Break Open the Word

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25 - 28 October 2012 Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm 126 Hebrews 7:23-28 St. Mark 10:46-52                                                                                    
 Background: Biblical Manuscripts So many Christians don’t seem to understand the rather complex nature of sacred texts, both their own and the Hebrew texts as well.  The enterprise of biblical translation is a balance of not only setting the text in another language but of determining the text itself.  The two oldest Hebrew man...

The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 24 - 21 October 2012 Isaiah 53:4-12 Psalm 91:9-16 Hebrews 5:1-10 St. Mark 10:35-45                                                                                    
 Background: Melchizedek The saying in Hebrews, “according to the order of Melchizedek” prompts us to take a moment and look at this King, who intrudes into the Abraham saga in Genesis 14:18.  There he greets Abraham after Abraham’s defeat of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and offers to him a gift of bread and wine, and a blessing as w...

The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 23 - 14 October 2012 Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 Psalm 90:12-17 Hebrews 4:12-16 St. Mark 10:17-31                                                                                     
 Background: Hebrews Raymond Brown, in his time the preeminent commentator on Biblical literature, called Hebrews “one of the most impressive works in the New Testament.”  He also called it “a conundrum”.  The background to the book is not all that well known, and is difficult to determine.  The book was probably w...