Home of fiction writer and self-proclaimed King of Chapter One
I’ve been trying to figure out how to wrap up Mark. Because a lot has happened over the last couple chapters, but nothing feels like a stand-alone post. Or rather, everything feels like it's been done over and over and over. Then I saw this tweet over Easter weekend, and everything came into focus. https://twitter.com/prophiphop/status/980434685041020929 … Continue reading Mark 15 & 16: Empty Tombs of Hope
For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born. ~ Mark 14:21 Oh, Judas. You’ve gone and done it now. I mean, I know he's Judas, … Continue reading Mark 14 Part 2 – Judas and Choices
Chapter and verse divisions in the bible are not in the original manuscripts. They kinda, sorta evolved over time into the near universal system we have now. So why is Mark 14 so dang long? I have no idea. With all the stuff crammed in here, it sure feels like it could split up into a few … Continue reading Mark 14: “The poor will be with you always” is not a directive
The religious leaders in Jesus’s day get a lot of grief from us modern church folks, and for good reason. But I will give them one thing: they were generally pretty self-aware. When Jesus ripped into them, even obliquely in a parable, they generally picked up on it. Maybe we should take a lesson. Then … Continue reading Mark 12: Whose stuff is it?
I don't like the impulsiveness of it, and it feels like it tells the wrong lesson. Cursing a tree for not bearing fruit *during the time of year when it isn't even supposed to be bearing fruit?* That's really weird! And it doesn't seem to line up the Jesus I know. So I don't like the fig tree story, no matter how much "context" I put it in. But do you know what? I think that's okay. Because... Wait. Are you sitting down, Mom?
This quote from Dr. King keeps coming up in my timeline: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Honestly, this is a quote I adore, and have adored forever, because it is beautiful and succinct and *true*. But it is a quote I am beginning to hate. Because it is misunderstood and misused, and makes love feel so damn *easy*.
John R. Ford 