Tag Archives: The Prophets

Daily Riches: Killing Jesus (Hans Küng)

Posted on by under Awareness, Insiders and Outsiders, Jesus the Savior, Nationalism and Patriotism, The Upside-Down Kingdom, truth and illusion

“What is it really that stands here between God and man? Paradoxically, it is man’s own morality and piety: his ingeniously devised moralism and his selective technique of piety. It is not – as people [in Jesus’ day] thought – the tax swindlers who find it most difficult to repent, not being able to remember all those whom they have cheated or how much they would have to restore. No: it is the devout who find it most difficult, being so sure of
themselves that they have no need of conversion. They became Jesus’ worst enemies. Most of the sayings on judgment in the Gospels apply to these, not to the great sinners. Those who finally sealed his fate were not murderers, cheats, swindlers and adulterers, but the highly moral people. They thought that in this way they were doing a service to God.” Hans Küng

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants
of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then,
and complete what your ancestors started!'”
Jesus in Matthew 23:29-32

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • In Jesus’ day the most religious and orthodox people thought they were “doing a service to God” by killing Jesus. And eventually, many in the crowd apparently accepted that interpretation. Imagine.
  • When you imagine great sinners who do you think of? …rulers who commit genocide? …heartless souls entrapping young girls in sexual slavery? …doctors who perform late-term abortions? …racist pigs? …homosexuals or homophobes? or the usual: murderers, thieves and adulterers? What if the greatest sinners in our day were self-assured religious leaders, speaking for God, thumping their Bibles – revered by many – but actually fighting God, just like in Jesus’ day. Could that happen?
  • Do you trust religious teachers uncritically? How do you recognize orthodoxy today? Could your “service to God” actually be fighting against God?

Abba, show me my blindness, my biases, my wrong assumptions and conclusions. I want to honor your son, not be disloyal to his cause or lead others to reject him.

For More: On Being a Christian by Hans Küng

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek God and he seeks you. I hope you’ll follow and share my blog. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Parenting the Prodigal – God’s Perspective (Terrence Fretheim and Abraham Heschel) *

Posted on by under Being the Beloved, The Love of God

“The image here, obviously, is not that of some heavenly General Patton having difficulty tolerating acts of insubordination. Rather, it is the image of the long-suffering parent and, given the roles in child rearing in Israel, it is probably more the image of mother than father. God is pictured as one in great anguish over what the children have done, but her love is such that she cannot let go. Any parent with a prodigal child should know something of what God must feel.”

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and burning incense to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms;
but they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of compassion,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one
who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.”
Hosea 9:10-13; 10:11; 13:4-6; cf. 2:14-15

“The striking note of Hosea is that, whereas the common human reaction in such a situation would be give up, God’s love is such that she cannot let go. The parental pathos is the heart of God!  …God’s Godness is revealed in the way in which, amid all the sorrow and anger, God’s salvific purposes remain unclouded and the steadfastness of divine love endures forever. [Abraham] Heschel once again grasps the essential point: ‘Over and above the immediate and contingent emotional reaction of the Lord we are informed of an eternal and basic disposition’ revealed at the beginning of the passage: ‘I loved him’ (11:1).” Terrence Fretheim

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Can you see yourself in Hosea’s description of Israel?
  • What emotions arise in you when you gaze at “God’s Godness” here?
  • Can you ask God to give you a love more like his? a determined love that doesn’t give up? one with salvific motives?

Abba, there is nothing in this world like your love for me. Thank you for your love.

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For More: The Suffering of God by Terrence Fretheim

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Parenting the Prodigal – God’s Perspective (Terrence Fretheim and Abraham Heschel)

Posted on by under Being the Beloved, The Love of God

“The image here, obviously, is not that of some heavenly General Patton having difficulty tolerating acts of insubordination. Rather, it is the image of the long-suffering parent and, given the roles in child rearing in Israel, it is probably more the image of mother than father. God is pictured as one in great anguish over what the children have done, but her love is such that she cannot let go. Any parent with a prodigal child should know something of what God must feel.”

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and burning incense to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms;
but they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of compassion,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one
who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.”
Hosea 9:10-13; 10:11; 13:4-6; cf. 2:14-15

“The striking note of Hosea is that, wheras the common human reaction in such a situation would be give up, God’s love is such that she cannot let go. The parental pathos is the heart of God!  …God’s Godness is revealed in the way in which, amid all the sorrow and anger, God’s salvific purposes remain unclouded and the steadfastness of divine love endures forever. [Abraham] Heschel once again grasps the essential point: ‘Over and above the immediate and contingent emotional reaction of the Lord we are informed of an eternal and basic disposition’ revealed at the beginning of the passage: ‘I loved him’ (11:1).” Terrence Fretheim

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Can you see yourself in Hosea’s description of Israel?
  • What emotions arise in you when you gaze at “God’s Godness” here?
  • Does this study make you want to change anything in your life?

Abba, there is nothing in this world like your love for me. Thank you for your love.

__________

For More: The Suffering of God by Terrence Fretheim

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in less than 400 words. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)