Bible in a Year

Alan Hartung over at A Different Perspective has written a good article on objective vs subjective. I was going to write a comment there, but it got too long, so I decided to post it here instead.

OYB: February 17^th Readings

The one I focused on today was Mark 2:21-22, which speak of not putting new cloth onto a tear in an old garment, and not putting new wine into old wineskins. I'm familiar with these passage, of course. I've always seen it as a rejection of the "old" (the pharasees, etc) in favor of the new. Today, though, I had this gut feeling that I was missing something. These two verses seemed so out of place.

February 15th readings

Exodus 39:14 and Exodus 39:30

One Year Bible Blog: February 13th readings

Exodus 36:1-7

The only thing I an say is "Wow!" The people were so grateful for what God had done for them, that they offered up far more than was needed for God's purposes, so the leaders told them to stop giving! Wouldn't that be a nice problem to have in our churches today? But then, would we have the integrity of Moses and the artisans to tell the people, "Stop. We have enough."

Today's reading for the Bible in a Year includes Psalm 32. A few months ago, I took part in a worship service which was centered on the theme of the Psalms. People were asked to find a psalm that spoke to them for whatever reason, to read it aloud, and say just a few words about what they thought God was saying to them through it.

I've been rather slack in my postings. But I've been doing the reading - honest! ;)

The thing than jumped out at me today was in Exodus 29:10-19, which describes the preparation of the bull and the rams for sacrifice. In particular, " ... and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ..."

One Year Bible Blog: February 3rd readings

Exodus 17:8-16 and Exodus 18
I like that we have two different instances of Moses having to ask for help in order to carry out God's mission. In chapter 17, he needs the physical strength of Aaron and Hur to help him hold the staff up, while in chapter 18 he needed to delegate the duties of judging disputes. I know I'm one who doesn't like to ask for help. Guess I've got a lesson or two to learn.

One Year Bible Blog: February 2nd readings

Matthew 22
Verses 8-10 stood out for me:

⁸ Then he [the host] said to his slave, "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. (NRSV, emphasis mine)

(Very liberal points of view about to be expressed. You have been warned. ;) )

I must admit that I've always had a problem with a portion of today's reading. Specifically, Matthew 21:18-22.

One Year Bible Blog: January 30th readings
(I'm trying out a new posting tool. We'll see how this works)

I've always liked the "workers in the vineyard" story. We get such a tight focus on what's "fair" that we forget what's "just." The early workers received a just wage for their efforts. By our standards (and apparently those of Jesus' time as well) it wasn't "fair." No doubt today the vineyard owner would be sued for discrimination or unfair labor practices.