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01/26/2012

Textweek ATLAS Links Epiphany 6B February 12, 2012

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.

Epiphany 6B
February 12, 2012 

2 Kings 5:1-14

“Take another look in the mirror at the sad face of the world. And tell the truth. Say it simply and directly. Tell where it is that healing is located. Be free... and be thankful.”

“Second Kings 5 offers a place to explore how human beings may relate to God and to one another. The story begins with Naaman coming to Elisha to seek a cure. Surely every resource available in Syria has been called upon to heal someone so important to the king, but the power to heal must be sought in Israel. The general is cured without cost when he submits to the prophet's words. The cure, however, is not based on any magical power in the words or in the water. It is given by the God of Israel who has watched over Naaman and showered him with success.” 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sumney, Jerry L., "The Place of 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 in Paul's Argument," Journal of Biblical Literature, 2000.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

“9:24-27 is best understood as the introduction to the stories that serve as the foundation for the instructions about sacrificed food in chapter 10, not as the conclusion to Paul's presentation of himself as an example of giving up rights.”

Mark 1:40-45

Abstract: “Embedded in one of the earliest stories of Mark is an engagement with a most critical issue for Jesus, with implications for the rest of his destiny. How the early church understood it, and their ‘memory’ of what was at stake, when the leper interrupted the beginning of Jesus' preaching mission, is explored in this article. Further, the article suggests the power of the story's word for a critical issue before the contemporary church and asks whether it does not address serious questions to the contemporary exegete personally. At stake is: ‘What if we reach out, become unalterably committed, and can never be the same again’?”

01/26/2012 at 04:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Textweek ATLAS Links Epiphany 6B February 5, 2012

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.

Epiphany/Ordinary 5
February 5, 2012 

Isaiah 40:21-31

“There is a tremendous equalizing force at work among the elderly. Much more often, however, it is the proud who are humbled rather than the lowly who are lifted up.”

1 Corinthians 9: 16-23

“Paul's renunciation of freedom for the sake of others' well-being not only cuts across the grain of our society, it slices painfully into our understanding of the gospel itself.”

“How do vv. 19-23 then fit with Paul's refusal and the larger question of 8:1-11:1 ? Paul makes clear there that freedom is of central concern. Though he is free, he has become a slave to all (v. 19).”

 Mark 1:29-39

“Women play an integral role in Mark's proclamation of the good news. The Gospel uses the women to encourage the audience to follow Jesus in discipleship. With the women, we too are called to enjoy the blessings of the kingdom, to be of service to those with less power, and perhaps to undergo persecution for following the way of God.”

Abstract: “God desires health and wholeness for all. The presence of sickness in the world is not what God intended. The Bible presents several explanations for the origin of sickness, but certainly God is on our side in the battle against illness. We are invited to ask God for healing. Sometimes, however, the healing does not come and we are forced to live with suffering that will not go away. Though health and healing in this life are desirable and we should strive for those goals, the Bible speaks of healing as more than attaining physical health. The healing miracles of Jesus are a sign of the coming of God's kingdom on earth, but the removal of all illness is part of our eschatological hope.”

01/26/2012 at 02:25 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

01/08/2012

Textweek ATLAS links Epiphany 4B January 29, 2012

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.

Epiphany 4B

January 29, 2012

 

Mark 1:21-28

“Caught up by addictions, passions or compulsions that destroy us, we are closest to healing when we shout most loudly that we want nothing to do with those who can help. That is the difficult moment when, needing healing, we are called to resist our own resistance.”

Abstract: “There appear to be two main ways of interpreting Mark's secrecy theme: 1) the view that it does not form a coherent whole, and 2) the view that it states Mark's understanding of the "history of revelation", according to which Jesus is revealed as Son of God only in his death and/or resurrection. Contrary to these two views, Mark's secrecy theme is coherent, and is concerned not with the "history of revelation" but with a doctrine of predestination. This must be understood in terms of its social function within Mark's community.”

“Jesus not only teaches in parables, he is himself ‘the parable of God.’ Jesus appears in the synagogue of Capernaum as he appears in the entire Gospel: as an enigma wrapped in a mystery. The things Jesus does and says are straightforward enough to seize our interest, yet sufficiently cryptic to tantalize us into actively pursuing some satisfaction for our wonderment.”

 

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Abstract: “This article: 1) reconstructs the step-by-step procedure by which a particular sermon was prepared; 2) reflects upon that procedure as it is reconstructed, explaining and at times justifying it, that the reader may enter more fully into the entire process; and 3) reproduces the sermon that was the fruit of this labor. Detailed recovery of the preparatory process is possible in part because of the preservation of notes and scribblings antecedent to the sermon. The greater contributor to the recovery, however, is the standard procedure used for sermon preparation. The discipline of a regular routine commends itself for a number of reasons: one is less likely to be a victim of the highs and lows of emotions totally unrelated to the message or its occasion; one is more likely to be thorough in preparation; one is freed by the restraints of routine to explore, ponder, and imagine rather than having one's powers dissipated in the frustrating search for a way to get started. [Ed excerpt].”

01/08/2012 at 04:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Textweek ATLAS links Epiphany 3B January 22, 2012

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.

Epiphany 3B

January 22, 2012

 

Mark 1:14-20

Abstract: “Jesus recruited fishermen following Ezek 47. Naphtalites are natural evangelists under Gen 49:21 and Deut 33:23. Zebulunites are also interested in Seas (Deut 33:18-19, 49: 13-14). Both tribes jeopard their lives (Jdg 5:18). Fishing is a mode of evangelisation, conferring immortality. The Lucan Calling (Lk 5:1-11) incorporates a typical fisherman's confession, with added themes of acquisition, in partnership, for salvation. The parable of the net, based on Ezekiel, shows living water affording some souls redemption. The fishing expedition of John 21, apart from its parallel in Test.Zeb.,shows evangelists guided by the distant partner, who provides, as rations, the symbol by which they were themselves recruited. "153" Might mean QNG, the hunt.”

“Jesus displays audacious personal authority in summoning his followers to join him in advancing the kingdom of God. He does not negotiate with disciples. Moreover, the content of his call implies an alternative political (imperial) as well as religious (spiritual) vocation.”

 

Jonah 3:1-10

Abstract: “The book of Jonah portrays Israel's God as merciful and forgiving. Many interpreters, however, mistakenly assume that this motif runs throughout the book and is counterbalanced by Jonah's consistent cry for retributive justice. In fact, the writer deliberately misleads the reader, initially making God appear powerful and vengeful, while making Jonah appear reluctant to call for Nineveh's destruction. The turning point comes in 3:10. God surprisingly forgives Nineveh, thereby bringing forth Jonah's true retributive character. Because the writer surprises his readers and reverses the flow of the characters, his point regarding God's forgiving nature and man's proper attitude toward that forgiveness becomes more dramatic and convincing.”

Abstract: “Jonah's message to the Ninevites is unusual in specifying a time limit before judgment comes. But while the MT and most manuscripts read "forty days" the LXX reads "three days". The history of interpretation of both "forty" and "three" is briefly surveyed before a fresh proposal is offered. The LXX represents a perception of what would be appropriate for Jonah to say, on the assumption that his message is faithful to his commission. The MT depicts a Jonah who does not want the Ninevites to respond.”

 

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

“Paul takes this further and states that every single status quo principle of this world was criticised, relativised and challenged by the liberating alternative of the future that Jesus Christ inaugurated. In fact this future (of justice, peace, reconciliation and joy) and not the self (or one's own-affairs), must become the regulator of the whole of Christian life.”

“This age is the time of fulfillment and decision, in light of the final plans of God having been set in place.”

01/08/2012 at 03:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

01/05/2012

Textweek ATLAS links January 15, 2012 Epiphany 2B

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.

Epiphany 2B

January 15, 2012

 

1 Samuel 3:1-20

       Lewis, Peter E., "Is There a Parallel between 1 Samuel 3 and the Sixth Chapter of the Egyptian Book of the Dead?" Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2007.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

Abstract: “This article offers a comparison of the accounts in 1 Samuel 3 and the Sixth Chapter of the Egyptian Book of the Dead and leads to the conclusion that they may be parallel accounts. The background to the Egyptian text is explained, and it is suggested that the Hebrew author used the Egyptian account in writing this important chapter in the Deuteronomistic History.”

       Ruffin, Michael L., "First Samuel 3:1-20," Interpretation, 1997.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

“1 Samuel 3 invites the preacher to help the members of her or his congregation consider the ways in which they relate to one another as they respond to God's purpose and call in light of changing circumstances.”

 

1 Corinthians 6:11-20

 

       Draper, Jonathan A., "The Tip of an Ice-berg: the Temple of the Holy Spirit," Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 1987.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

“The Temple image is certainly given an individual moral application in this passage, but the context makes it very unlikely that Paul is thinking of individual bodies as individual sanctuaries containing the Holy Spirit. The singular nouns soma and naos used with the plural humon make this clear. Rather, Paul is giving the primary community meaning of the image an extended application, because what is done by the individual is understood as affecting the whole community.”

 

John 1:43-51

 

       Gomes, Peter J., "John 1:45-51," Interpretation, 1989.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials

“This then is the end of the beginning of the end. The Disciples are in place, the Lord is ready to reveal himself for what he is by what he does, the finding is completed so that the proclamation may begin. What is promised to Nathaniel and all the faithful, that grand climax whereby Jacob's old dream is to be made fresh and real, begins in the unlikely setting of a modest and socially embarrassed wedding party in which the steward of the feast, as unwitting an evangelist as can be imagined, observes that the best has been saved to last.”

 

01/05/2012 at 02:46 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

01/02/2012

ATLAS/Textweek Links: Baptism of Jesus B, January 8, 2012

Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts.

Baptism of Jesus B

January 8, 2012

 

Genesis 1:1-5

“We have encountered a wide range of associated motifs—thw wbhw, blymh, thwm, mym, \s and hsk—which are figures for the same thing, the invisibility of God with particular reference to the primordial context of cosmogony.”

“…in examining creation narratives, we can learn about the ancient societies that produced these accounts in addition to appreciating their theological/ideological message concerning the origins of the cosmos.”

 

Psalm 29

“Where physics and biology are allowed to empty the mythopoetic vision, our lives are cramped within horizons of our own making. Religion and theology are increasingly dominated by psychology and existentialism because they have retreated to inner space to contemplate the human psyche and consciousness. The thunderstorm as theophany is a sign that the Lord is God also of outer space.”

 

Mark 1:4-11

“We may therefore conclude (1) that Mark did indeed have in mind the outer veil, and (2) that Mark did indeed imagine a link between the tearing of the heavens and the tearing of the temple veil—since we can now see that in fact in both cases the heavens were torn—and that Mark intentionally inserted the motif of the "tearing of the heavenly veil" at both the precise beginning and at the precise end of the earthly career of Jesus, in order to create a powerful and intriguing symbolic inclusio.”

“In the gospel of Mark, Jesus' baptism marks the change of ages and the dawning of God's kingdom on earth. It demonstrates God's identification with sinners and serves to inaugurate the divine mission of salvation through the cross. Christian baptism, therefore, by its identification with the baptism of Jesus, involves death. By the same token, however, it also involves eternal life.”

01/02/2012 at 04:54 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)