Bible Study: The Last Week

The Last Week
Summer 2007 Bible Study

Chapter 6

"St. Joan of Arc Bible Study is an open and growing group that meets for fellowship and to discuss the Bible and other faith-centered literature. Our informal study group draws from biblical scholarship, historical perspectives, current events and personal reflections. We welcome honor and respect the personal ideas and spiritual journeys of all who join us."

Greetings

A small but intense group of bible study stalwarts assembled Tuesday evening in the church. We've been promoted permanently from the church basement due to requirements of the school for the kitchen and serving facilities.

A very moving but simple prayer for peace started out the evening. Then our very capable facilitator, who was nominated last week when she stepped out of the room momentarily, began guiding us through Mark's telling of Good Friday.

Here follow Rita's notes...

The Last Week 8/28/07
M. Borg & J.D. Crossan
Chapter Six: Friday

We jump right into the events of Good Friday with a discussion of Substitutionary Atonement We see Jesus' death through the lens of later Christian doctrine We commonly hear the story of J's death as a composite of the gospels and NT (the authors give the example of infancy narratives) We look to Paul's letters and see they include several interpretations of J's death; the authors make the point that there is NO uninterpreted account of the death of Jesus in the NT.

Page 144, second paragraph - story of Barabbas Some say Judas advocated violent revolution and it was his disappointment in J's commitment to non-violence that pushed him to betray Jesus. We see examples around us every day: MLK & Malcolm X WTO protests that turn violent Peace Rallies that turn ugly with both sides hurling insults and threatening bodily harm

Page 146, first paragraph - Roman Imperial Terrorism Other forms of Imperial Terrorism?

The Inquisition
Salem Witch Trials
Paramilitary Death Squads in Central America
Taliban Religious Police
Outsourcing of Torture OR Extraordinary Rendition

Page 151, last paragraph - The Role of Women in Mark's story of Good Friday Jesus and the early Christian movement subverted the conventional wisdom about women among both Jews and gentiles. Given the low status of women at that time, it's quite remarkable that all the gospel writers acknowledge the major roles played by women in this story.

Page 156, last paragraph - Prophecy Historicized Many of us were taught that the relationship between OT and NT is one of prophecy and fulfillment. This relationship was commonly understood as prediction and fulfillment. The authors see the relationship differently. Working from the premise that the Jewish Bible was the sacred scripture of the early Christians, they make the case that "historicizing" is the art of using an older passage in a newer story in an attempt to connect that newer story to the earlier tradition and lend credibility to it. It is not necessarily historically factual.

Page 161, top of page - Retrospective and Retrojective OR Hindsight is 20/20 Example of Joseph/Egypt/Famine/Brothers Lesser examples might include the woman who overslept on 9/11 and never made it to her office in the Twin Towers or the man who had to work late on a project in downtown Mpls so was not on 35W at his normal time of 6pm. Divine intervention?

Page 159, bottom of page - Divine Necessity or Human Inevitability? Was the death of Jesus the will of God? Did it have to happen? OR was it inevitable, given the nature of Domination Systems and human fallibility? End Times or Global Warming? Poverty or Market Manipulation? Immigration or NAFTA?

Page 161, bottom of page & top of page 162 - The "Passion" of Jesus "Jesus's passion for the kingdom of God led to what is often called his passion, namely, his suffering and death." Key phrases:

"To think of Jesus' passion as simply what happened on Good Friday is to separate his death from the passion that animated his life."
"According to Mark, Jesus did not die for the sins of the world. ...he was killed because of the sin of the world."

Small Group Discussion Questions:

Has reading this book thus far made you more cynical or has it helped you to interpret the events of Holy Week with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of their meaning?
Something truly amazing and life-changing happened on Good Friday. How do we take it out of heads and put it back into our hearts?
How do we move from cynicism back into hope, awe and wonder? For the passion of Jesus, for the Peace Movement, for politics?
And in case you run out of things to talk about, compare how the Liberation Theology movement of the 1980s compares to the Jesus movement of the 1st Century. In what way were the priests and nuns who were murdered for their work with the poor similar to Jesus? In what way was Pope John Paul II similar to the High Priests?

Despite the small size of the group, the discussion was vigorous, leaving our facilitator in doubt whether we could finish or not. We did not fail to pause for the homemade layered lemon treats, though. Thanks, Bev and Bill.

We reassembled, refreshed in body and spirit, and took up the Good Friday narrative again. By the time we wrapped it up, we had connected the life and death of Jesus to the systematic deaths of so many of Jesus' disciples, historic and current, at the hands of the violent domination powers. The personal experiences of several members with third world poverty and oppression enlightened the discussion of the place of Liberation theology. Thank you, Rita.

The Bible Study Group needs to start planning for the Fall sessions. What books of the Bible are members interested in looking at? Suggestions from others are welcome, too.

Next week: Tuesday, September 4 Borg & Crossan "The Last Week" Chapter 7 Saturday

Facilitator: David R
Opening Prayer: Rita
Treats: Claire
Closing prayer: Inspired by the Holy Spirit of Wisdom

Peace,
Bob Beutel
Rik Murray
(612) 872-8694
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