. Sinners impoverish their neighbors and weaken the national strength and unity of a widespread prosperous people. <br /><br />Tax collectors gained wealth through charging more than they need to return to Rome (even Temple taxes involved paying the national tribute - it’s how Herod’s family became sovereign and why Pilate was stationed with an army in Palestine).<br /><br />Jesus is eating with those who need to learn Jubilee as the way to God’s reign. The Separatists complain because they believe community purity leads to God’s reign. Jesus is redeeming the wealthy from their greed and self-interest.<br /><br />Look at the examples: a hundred sheep ranch is significant in Jesus’ day. Ten silver pieces is the annual wage of a unskilled labor - and a woman has it. The impoverished don’t have a year’s wage on hand - most not even a week.<br /><br />So imagine tax collectors not charging tolls or at least not overcharging, or lenders who do not charge interest and do not expect anything in return.<br /><br />That’s joy in heaven and on earth.<br /><br />Russell Meyer, Mdiv, DminAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-8894742221409850272019-09-15T04:01:13.483-07:002019-09-15T04:01:13.483-07:00de-moralizes the repentance dynamic. Which - lite...de-moralizes the repentance dynamic. Which - literally translated - is 'new-mind' not 'I'm sorry.' New context, new way of looking at things... An interior reaction to an external stimulus, as Jonathan Edwards would say (The Will is much more interesting than the sermon of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God).Bill Schlesingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14304598437917344802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-83117139890862369762019-09-15T03:58:21.783-07:002019-09-15T03:58:21.783-07:00Interesting. The sheep and the coin are passive a...Interesting. The sheep and the coin are passive actors in the story, being hunted down by the sheep-chaser and the coin-seeker. Reminds me of the 'hound of heaven' image. Bill Schlesingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14304598437917344802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-64953358975011838802019-09-11T06:56:11.588-07:002019-09-11T06:56:11.588-07:00The answer "No one" seems to lessen as t...The answer "No one" seems to lessen as the parables continue. I always thought that the least convincing part of the story of Job was how having many more children in the end was somehow supposed to make up for having lost children in the beginning. It works numerically, but not relationally. <br />In the parable of the lost coin there's not the dilemma of having to leave the 9 unguarded to search for the 10th. And in the parable of the sons that follows, no one pretends that having one makes up for losing one. <br />So, taken separately, "No one" seems to be a possible answer to the question of v.4. Taken together,"No one" does not seem to be where this trilogy of parables is going. D. Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-28418554152283487462019-09-11T06:51:27.074-07:002019-09-11T06:51:27.074-07:00This is a great question and I've often pushed...This is a great question and I've often pushed it out of my mind instead of stating it as such and dealing with it. I think your answer, "No one" is precisely what we ought to anticipate as the obvious answer before we go any further. D. Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-32480236210311308412019-09-10T22:29:24.812-07:002019-09-10T22:29:24.812-07:00The wilderness is at the heart of Israel's myt...The wilderness is at the heart of Israel's mythology (stories that hold a community together, give it an identity etc). The 99 are left in the safety and security (and joy even) of their mythology; the lost sheep has lost that security, identity and joy. Only through repentance is that sinner restored and linked in again with the community's joy/myth/song. Repentance, then, is the sinner being found and not the sinner 'finding Jesus'.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-64775056195283293982019-09-10T12:42:40.878-07:002019-09-10T12:42:40.878-07:00What if the answer to Jesus' question in verse...What if the answer to Jesus' question in verse 4 is "No one!"? No one would risk losing 99 sheep to wolves, thieves, and the sheep's own wanderings by leaving them alone in the wilderness. I think the shock of this parable to Jesus' listeners is the fact they are left.Pastor Gary Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00309522006959586019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-81350561061207297742016-09-10T02:16:13.078-07:002016-09-10T02:16:13.078-07:00We often hear that Jesus hung out with the "w...We often hear that Jesus hung out with the "wrong" crowd. But what if we look at it the other way around. The "wrong" crowd liked to hang around with Jesus. That should give us loads to think about what Jesus was saying to them. If he were constantly haranguing them for being sinners, they would not be hanging around for long. It seems obvious to me he offered an incredibly hopeful message to these lost folks. Imagine the punchline of the pharisee and the tax collector with this group. "Hey, we're not written off. There's a way through." Perhaps a different angle with these two parables is that Jesus is teaching them how important it is to seek for what is lost within themselves.scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09866325571917056232noreply@blogger.com