clear connection

March 6, 2019

This is my son (Lk 9:35-9:35)

“A voice came

From the cloud,

Saying.

‘This is my Son!

My Chosen one!

Listen to him!’”

 

καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῆς νεφέλης λέγουσα Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἐκλελεγμένος, αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε.

 

Luke said that a voice came from the cloud (καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῆς νεφέλης) that said (λέγουσα) that this is my Son (Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱός μου), my Chosen one (ὁ ἐκλελεγμένος).  Listen to him (αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε)!  This voice from the cloud can be found in all 3 synoptic gospels, Matthew, chapter 17:5, Mark, chapter 9:7, and here in Luke, but there are minor differences in all 3 accounts.  Mark said that there was a voice from the cloud that said Jesus was his Son, the beloved one.  There was nothing about being pleased or chosen here.  However, there is the further admonition to listen to him.  The wording of the voice from the cloud sounds almost exactly like the voice from heaven in Mark, chapter 1:11, after the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.  Instead of from heaven there, the voice comes from a cloud here.  This voice did not address Jesus personally.  However, the idea of a heavenly voice or a voice from a cloud had a very strong tradition in the Jewish writings of the Hebrew Bible, especially among the prophets and Moses.  The Baptism of Jesus, like the transfiguration here, has become the starting point for any theological reflection about early Christian Christology.  In Matthew, this voice from the cloud said that Jesus was his most beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased.  However, there was the further admonition to listen to him as in Luke.  Matthew, like Mark, has a clear connection between the Baptism of Jesus and his transfiguration.  Both times, the Father as the voice from heaven, or in the clouds, pronounced that Jesus was his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased.  Are you pleased with Jesus?

December 23, 2018

Joseph goes to Bethlehem (Lk 2:4-2:4)

“Joseph also went

From the town

Of Nazareth,

In Galilee,

To Judea.

He went

To the city

Of David,

Called Bethlehem,

Because he was

Descended

From the house

And family

Of David.”

 

Ἀνέβη δὲ καὶ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐκ πόλεως Ναζαρὲθ εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν εἰς πόλιν Δαυεὶδ ἥτις καλεῖται Βηθλεέμ, διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐξ οἴκου καὶ πατριᾶς Δαυείδ,

 

Luke clearly indicated why Joseph went (Ἀνέβη δὲ καὶ Ἰωσὴφ) from the town of Nazareth, in Galilee (ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐκ πόλεως Ναζαρὲθ), to Judea (εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν).  He went to the city of David (εἰς πόλιν Δαυεὶδ), that is called Bethlehem (ἥτις καλεῖται Βηθλεέμ), because he was descended from the house (διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐξ οἴκου) and family of David (καὶ πατριᾶς Δαυείδ).  Luke never mentioned King Herod like Matthew, chapter 2:1.  However, both Matthew and Luke agreed on the place of Bethlehem, in the territory of Judah, about 5-6 miles south of Jerusalem, with a current population of about 25,000 in present day Palestinian territory.  They also both agreed that Joseph was a descendant of King David, from Bethlehem.  Matthew had first mentioned Joseph in chapter 1:27 as the engaged partner of Mary.  The Messiah had been predicted to be from Bethlehem as in Micah, chapter 5:2.  Matthew, chapter 2:5-6, had the Jewish priests and scribes tell King Herod that the place for the birth of this new king had to be Bethlehem in Judea.  The prophet Micah, had written this ode about the small town of Bethlehem, where King David came from.  Obviously, this new ruler of Israel would be from this same place and be also part of the Davidic bloodline.  Matthew and Luke made the clear connection between David, Bethlehem, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.  However, Luke, unlike Matthew had very little information about Joseph.

March 26, 2017

The connection of the four wheels to the living creatures (Ezek 1:19-1:21)

“When the living creatures

Moved,

The wheels

Moved beside them.

When the living creatures

Rose from the earth,

The wheels rose.

Wherever the Spirit

Would go,

They went.

The wheels

Rose along

With them.

The Spirit

Of the living creatures

Was in the wheels.

When they moved,

The others moved.

When they rose

From the earth,

The wheels rose

Along with them.

The Spirit

Of the living creatures

Was in the wheels.”

Ezekiel said that when the living creatures moved, the wheels moved with them. When the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose. Wherever the Spirit would go, the living creatures went. The wheels went with them. The Spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Thus when they moved, the others moved. Then repeating what was in the earlier verse, he said that when the living creatures rose from the earth, so did the wheels. Then repeating again, he said that the Spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Thus there was a clear connection between the four living creatures and these wheels. I am not sure where this is going.