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52 Reflections on Faith - Easter Sunday: transforming lives
52 Reflections on Faith - Easter Sunday: transforming lives
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Easter Sunday: transforming lives Once upon a time, a small caterpillar popped out of its egg and found itself sitting on a leaf. It had striped fur and was called Stripe. As Stripe made his way slowly along the branch of the tree and down the trunk, he looked into the distance a…
52 Reflections on Faith - Becoming Real: Loved into life
52 Reflections on Faith - Becoming Real: Loved into life
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
7 Becoming Real: Once upon a time there was a velveteen rabbit. He woke up one Christmas morning to find himself in a little boy’s stocking with a pile of other toys. He was brand new and wondering what was going to become of him. When the little boy opened his presents, he was d…
52 Reflections on Faith - Emmaus: the eyes of faith
52 Reflections on Faith - Emmaus: the eyes of faith
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Emmaus: The eyes of faith During the last couple of decades or so, a series of fascinating coffee table books called Magic Eye have appeared in the shops. The books contain what, at first sight, look like fairly boring two-dimensional wallpaper patterns, but if you hold the pages…
52 Reflections on Faith - Good Friday: access to God
52 Reflections on Faith - Good Friday: access to God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Maundy Thursday: washing the feet Maundy Thursday is the first of the three holy days leading up to Easter. Christians usually think of it as the day when the Eucharist was instituted. Jesus ate a meal with his disciples in Jerusalem the night before he died, thereby inaugurating…
52 Reflections on Faith - Faith and Doubt: seeking understanding
52 Reflections on Faith - Faith and Doubt: seeking understanding
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Faith and doubt: Seeking understanding: Richard Holloway’s autobiography Leaving Alexandria: A memoir of faith and doubt tells the story of the author’s life, from his birth and upbringing in Scotland, through his training for the priesthood at the Society of the Sacred Mission a…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Dose of Cold Water
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Dose of Cold Water
by BRF - Dick France
A DOSE of COLD WATER The command to maintain silence must have been deflating enough, but what follows is far harder to take. The martyrdom of the Son of man The exciting title ‘Messiah’ is immediately dropped, and Jesus speaks of himself, as he usually does, as the ‘Son of man’.…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Woman To Be Remembered
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Woman To Be Remembered
by BRF - Dick France
A TELLING CONTRAST In these verses a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of the religious professionals is followed by an example of true piety. But the example is not of a prominent religious figure, but of a poor widow whom everyone (and especially the scribes?) would overlook. Tr…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Telling Contrast
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Telling Contrast
by BRF - Dick France
A TELLING CONTRAST In these verses a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of the religious professionals is followed by an example of true piety. But the example is not of a prominent religious figure, but of a poor widow whom everyone (and especially the scribes?) would overlook. Tr…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
by BRF - Dick France
MARK’S GOSPEL- A DRAMA in THREE ACTS After a prologue which sets the scene, Mark’s story unfolds in three main sections, each of which has a distinct geographical setting: 1:1–13 Prologue (set in ‘the wilderness’) 1:14—8:21 Act 1: Galilee 8:22—10:52 …
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Homage to the King
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Homage to the King
by BRF - Dick France
HOMAGE to the “KING” In the hands of the Romans Even among the Jewish people Jesus has been subjected to cruelty and abuse both from the members of the Sanhedrin and from their (Jewish) guards (14:65). But now he is in the hands of the Romans, and they too will have their turn. F…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Gethsemane
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Gethsemane
by BRF - Dick France
Gethsemane Here we are on holy ground, privileged to join Peter, James and John in sharing one of the most poignant and personal moments in Jesus’ life on earth. More than once Mark has told us about Jesus praying, but now we come closer and hear the actual words of the Son of Go…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Food for the Gentiles too
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Food for the Gentiles too
by BRF - Dick France
FOOD for the GENTILES TOO Why another impromptu feast? Only a page or two ago Mark has told a story of the miraculous feeding of a large crowd of men. Now he tells another story, similar in general outline, but different in detail, particularly in the numbers (4,000 people instea…
John The People's Commentary - Destroy This Temple
John The People's Commentary - Destroy This Temple
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Destroy This Temple It is not only in his placing of the temple incident at the start of Jesus’ ministry that John differs from the other gospels. He also has this story concerning a saying of Jesus about the destruction of the temple…
MARK THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - SOMETHING NEW in the SYNAGOGUE
MARK THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - SOMETHING NEW in the SYNAGOGUE
by BRF - Dick France
SOMETHING NEW in the SYNAGOGUE MARK 1: 21-28 Simon and Andrew lived in Capernaum (1:29), and their home now became Jesus’ base for much of his time in Galilee. In 1:21–38 Mark tells us of twenty-four hours in Capernaum, beginning with the sabbath service in the synagogue, and goi…
John The People's Commentary - Healing an Official's Son