August 4

OT -- 2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23
This is the funny thing about the way we read the Bible. It is not in order. I am a little on the OCD side. I like things to line up and to go in a fairly straight order. But Chronicles skips right on over all the enslavement and history in Babylon and takes us straight to Cyrus, the Persian. We have Ezra and Nehemiah, both from the post-exile period, Esther, also set in Persia and then we move back to Job. And then forward ahead to Ecclesiastes, probably if not actually written by Solomon, then written by one of his wisdom teachers. We are all over the place with the timeline.

But to the reading for today. I read an interesting Midrash about Josiah that you can click here to read. It compared Josiah to Ahab, the king of Israel who was just awful. Josiah was a really wonderful man according to Chronicles, almost as good as the uber-awesome Hezekiah. But both he and Ahab died the same death -- shot through by an archer. See what you think about God's justice according to this rabbi.

And just one other thing about reading the Old Testament. I have been offered to participate in Daf Yomi, the seven year cycle of Talmud study. The last cycle just finished this week and the new one starts this weekend after the Sabbath. If you think that our reading the Bible in a Year is hard work, well, this is an incredible commitment. But you would study with serious rabbi scholars who know so very much about the Torah/Talmud. Internet help and loads of interviews and 'talks'.
I declined the offer until I finished this but you may want to pick up your marbles and go play with real scholars. Check out their website.

NT -- 1st Corinthians 1:1-17
Corinth is located in the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. Click here to read the fascinating history of Corinth in Wikipedia. For our purposes, Corinth was rebuilt by Julius Caesar and was a bustling metropolis in the Roman Empire due to its location and very active port.
Paul spent at least 2 significant periods here -- the first 18 months when he established the church, and the second a 3 month period after the letter we are reading was written. It is also possible that he visited a third time.
My notes from my Bible survey course indicate that there was at least one other 'Letter to the Corinthians' that Paul wrote, possibly two. 2 Corinthians references these in at least 2 passages. These letters did not survive antiquity. It would be really interesting to read them and see what he wrote.
Many people count Corinthians as their favorite by Paul and it is especially quoted heavily in regards to Chapter 13, also known as the 'Love' Chapter.
We can expect frank, chastising talk by Paul since he is writing because he has heard of dissension and discord in the church that he so dearly loved.
And so the letter begins -- with a whirling, almost scathing commentary hitting on the baptism quarrel. Paul is not quoting Matthew 28 because Matthew had yet to be written, but he surely is on the same page -- disciples are what counts, not who and when you were baptized.
For our times, Paul writes to hold the church together. And in a world where division results in people either a)leaving the church and going somewhere else or nowhere else or b)splitting the church and part going away and part staying, there is much for us to learn and hear.
Right now, the divisive issue in our denomination is homosexuality. When I was a child, it was women preachers. Before I was a Presbyterian, it was women elders, before that, the Civil Rights movement. Although the actual conflict changes, the divisions and the battle lines do not. Paul is aware of this and seeks to reach out and pull both back into relationship.
I want you to watch this 2 minute video/commercial for Notre Dame University featuring John Paul Lederach, a Mennonite professor who is a professional peacemaker.


Click here if your email does not support video.
On Being did a great show on him in February. Click here to listen.

So what does a Mennonite professor who specializes in resolving armed conflict have to do with church conflict? I would say that they all come from that same place -- "I am convinced of my beliefs/needs/wants and I will do whatever I have to/want to/need to to assure that I will come out on top."
The problem with that statement is that in order for me to win, someone else must lose. And thus starts the escalation that ends in division.

Go listen. See what you think. Does he live in the same world I do?