Jesus said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘
Jesus is here contrasting his kingdom of God method to his cousin’s John the Baptist’s way.
“The Son of Man came exegeting Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and correcting [...]
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When Jesus broke bread, he broke Israel.
With his meal-time habits, Jesus was speaking a new language and introducing a new world.
USAmerican culture has gutted the social significance of daily meals. With the TV dinner and the fast food chains, we eat like we live…with a sound and fury signifying nothing. Once in a while we [...]
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The Chinese have a proverbial question: Is it edible?
The proverb is not about food. It’s about ideas, concepts, principles. If an idea is “edible” that means it is practical, it becomes part of life. It’s not theory; it’s concrete here and now.
Jesus was edible. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood… .” And, “This [...]
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Jesus at the Margins– Part 2 Shame
Jesus made being marginal central.
He did it primarily by his meal-time practices.
In Jesus’ day the Jewish culture operated on the power of shame. Social relationships were arranged hierarcially with those closest to God–the High Priest–then priests, Levites, obedient Jews on down to those most removed from God–Gentiles, shepherds, tax-collectors, [...]
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Jesus at the Margins- Part 1 (from the archives)
I’ve been ruminating again about Jesus’ life with the marginalized of 1st century Judaism. I’m going to ponder in print some of my thoughts.
We often think that Jesus left his surburban bungalow on the green hillside of Galilee and went into the big city and sought [...]
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Craig R. Koester offers both a theologically vibrant and pastorally applicable presentation of Revelation in his book Revelation and the End of All Things. Koester is professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN.
I was trained in what has become a theologically obnoxious and pastorally irrelevant view of the enigmatic apocalypse of John–the [...]
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