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Thursday, September 17, 2020
When I Survey....
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Saturday, September 12, 2020
Mark 14 53-72
and they led Jesus away to the high priest
and with him were assembled all the chief priests
and the elders and the scribes.
even into the palace of the high priest
and he sat with the servants
and warmed himself at the fire
and the chief priests and all the council
sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death and found none
for many bare false witness against him
but their witness agreed not together
and there arose certain
and bare false witness against him, saying,
"we heard him say
I will destroy this temple that is made with hands
but neither so did their witness agree together.
and asked Jesus, saying,
“answerest thou nothing?
what is it which these witness against thee?”
but he held his peace, and answered nothing.
again the high priest asked him, and said unto him,
“art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
and Jesus said, “I am:
and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power,
and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith
“what need we any further witnesses?
ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye?”
and they all condemned him to be guilty of death
and some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, “Prophesy”
and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands
there cometh one of the maids of the high priest:
and when she saw Peter warming himself,
she looked upon him, and said,
"and thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth"
but he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest.
and he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
and a maid saw him again,
and began to say to them that stood by,
"this is one of them"
and he denied it again.
and a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter,
"surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto"
but he began to curse and to swear, saying,
"I know not this man of whom ye speak"
and the second time the cock crew.
and Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him,
before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
and when he thought thereon, he wept.
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Saturday, September 05, 2020
Mark 14 25-52
and when they had sung an hymn
they went out into the mount of Olives.
and Jesus saith unto them
“all ye shall be offended because of me this night
for it is written
I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
but after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.”
This is the fifth time Mark’s Jesus has directly claimed that he will “rise” after he dies. And this time he is very specific and concrete. He isn’t going to heaven. He isn’t going to Jerusalem. He is going to Galilee. “After I die”, he says, almost in so many words, “I’m going home. Meet me there…”
but Peter said unto him,
“although all shall be offended, yet will not I”
and Jesus saith unto him,
“verily I say unto thee,
that this day
even in this night
before the cock crow twice
thou shalt deny me thrice”
but he spake the more vehemently,
“if I should die with thee
I will not deny thee in any wise”
likewise also said they all.
and they came to a place
which was named Gethsemane
and he saith to his disciples,
“sit ye here, while I shall pray”
and he taketh with him Peter and James and John
and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy
and saith unto them
“my soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death
tarry ye here, and watch”
and he went forward a little
and fell on the ground
and prayed that
if it were possible
the hour might pass from him.
and he said,
“Abba, Father,
all things are possible unto thee
take away this cup from me
nevertheless not what I will
but what thou wilt.”
and he cometh and findeth them sleeping,
and saith unto Peter, “Simon, sleepest thou?
couldest not thou watch one hour?
watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation
the spirit truly is ready
but the flesh is weak.”
and again he went away
and prayed
and spake the same words
and when he returned
he found them asleep again
for their eyes were heavy
neither wist they what to answer him.
and he cometh the third time, and saith unto them,
and take your rest:
it is enough
the hour is come
behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
rise up,
let us go
lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
while he yet spake
cometh Judas,
one of the twelve
and with him a great multitude with swords and staves,
from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders
and he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying,
“whomsoever I shall kiss that same is he
take him, and lead him away safely”
and as soon as he was come
he goeth straightway to him, and saith,
“master, master” and kissed him.
and they laid their hands on him, and took him
and one of them that stood by drew a sword
and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
and Jesus answered and said unto them,
“are ye come out, as against a thief,
with swords and with staves to take me?
I was daily with you in the temple teaching
and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled”
and they all forsook him and fled
having a linen cloth cast about his naked body
and the young men laid hold on him:
and he left the linen cloth
and fled from them naked
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Saturday, August 29, 2020
Friday, August 28, 2020
Preview: THE CARDINAL DIFFICULTY WITH BULVERISM
Bulverism is a silly word. It was made up by C.S. Lewis in order to make fun of a silly mistake sometimes made by silly people. He mentions it only once, in a light-hearted introduction to a serious religious lecture. He doesn’t use it consistently. Sometimes Bulverism is a rather dishonest rhetorical trick; sometimes it is a logical fallacy; and sometimes it is a very serious metaphysical error.
But Lewis’s silly word is frequently used seriously by conservative Christians. If you ever dare utter the phrase “you only think that because...” then someone from the American Internet will pop up and accuse you of Bulverism....
A very long (10,000 words) commentary on C.S Lewis's very succinct essay: available to Patreon Backers right now.
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Sunday, August 23, 2020
Mark 14 12 - 24
King James again used the word “betrayed”; but as we have seen, Jesus consistently talks of being handed over. The Son of Man will be handed over to the priests and the lawyers and they will hand him over to the gentiles.
And now it comes. One of you says Jesus — one of you twelve — is going to hand me over. The disciples are sad — grieved — and they say to him one at a time “Is it I?”
Look carefully. When Jesus says, a few paragraphs later, that all the disciples are going to run away and desert him, they deny that this is so. “No, boss” they all say “Definitely not. How could you think that? We would never do such a thing.” But when he says that one of the twelve is going to hand him over, they simply ask “Do you mean me?”
They are not talking among themselves: they are talking to Jesus. And they are not crying out in shock. Mark is quite clear. They take it in turns to ask him: “Is it me?” “Is it me?” “Is it me?”
It’s a solemn ritual. Jesus isn’t making a prophecy. He isn’t saying “I know what transpired between Judas and the Priests.” He is laying the task on someone’s head. “I tried to give myself up. I gave them every chance to arrest me. But they wouldn’t take me. So one of you is going to have to surrender me to them.” And the question goes round the table, one by one. “Not me.” “Please, not me.” “You surely don’t want me to do it?”
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Sunday, August 16, 2020
Mark 14 1-11
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