becoming

Through FB, Ed Hird points me to this wonderful interview with Richard Hays of Duke University:

I was saying that ¡§love¡¨ cannot function as a focal image or common denominator to bring the diverse NT witnesses into a relation of unity. There are two reasons for this: (1) several of the major NT writings have very little to say about love (Mark, Acts, Hebrews, Revelation); (2) ¡§love¡¨ by itself is a concept, not an image; it must be given narrative specification by the story of the cross. (That is why I propose the cross as one of three focal images for NT ethics, along with community and new creation.) Otherwise, ¡§love¡¨ cannot be distinguished from whatever the Beatles vaguely meant when they sang, ¡§All you need is love.¡¨

Any of you interested to understand this world renowned Pauline scholar, this is a good place to start.

[Read it all here]

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Anson has a good post on East meets West, and it is not about cooking.

One of my favorite Christmas hymns — In the bleak midwinter:

Yes, just what are you going to give to this new born King?

—-

In the bleak midwinter, frost wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
but his mother only, in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

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A poetic re-telling of the nativity story… with the unpleasant bits left in.

Another theological conversation on our way to school one morning:

Jocelyn: Daddy, I want to invite everybody [a long list of people hereafter]… and Jesus, God and Mary…

Daddy: But what about the Holy Spirit?

Jocelyn: Oh, yes, and the Holy Spirit.

Daddy: Do you know, God the father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, they are always together, so happy that together, they are one GOD.

Jocelyn: Huh? What about Mary?

Daddy: What about Mary?

Jocelyn: Mary is Jesus’ mommy! [meaning: God is the daddy, Mary is the mommy and Jesus is the son, so Mary must be in there somewhere….]

Daddy: But Mary is a person like you and me. God the father, God the son and the Holy Spirit, together they are one God. It’s different.

Jocelyn: What about ¸tÆF?

Daddy: ¸tÆF is the Holy Spirit! Why do you always forgot the Holy Spirit?

Jocelyn: Because I don’t know his name!

Daddy: ……