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La historia, la genealogía y la confesión pueden ser falsificadas.

En su camino hacia una promesa profundamente conmovedora de  ‘nuevas cosas’ que serán a la vez redentoras y fáciles de recibir, el capítulo 48 del libro de Isaías profundiza en la pretensión de Israel/Judá. Aquí vemos  la lógica de  ‘refinar’  a este pueblo ‘en el horno de la aflicción’, ya que desde la perspectiva de Isaías sólo una nación humilde puede recibir el futuro de YHWH. E Israel no será humilde hasta que sea humillada.

Escuchen esto ustedes, los de la familia de Jacob, descendientes de Judá, que llevan el nombre de Israel; que juran en el nombre del Señor, e invocan al Dios de Israel, pero no con sinceridad ni justicia. Ustedes que se llaman ciudadanos de la ciudad santa  y confían en el Dios de Israel, cuyo nombre es el Señor Todopoderoso. (Isaías 48:1-2).

El pasaje comienza como si caminara hacia una declaración heroica. La identidad histórica de Jacob conduce a la nación a adularse por el nombre de ‘Israel’. Y probablemente debemos imaginar el detalle genealógico de la procreación cuando leemos que Jacob vino ‘de aguas de Judá´. Todo este legado se complementa con las actividades actuales de ‘jurar (juramento), por el nombre de YHWH y confesar (confesando) al Dios de Israel ´. Continue Reading »

We often think of religious leaders as unable to change. We think they believe they know it all, have the answers already, cannot alter their presumably doctrinaire convictions.

So refreshing, then, this priestly cameo in one of Luke’s summary reports of growth in the early, Jerusalem-based Jesus Movement.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7 ESV)

Luke seems not to be going anywhere with this observation. He has no agenda on this front. There is no subsequent re-take on priestly influence at the core. After this, Jerusalem’s priests are largely left alone to live their lives unobserved. Continue Reading »

Even if one did not know that the discourse of Isaiah will pivot repeatedly on the Hebrew word אמן—used of faithfulness, reliability, truthful sturdiness, and belief—the italicized exclamation that follows might hint at the direction to come.

How the faithful (נאמן) city has become a whore, she who was full of justice!

Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them. (Isaiah 1:21–23 ESV)

The book’s prefatory first chapter, after all, serves like a thematically dense prelude to a theatrical work, much as a pit orchestra might touch on all the themes soon to be broached by the actors on the stage. It soberly teases the reader with topics that will shape the core of the book’s sustained argument. Nothing lies nearer to that core’s core than justice. Continue Reading »

Arguably my most self-absorbed acquisition this decade, I bought this mug for my wife.

She loves the humor (failing to see it as a statement of fact), but also appreciates how big and sturdy this mug is.41xci8IjqcL._AC_US320_QL65_

After a recent move,51i2LkUTNKL._AC_US320_QL65_ I’ve dropped ties, belts, shoes, and half-used cans of paint from my list of Things You Can Never Have Too Many Of.

However, I’m leaving bungee cords on there, especially after the recent arrival of this oddly conceived jar of the things. I mean, who buys bungees in a jar?

But it works and serves up a nice little compact container that now sits on the basement shelf ready to cough up the right-sized cord at a moment’s notice. The first moment arrived earlier today, when we realized both dog leashes are in a car that’s at the shop. A bungee serves nicely as an emergency dog leash (who knew?). Thanks to the Cartman Bungee Cords Assortment, we had just the right size for the job.

]En Isaías 56, YHWH se acerca hasta donde la gramática hebrea permite a nombrarse a sí mismo con un nuevo nombre.

Así dice el Señor omnipotente, el que reúne a los desterrados de Israel: «Reuniré a mi pueblo con otros pueblos, además de los que ya he reunido». (Isaías 56:8 NVI).

De hecho, casi se podía leer el prefacio de la declaración de YHWH como…

YHWH, el Recolector de los desterrados de Israel, declara…

Dos cosas se destacan. Primero, en mi lectura, este impulso de recolección no se registra como uno enmarca un acontecimiento que ocurrió una vez y puede o no puede volver a ocurrir. Más bien, parece que la sintaxis presenta a esta reunión de las hijas e hijos errantes de Israel, como algo casi intrínseco a la personalidad de YHWH. No sólo los reúne. Él es su Recolector. Una y otra vez. Continue Reading »

The famous rhetorical question of the eighth Psalm is widely misgauged:

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:3–4 ESV)

The assumption behind the question is too often thought to be that human beings are too measly and pathetic to warrant such divine attention. In fact, the context suggests just the opposite: there is some intrinsic glory—albeit veiled—in human beings that holds YHWH’s gaze:

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

Next to the massive dimensions of the moon and the stars, humans are manifestly small creatures. One might not expect YHWH to find them fascinating and worthy of his care. Yet in spite of their humble bearing, we read that YHWH is mindful of them, cares for them, indeed has exalted them over the rest of creation. Continue Reading »

As power encounters go, this one has no peer.

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?‘ (John 18:33–35 ESV)

If the biblical presentation is to be believed, the Maker of worlds stood before one cynical, beleaguered official of a particularly influential tribe that would in its turn slump into obscurity. Continue Reading »

The Isaianiac rhetoric is fond of naming names. People and places are with abandon given new names that raise hopes, channel energies, and uncover unseen dignity.

En route to the magnificent promises of its eleventh and twelfth verses, Isaiah’s 58th chapter bites fiercely into the travesty that is mere religious ritual with no passion for justice at its core. Continue Reading »

51rYAIdXH7LThis produce proved to be a high-value solution to our recent moving needs.

Before snagging this ten-pack of moving blankets, we considered renting a similar product from U-Haul. But by the time we rented twice (a near certainty), we’d have spent the money it costs to own these surprisingly high-quality moving blankets.

They arrived in a surprisingly snug package and then kind of sprang to life after I’d done my work on the packaging with a box-cutter.

These blankets exceeded our expectations and quickly made us fans.