I absolutely love this poem by Billy Collins because it reminds me to take INTERPRETATION a little less seriously, to invite the poem – or biblical passage – to delight and woo, to dance and sing its way into your heart. I think if readers could remember this, poetry – and...
4. Mark 14:3
posted by DJL
While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. Why do you think the woman did this? The oil she used was expensive, incredibly...
Carnival
posted by DJL
When I first think about how Carnival has evolved over the years into the massive pre-Lenten party it’s become around the globe, I’m tempted to wonder what happened: how did the Feast before the Fast get so out-of-control? But then I think about Jesus – the guy who was notorious for frequenting with the heavy party-goers and -throwers of his generation and think that perhaps we can and should look for God in both Feast and Fast, laughter and lament, delight and self-denial. In any event, it’s difficult not to be taken in by the exuberance of the smile on the face of this Brazilian dancer. I think Jesus would have...
3. Mark 14:3a
posted by DJL
While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper…. Simon the Leper. Truth be told, we don’t know much about Simon the Leper. He is mentioned only in Mark and Matthew (26:6-13). There is a Simon the Pharisee in Luke’s story who also hosts Jesus for dinner when a woman anoints Jesus...
C.S. Lewis, Lent �...
posted by DJL
Lent is the season of repentance and self-denial. But to what end? Is it to nurture greater self-discipline or virtue? Is it to identify with Jesus? Is it to train us in the way of discipleship? What do you think? Along these lines, I found the following quotation by C.S. Lewis helpful: If you...
2. Mark 14:1-2
posted by DJL
It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’ Fear. It’s amazing how powerful...
1. Mark 14:1
posted by DJL
You’re probably familiar with the original “scary story” beginning: “It was a dark and stormy night…” Mark doesn’t begin his story of Jesus’ Passion with those exact words, but he nevertheless strikes the same ominous, foreboding note: It was two days before the Passover and...
A Prayer for Ash Wed...
posted by DJL
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and...
Preview of the Passion
posted by DJL
Tommorow we begin our detailed look at the Passion of Jesus according to St. Mark, a journey that will take us through the 40 days of Lent. I thought that a final word of preparation would be in order; in a sense, a preview of the Passion in which we will immerse ourselves. Martin Kähler, a German biblical scholar who lived and wrote at the turn of the twentieth century, once called Mark “a passion narrative with a long introduction.” When you read through Mark up to chapter 14, the start of the “passion narrative” proper, you get a sense of what Kähler meant. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection at several points. The tension...
Mardi Gras Pancakes!
posted by DJL
It’s got a familiar ring to it – feast before the famine. In a sense, that’s a large part of what Mardi Gras – literally, “Fat Tuesday” is all about. But not entirely. Yes, one part of the celebration is the splurge before the fast (which, as any dieter knows, actually makes the...
Recent Comments