BRF
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Mary meets Gabriel
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Mary meets Gabriel
by BRF - Rona Orme
Mary responded differently to Gabriel's message from God. Unlike Zechariah, she simply replied, 'I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said' (Luke 1:38). This session provides an opportunity to consider how we might respond to God. From 50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessi…
52 Reflections on Faith - The big picture: God and evil
52 Reflections on Faith - The big picture: God and evil
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
The big picture:God and evil I think most people know the expression ‘Keep your eye on the big picture’. Sometimes, when we’re getting bogged down in minutiae and arguing about detail, someone says, ‘OK, keep your eye on the big picture.’…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Another Gentile Healed
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Another Gentile Healed
by BRF - Dick France
Another Gentile Healed The previous story focused on the question of Jesus’ mission to Gentiles as well as Jews. Now we see him continuing in Gentile territory: Sidon, like Tyre, was Phoenician, and Decapolis was the Greek-dominated area to the east of the lake of Galilee (see on…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Crumbs for the Gentiles
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Crumbs for the Gentiles
by BRF - Dick France
Crumbs for the Gentiles The question of purity, discussed in the first part of this chapter, would have important repercussions for the eventual expansion of the church to contain Gentiles alongside the original Jewish believers. This strange little story illustrates the point, a…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Clean Hands and a Pure Heart
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Clean Hands and a Pure Heart
by BRF - Dick France
Clean Hands and a Pure Heart We now return to the issue which sparked off this sharp dialogue, that of purity. Jesus declares his position by means of a ‘parable’ (which means here an epigram or a puzzling saying needing interpretation— see our study of chapter 4), which, followi…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - What is Purity?
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - What is Purity?
by BRF - Dick France
What is Purity? The last time we met scribes who had come from Jerusalem to Galilee to confront Jesus (3:22) their arrival spelt trouble. Here again they are a hostile group, a foretaste of the sort of reception Jesus is going to meet when he eventually goes to Jerusalem himself.…
John The People's Commentary - The Parting of the Ways
John The People's Commentary - The Parting of the Ways
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The Parting of the Ways John 6: 56-71 JOHN This chapter’s setting has moved from up in the mountains for the feeding, across the storm-tossed lake to a crowd in Capernaum. The last part of this discourse at least has been Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum (6:59). The …
John The People's Commentary - Eat my Flesh and Drink my Blood
John The People's Commentary - Eat my Flesh and Drink my Blood
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood The debate between Jesus and the crowd since the miraculous feeding and walking on water has been exploring the text, ‘he gave them bread from heaven to eat’ (6:31). Like a rabbi preaching on the text, Jesus has taken each word or phrase in turn. F…
John The People's Commentary - Bread from Heaven
John The People's Commentary - Bread from Heaven
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Bread from Heaven Jesus and the crowd have been debating the meaning of the feeding and the last section concentrated on the issue of Jesus’ identity. Suddenly it is no longer a matter of whether he is ‘the prophet like Moses’ who can feed people in the mountains as Moses did. Hi…
John The People's Commentary - I Am the Bread of Life
John The People's Commentary - I Am the Bread of Life
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
I Am the Bread of Life After the miraculous feeding and Jesus walking on the water and the discussion about bread, attention is now focused on Jesus by his direct claim, ‘I am the bread of life’ (6:35). Since the gospels are a form of ancient biography, the focus will be constant…
52 Reflections on Faith - Corpus Christi: Sanctifying Matter
52 Reflections on Faith - Corpus Christi: Sanctifying Matter
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Corpus Christi: Sanctifying matter A lot of people are familiar with the name of the French Jesuit scientist-priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), but few know in any detail what he had to say. Teilhard, as he is often known, was born in the Auvergne region of France and…
52 Reflections on Faith - Glorious Food: The Eucharist
52 Reflections on Faith - Glorious Food: The Eucharist
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Glorious food: The Eucharist Whenever I think of food, I think of the well-known song from the musical Oliver: ‘Food, glorious food’. It conjures up images of exotic banquets and unlimited eating. I also think of the saying ‘You are what you eat’. It’s true that whatever we put i…
John The People's Commentary - More Questions and Answers