The Bible as Literature

All of us know something about the worst of ourselves but all of us struggle to hide from it. Arguably, a direct correlation exists between mental illness and our inability to be honest with ourselves about ourselves. Driven by fear, we deflect criticism by criticising our own sins in other people. With very little information or context, we rush to condemn each other. Perhaps that’s why we all assume that Jesus is talking about Judas when he says, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” We know that Judas cut a deal with the priests, so we assume that Jesus is talking about him and we happily join in the disciples’ the chorus, “Surely, not I?” But as you now should come to expect, in the Gospel of Mark, when anyone is sitting at table doing business with Jesus, nothing is ever as it seems. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 14:22-31. Episode 199 Mark 14:22-31; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Hidden Past” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

When Scripture deals with any sin, our natural reaction as human beings is to look around and single out others for committing that sin. Once this happens, it’s not long before we accuse or abuse others in the name of righteousness, or worse, as in the case of World War II, accuse and shame people of a specific religious or ethic group, committing unspeakable horrors against them in the name of the Bible. This behavior continues today against many peoples and many religions, and is exactly the behavior that Mark condemns in his account of Judas’ treason. In the Bible, it’s not about who you are or what you believe; it’s about how you choose to behave once you have been chosen to hear the Good News of God’s teaching. Once we have received the Gospel of Mark, we have been called. If we are called and subsequently turn our back on God by mistreating others, then, truly, we are Judas and we have betrayed Jesus Christ. Given the magnitude of Judas’ mistake, this should give all of us pause; God willing, such a long pause that we would think twice before our next action. Do we welcome immigrants and foreigners with open arms? Do we zealously pursue peace in the face of violence? Do we show mercy toward those who have been accused? Most importantly, do we recognize our own sins before looking to anyone else? A life committed to the teaching of Jesus Christ is a fruitful life well worth living, because it is given in service to mercy, charity, hospitality and compassion toward others for the sake of the common good. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 14:17-21 This week’s episode is followed by a special interview with Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi about his new book, The Rise of Scripture. Episode 198 Mark 14:17-21; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Thunderbird” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

When any community—religious or otherwise—attempts to promote its agenda, the discussion always begins with an accounting of what makes their group special, or, alternatively, of what is wrong with all the other groups. Both approaches, whether self-praising or neighbor-bashing, represent the same lie: the deeply held human conviction that God shows partiality. In Mark, no one is good except God. In this light, the fact that Judas betrays Jesus should not come as a surprise. What is surprising, however, is who Judas represents in the story. While everyone else is running around trying to convince everyone else that they are right and everyone else should listen to them, in Mark, as in all of Scripture, the biblical writer evangelizes, not by promoting himself or his religious community, but—pointedly—by proclaiming the sin and hypocrisy of himself and his people. You might ask, “is this approach practical?” Here’s your answer: you are listening to a podcast about the self-critique the biblical writers proposed over two thousand years ago and trying to figure out how this applies to your life. Do you think their approach worked? Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 14:10-16. Episode 197 Mark 14:10-16; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Android Sock Hop” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

When people gossip, they oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ in two ways: first, they show disregard for the biblical warning that no one is allowed to judge anyone before the time; second, they show disregard for the actions demanded by the Lord's teaching. To be clear, the one who gossips wastes precious time talking when they should be taking action. In Mark, not only do they waste time spinning empty words; but they do so by criticizing the one person besides Jesus who does take action. “But I tell you,” Jesus exclaims in Matthew, “that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 14:1-9. Episode 196 Mark 14:1-9; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “EDM Detection Mode” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

In the Gospel of Mark, the greatest threat—not just to humanity, but to life itself—is human behavior controlled by human perspectives. When an individual faces any question, they can't help but ask how that question impacts their life. Will they suffer? Will they survive? Will they lose? In this way, their next action—whether committed by word or by deed—can't help but be selfish. The individual thinks and acts in defense of what they believe is best for them. They do not think about the rest of humanity, let alone the totality of the Lord's Creation. Nobody says, I am going to do X because if I do not, in 500 or a 1000 years, there will be a negative outcome for a generation yet unborn. That is not how the human mind works, and that is exactly why the Bible seeks to sabotage human reason and undermine the individual. How do you get a person to act against their interests in the short term for the sake of something far more important than themselves? You remind them that the day of reckoning, which they believe is far away in the future, could, in fact, come at any moment, and not even Jesus knows when. So stay awake and keep watch, because you never know. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 13:32-37. Episode 195 Mark 13:32-37; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Furious Freak” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

Human beings repeat two critical mistakes every day and every hour. First, we live each day of our life as though we are going to live forever; second, we make life and death decisions at every moment without having all the facts. I don’t mean the facts about our life or the narrow parameters of the decisions we think we understand. I mean the boundless fact of the Alpha and the Omega. Each day, we make careless choices about permanent things on the basis of our very temporary and limited point of view. In the Gospel of Mark, this narrow point of view leads to human complancency about the urgency of the gospel to the nations. Like a wise parent, Jesus intercedes on our behalf: my son, you do not have all the facts, so you are going to have to trust me, the time to act is now. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 13:21-31. Episode 193 Mark 13:21-31; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Mystery Bazaar” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

Whether a student is preparing for an exam or a professional is reviewing notes for their presentation, one thing is certain: when the hour comes, you can’t fake it. A professor knows which student worked hard all semester and which crammed the night before. A good executive recognizes who is spinning a PowerPoint and who has done the actual work and understands facts on the ground. You have to do the work; and it takes time, effort, and patience. You can’t fake it. If you think you can, it’s because no one has been decent or courageous enough to call you out. Thankfully, the biblical God is a loving and kind teacher who is not only willing, but eager to call you out. If you let him, he will defintely teach you what to say when the hour is at hand. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 13: 11-20. Episode 193 Mark 13:11-20; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Egmont Overture” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

Whenever something terrible happens, someone always asks, “how could a just God allow bad things to happen?” Unfortunately, the question is silly and unbearably self-entitled. Bad things happen because that’s how the world works. Sometimes people cause suffering and sometimes suffering just happens. Why? Because death and suffering are a part of life. Every human being who has ever lived has had to die, so on what basis can anyone ask, “why did this person have to die?” Death and destruction in nature are a necessary component of the natural world and ultimately contribute to the continuation of life, so on what basis can anyone call them evil? These things happen beyond the scope of human control, because, far from mastering the natural world, human beings are subject to it. We may not like it, but that is the way things are. For Scripture, it’s not a question why things happen, but of how the things that happen in the world can be coopted as teachers for the cause of the gospel; in Mark, transformed from the pain of human despair and fear into the pain of birth-giving for the life of the world. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 13: 1-10. Episode 192 Mark 13:1-10; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Perspectives” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

Whether chasing wealth or reveling in piety, people aspire to ascendency. Looking to Caesar as their frame of reference, they measure everything in terms of progression, growth, movement, or expansion. But that's not how Scripture works. The biblical God does not seek the growth of his followers. On the contrary, he desires the growth of his teaching, often at our expense. When we become weak and lose everything for the sake of his Gospel, we may fail, but his teaching grows. We may become weak, but as the prophets teach, our defeat becomes a sign of the reality of his power, because it is he, not our enemies, who is the true cause of our crucifixion. Truly, the Bible is the only teaching in human history in which a deity is considered victorious because his city is destroyed, his people are scattered, and his Temple is burned to the ground. It's no wonder, then, that in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus sits in opposition to the Temple treasury. It's no wonder that he measures a person's value, not in terms of Caesar's coinage, but by their willingness to lose everything for the sake of his victory. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 12:35-44. Episode 191 Mark 12:35-44; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Super Power Cool Dude” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

People like to handle the Bible as though it were a mysterious or complicated story that can’t be easily explained in clear terms. We do so precisely because the content of the Bible is crystal clear, and at the same time, totally inconvenient. That’s why the Sadducees in Mark’s Gospel can’t comprehend Deuteronomy and why the Pharisees, along with the Herodians, unwittingly follow after false gods. It was a lone Scribe—a man whose only job was to make handwritten copies of Scripture—who grasped the point that Jesus has been emphasizing throughout Mark: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord.” Not only is he is the one and only Lord, but you are not him and neither is your Caesar, your Temple, your teachings, your possessions, or your armies. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 12:28-34. Episode 190 Mark 12:28-34; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Robobozo” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

In Deuteronomy 25:5, the commandment to marry your brother’s widow is given for one purpose: to ensure the continuation of life, so “that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.” The purpose of the commandment is life: so that your brother’s wife will not be abandoned; so that his household will continue for the generation yet unborn; so that—in fulfillment of God’s Law—life will continue. For Jesus, this life does not come from men, but from his Heavenly Father. When the Pharisees, the Herodians, and now, the Saducees, approach Jesus, their questions betray their personal belief, that life comes—not from God—but from men. They talk about God and they even quote his teaching, but their true god is Caesar. They do not hear Scripture in the light of Scripture, but according to the light of Caesar, which is passing away. This choice leaves them talking in circles about their theology, not only ignorant of God’s instruction, but actively working against it. Of course the Saducees do not believe in the Resurrection. One need look no further than their mishandling of Deuteronomy to understand this fact. “Is this not the reason you are mistaken,” explained Jesus, “that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?” (Mark 12:24) Indeed, they are greatly mistaken. Be warned, O Caesar: “The Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to die, does not salute you.” Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 12:18-27. Episode 189 Mark 12:18-27; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “The Return of the Mummy” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

All ideology is self-referential: it begins with a desire for self-preservation and achieves fulfillment by exercising power. Whether we wield this power ourselves or ask others to wield it for us--because it is self-referential--it is always employed at the expense of others, especially those who are weaker than us. All ideology is self-justifying and therefore destructive, but the worst kind operates under the pretense of morality. We see this all the time in traditional and social media: If my idea is morally right, then I am right and I have the right to exercise might. So you go ahead and post that meme that shows how stupid or evil “they” are. You took a stand. You stood up for right. You feel good. Congratulations, you're a hypocrite. When the Pharisees and the Herodians approach Jesus to entrap him, they too operate under the pretense of morality. As the prophets proclaim, you cannot serve God and at the same time seek security from worldly powers. You have to make a choice. So they accuse Jesus with a question. But their question, itself preoccupied with self-preservation, pertains neither to the Prophets nor the Law. On the contrary, their false question concerns the one from whom they seek security at the expense of God's teaching: the Emperor of Rome. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 12:13-17. Episode 188 Mark 12:13-17; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Truth in the Stones” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

Entitlement is the most destructive force on earth and no person, group or ideology is exempt from its barbaric cruelty. Students demand the “right” not to be offended; the wealthy contend that they've “earned” the fruit of “their” labor; and consumers “demand” access to products with righteous indignation, even as citizens grumble about public benefits. All of us believe that we are entitled to receive, earn, own, produce and/or protect whatever we want, whenever we want it. The worst part is that we all complain that everyone else is entitled, itself a sign of our own entitlement! Alas, we turn to the Prophet David for wisdom: “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, [and] to eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” (Psalm 127:1-2) In other words, in the Bible, human beings do not accomplish or deserve anything. Everything is a free gift. It is the Lord who offends students for their sake. It is the Lord who provides both our employment and our hard work. It is the Lord who fills the land with bounty and it is the Lord who provides and revokes benefits; yet, for some reason that is not enough; humans are not satisfied with sharing in God's generous provision. On the contrary, we want to possess it, to control it, and to hoard it for ourselves. “Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Mark 12:10-11) Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 12:1-12. Episode 187 Mark 12:1-12; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Industrious Ferret” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

When we criticize others on the basis of personal experience or opinion, this criticism exposes our blindness to the truth of our own sins. In Mark, whether they realize it or not, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders question the authority of Jesus exactly because their own authority is questionable. They challenge Jesus—not because they look to God’s teaching as the only authority—but because they want to protect their own power and prestige. But these men were no match for Jesus; not because he was more clever or powerful, and not because he had the people on his side. On the contrary, their maneuver failed because throughout Mark, when Jesus speaks, he never gives his own opinion. His authority comes directly from his Father’s teaching, of which—for all their religious bluster—the leaders in Jerusalem seem to know very little. Unlike the chief priests, the scribes and the elders, when Jesus speaks, he criticizes strictly on the basis of Torah. This type of criticism exposes the blindness and sinfulness of everyone. At the same time, it ruthlessly subverts the power of the one who proclaims it—something to keep in mind as the narrative picks up its pace en route to Gol'gotha. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 11:27-33. Episode 186 Mark 11:27-33; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Hackbeat” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/

Everybody sees signs. I'm not talking about street signs. I mean the things we see in life. We look at a withering tree, a flock of birds, or we experience something—painful or joyous—and we assign meaning. That’s how human beings make sense of the world. That’s why grown men put their socks on the same way before every baseball game. They assign meaning to something mundane and suddenly a pair of old socks hold power. But that's the problem. Insofar as the meaning we assign comes from the human heart, it can't help but be selfish. I mean, let's be serious, do you really believe that God (or your magical god of baseball stockings) cares about the outcome of your silly baseball game? At the same time, who has ever seen or heard of a baseball player who understands his locker room ritual as sign that we have neglected the poor or a warning that we have not obeyed God's teaching? Who among us sees a joyous sign as a stern reminder of duty, or a painful sign as a reminder of the Lord's mercy? As our friend St. Mark is wont to remind us, only those who have ears to hear. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Mark 11:19-26. Episode 185 Mark 11:19-26; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Poppers and Prosecco” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/)) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/