their life

September 26, 2018

What is the value of the whole world? (Mk 8:36-8:37)

“What will

It profit them

To gain

The whole world

And forfeit

Their life?

Indeed,

What can they give

In return

For their life?”

 

τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον κερδῆσαι τὸν κόσμον ὅλον καὶ ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ;

τί γὰρ δοῖ ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ

 

Something similar can be found in all 3 synoptic gospels, Matthew, chapter 16:26, Luke, chapter 9:25, and here, almost word for word.  Mark indicated that Jesus asked what was the profit or benefit for a person (τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον) to gain the whole world (κερδῆσαι τὸν κόσμον ὅλον) if they lost their life or soul (καὶ ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ)?  What will a person give up in exchange for his life or soul (τί γὰρ δοῖ ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ)?  Give up your life to Jesus, and you will live.

May 18, 2018

How to save your life (Mt 16:25-16:26)

“Whoever wants

To save

Their life

Will lose it.

Whoever loses their life

For my sake

Will find it.

What will it profit them?

If they gain

The whole world,

But forfeit their life.

What will they give

In return

For their life?”

 

ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι, ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, εὑρήσει αὐτήν.

τί γὰρ ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ;

 

Jesus told his disciples how to save their lives.  Something similar can be found in all 3 synoptic gospels, Mark, chapter 8:35-37, Luke, chapter 9:24-25, and here, almost word for word.  Jesus said that whoever wished, desired, or wanted to save their life (ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι), they would lose it (ἀπολέσει αὐτήν).  However, anyone who lost their life for the sake of Jesus (ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ), they would find their life (εὑρήσει αὐτήν).  What is the profit or benefit for a person (τί γὰρ ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος) to gain the whole world (ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ) if they lose their life or soul (τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ).  What will a person give in exchange for his life or soul (ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ)?  Give up your life to Jesus, and you will live.

April 16, 2018

Lose your life to find it (Mt 10:39-10:39)

“Those who find

Their life

Will lose it.

Those who lose

Their life

For my sake

Will find it.”

 

ὁ εὑρὼν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ ἀπολέσας τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν.

 

This verse of Matthew is similar to Luke, chapters 9:24 and 17:33, Mark, chapter 8:35, and John 12:25.  In order to gain your eternal life, you have to lose your life for the sake of Jesus.  Anyone who thinks that he has found his life or soul (ὁ εὑρὼν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ) will lose it (ἀπολέσει αὐτήν).  On the other hand, anyone who loses their life or soul (καὶ ὁ ἀπολέσας τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ) for the sake of Jesus (ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ) will find their life or soul (εὑρήσει αὐτήν).  Thus, you have to lose your life or soul in Jesus, in order to truly live.

May 3, 2017

The false statutes (Ezek 20:25-20:26)

“Moreover

I gave them statutes

That were not good.

I gave them ordinances

By which

They could not have life.

I defiled them

Through their very gifts,

In their offering up

All their firstborn.

Thus I might

Horrify them.

Thus they might know

That I am Yahweh.”

In some sort of cruel joke, Yahweh gave his people statutes and ordinances that he knew were not good or helpful for their life. In fact, he seemed to indicate that he had told them to offer up their first born babies as a sacrifice. He did this to defile and horrify them. However, like always, they should know that he was Yahweh. Was this some sort of primitive practice? This seems to contradict everything else that was said in this work.

February 8, 2017

Yahweh and the battle in Babylon (Jer 51:11-51:14)

“Sharpen the arrows!

Fill the quivers!

Yahweh has stirred up

The spirit of the kings

Of the Medes.

His purpose concerning Babylon

Is to destroy it.

That is the vengeance of Yahweh,

That is the vengeance

For his temple.

Raise a standard

Against the walls of Babylon!

Make the watch strong!

Post sentinels!

Prepare the ambushes!

Yahweh has both planned

As well as done

What he spoke

Concerning the inhabitants

Of Babylon.

You who live

By mighty waters,

Rich in treasures,

Your end has come.

The thread of your life

Is cut.

Yahweh of hosts

Has sworn by himself.

Surely I will fill you

With troops,

Like a swarm of locusts.

They shall raise

A shout of victory

Over you.”

Here there is a serious of commands from Yahweh, via Jeremiah. The warriors were to have their quivers ready full of arrows. Yahweh has stirred up the Medes, the people to the north of Babylon with the Persians. They were going to destroy Babylon because of Yahweh’s vengeance for what the Babylonians had done to his temple in Jerusalem. There was going to be an invasion of Babylon with wise watchmen and sentinels as well as strong ambushes. Yahweh had planned and carried out his word against Babylon, the land of mighty waters such as the Euphrates and the Tigris, with all their treasures. Their end has come. The thread of their life has been cut. There will be troops in Babylon, like swarms of locusts, shouting about victory.

October 20, 2016

The enemy approaches (Jer 4:13-4:14)

“Look!

He comes up like clouds!

His chariots are

Like the whirlwind.

His horses are swifter

Than eagles.

Woe to us!

We are ruined!

O Jerusalem!

Wash your heart clean of wickedness!

Thus you may be saved.

How long shall your evil schemes

Lodge within you?”

The enemy is coming like a series of clouds. His chariots are like tornado winds. His horses are quicker than eagles. Jerusalem will be ruined. The only way that they can be saved is if they cleanse their heart of wickedness. Their evil schemes are so much a part of their life that it will be difficult to get rid of them quickly.

June 3, 2016

Unacceptable sacrifices (Sir 34:21-34:27)

“If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods,

The offering is blemished.

The gifts of the lawless

Are not acceptable.

The Most High is not pleased

With the offerings of the ungodly.

He does not forgive sins

For a multitude of sacrifices.

Like one who kills a son,

Before his father’s eyes,

Is the person

Who offers a sacrifice

From the property of the poor.

The bread of the needy

Is the life of the poor.

Whoever deprives them of it

Is a murderer.

To take away a neighbor’s living

Is to commit murder.

To deprive an employee of his wages

Is to shed blood.”

There are some sacrifices that are not acceptable to the Lord. Sirach points out that stolen or ill-gotten goods sacrificed are blemished and thus unacceptable. Even good gifts from the lawless and the ungodly will not be acceptable. A lot of sacrifices do not forgive sins. If you sacrifice the property of the poor, you are like a person killing a son before his own father. The bread of the poor is needed for their life. You are a murderer when you take bread from the poor. If you take away the living of your neighbor, you are a murderer. To deprive anyone of their wages is like shedding their blood. In other words, to steal from the poor or take away their livelihood is like murdering them.

May 22, 2016

The value of old people (Sir 25:3-25:6)

“If you have gathered nothing

In your youth,

How can you find anything

In your old age?

How attractive is sound judgment

In gray-haired people?

The aged possess good counsel.

How attractive is wisdom

In the aged?

There is understanding

In the venerable people.

There is counsel

In honorable persons.

Rich experience

Is the crown of the aged.

Their boast

Is the fear of the Lord.”

If you have not gathered anything in your youth, you might have a hard time in your old age. However, sound judgment is attractive in gray-haired people. The aged have good counsel. Wisdom, understanding, and counsel make old people attractive and honorable. The crown of the aged old folks is the rich experience of their life. They can boast in their fear of the Lord.

June 12, 2015

The mother of the seven sons exhorts her sons (2 Macc 7:20-7:23)

“The mother was especially admirable. She was worthy of an honorable memory. Although she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord. She encouraged each of them in the language of their ancestors. Filled with a noble spirit, she reinforced her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage. She said to them.

‘I do not know how you came into being in my womb.

It was not I who gave you life and breath.

It was not I who set in order the elements within each of you.

Therefore the Creator of the world,

The Creator shaped the beginning of humankind,

The Creator devised the origin of all things.

The Creator will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again,

Since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.’”

The mother was a brave woman. There is no mention of the father of these 7 sons, just the mother who was admirable and honorable. She saw her 7 sons die in 1 day. She had hope in the Lord and the courage of a man. She was not sure how they got into her womb or where they got their life from. She believed that it was the creator of the world who shaped the beginning of all humans and devised the origin of all things. This creator would be merciful and bring life back to them because he would not forget what they did for the sake of the Mosaic laws. Clearly, this is a strong theological formulation of the creator of all things, God, as in Genesis, chapter 1.