I am reading an incredible book on my Kindle. It is called Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture, an Agrarian Reading on the Bible by Ellen Davis. I heard about it on a podcast that I download weekly called On Being. Krista Tippett interviewed Ellen and you can listen to the podcast here.
Much of what we are reading today has relevance with Prof Davis' book. The Land is everything. Success in Agriculture meant God was with you, famine, drought, destruction meant God was not. Please click on the podcast and listen or upload it on your own device.
And don't listen ahead! Krista has a remarkable interview with the amazing Biblical scholar Walter Brueggeman that I will want you to listen to when we come to the prophets.
The Sermon on the Mount humbles me. Jesus has placed the bar on behavior, thoughts and intentions very high. I know that there is no way that I can live up to these expectations on my own and maybe that is the point anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe Message version of Psalm 9 especially the around verse 5 really communicates especially at this time of the NFL playoffs.
That is what poetry is about -- using imagery to get the idea across to thick heads like me. Even though I am home sick today, had to jump up and go see what Peterson used in his imagery. Having just sat through Matt's final football season, I can totally resonate with his use of words.
ReplyDeleteThe reading from Matthew today raised some questions for me. I was thinking specifically of children nature versus nurture and that bad seeds do come from good fruit and good seeds from bad fruit. In the same way how good things do come from horrible tragedies. And well intentioned good efforts can have devastating consequences. So I am struggling with versus 17 and 18.
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