Comments

Some of the comments from the men last Thursday:

1. Leprosy is an illness, a difficult kind of bacterial infection, but it is also a figure for a specific spiritual state. What spiritual state is that?
   1. Dave: confession is the antibiotic.
2. What is the command structure in which the centurion lives and operates? How does the centurion's experience of authority affect his ability to see Jesus accurately and his readiness to believe?
   1. Joe: the centurion understood God's "command" structure, i.e., that Jesus is obedient to the Father.
   2. Al: The centurion puts himself under Jesus' command structure.
   3. Scott: You have to ask yourself, why does the centurion speak up for his lowest "man" -- actually it was a boy -- and does not ask anything for himself?
   4. Dave: All good commanders consider all their men.
   5. Joe: The example in the centurion of God's compassion for all in Jesus' command.

Some study questions for chapter 8.

There is a lot of action and danger in Mattthew's 8th chapter. Let's look into it by asking a few questions:

1. Why does Jesus instruct the leper to follow the commandment from Moses as to his healing but to refrain from telling anyone about himself, Jesus?
2. Leprosy is an illness, a difficult kind of bacterial infection, but it is also a figure for a specific spiritual state. What spiritual state is that?
3. What is the command structure in which the centurion lives and operates?
4. How does the centurion's experience of authority affect his ability to see Jesus accurately and his readiness to believe?
5. Where did Roman centurions come from? Were they Jewish or Gentile?
6. How does Matthew know that the centurion's servant was healed that very moment?
7. How do the people react to Jesus, those whom He healed: the leper, the centurion's servant, Peter's mother-in-law, the two demon possessed men in the tombs?
8. The scribe and the disciple in vv. 19 - 22 got different lessons from the Messiah -- different but similar, too. How were they similar? How was Jesus using his word like a scalpel to differentiate each individual from other things?
9. Is the Sea of Galilee dangerous? How does it figure into the story of the men crossing in the boat and into the story of the two demon possessed men?
10. How does this sea figure into Jesus' teaching? Does it relate to the previous stories of healing and freedom from possession?

We have a million more questions we could dive into, but let's start with these tomorrow morning at 7 AM.

Finish Chapter 6

On May 19, we will finish up chapter 6 of Matthew's gospel, from verse 14 to verse 34. The humility factor is powerful, and one might look into the this part of the Sermon on the Mount with a few questions:

1. What happens to a piece of steel subjected to frequent immersion in salt water?
2. How does one prevent insects from invading the bag lunch you bring to work?
3. The Greek words in v. 19 have it as thieves who dig through and steal. What kind of treasure is reachable by digging?
4. What kind of thievery, verminization and corruption is one's heart vulnerable to?
5. Jesus refers to the eye as the LUXNOS (λυχνοσ in Greek), the lamp of the body and that it be sound. But the Greek word is απλουσ, which means single, simple, plain, straightforward. How does simplicity of eye spice up the meaning of vv. 19-24?
6. If a person serves a master, one might presume that loving that master will be easily visible in that person's service. What if the person hates that master? Will it show in that person's service?
7. Where do the lilies of the field store up their fabric and dry goods, and where is the factory in which they manufacture their clothes?
8. Tomorrow is a secret. Who has strong enough eyes to see it?

To this part of the perfect Torah of freedom we will cast our gaze on Thursday, May 19th. Be ready.

Lord's Prayer

The study guide for the Lord's Prayer in chapter 6 of Matthew can begin in a simple meditation: Read the Lord’s Prayer. Meditate on it and be ready to discuss the following:

1. Our Father who art in heaven
2. Hallowed be your name
3. your kingdom come
4. your will be done on earth as well as heaven
5. Give us this day our daily bread
6. Forgive use our debts as we forgive our debtors
7. And do not subject us to the final test but deliver us from the evil one.

Dip into Chapter 6 of Matthew

Will you dip forward into Ch. 6 of Matthew's Gospel? We may begin with the following questions:

1. Pop culture, which actor turned politician said "Who is your Daddy and what does he do?"
2. Starting with Genesis, read the Old Testament – when is God first identified as Father. Hint; if you read past Exodus 4:22 you went to far.
3. What will be your recompense for following Jesus’ teaching on alms giving, prayer and fasting?
4. Read the Lord’s prayer; meditate on the following and come ready to discuss:
   1. Our Father in heaven
   2. Hallowed be your name
   3. your kingdom come
   4. your will be done
   5. Give us this day our daily bread
   6. Forgive use our debts
   7. Do not subject use to the final test
5. What is the petition said by the priest after the Lord’s Prayer and before the Doxology? How is this relevant to Jesus’ teaching on Dependence on God?

Further

A sample of some concepts that we will cover for Matthew Ch. 5 tomorrow:

1. Finish this sentence: Salt is to a meal as the Beatitudes are to___________.
2. Why do you suppose Jesus talks of salt right after teaching the Beatitudes?
3. How righteous does one need to be to enter Heaven?
4. Is the punishment for angry behavior hell? Why?
5. What teaching on purgatory can be drawn from verse 22?

Additional concepts in relation to beatitude

Here are some questions to ponder in preparation for Thursday's discussion of Matthew chapter 5.

1. Which two commandments are the foci of the Beatitudes?
   Hint: Read
   Matthew 22:37-39
2. Which short prayer are you reminded of when you hear the 5th
   Beatitude?
3. Read Galatians 6:1-8. What does this say about mercy?
4. Do you suppose Thomas, called Didymus, is a good example of "clean of heart"? Why?
5. The old saw, "The apple does not fall far from the tree," can be applied to which Beatitude?
6. What parallels can be drawn between the 1st and 8th Beatitudes?

As Mary did, ponder these in your heart and do whatever Jesus tells you, and in the morning we will use these questions for additional discussion.

Last 4 beatitudes

For Holy Thursday, we will have 4 additional beatitudes to study. Be ready and expect the unexpected.

Beatitudes

In Chapter 5 of Matthew's gospel we find the Sermon on the Mount, the first part of which is the Beatitudes. Here are some questions engineered by Kenneth to ponder in preparation to Thursday’s discussion of Matthew chapter 5:

1. What does it mean to be blessed?
2. Which Old Testament list is often compared to the Beatitudes and why?
3. What do you suppose Pope John Paul II meant when he referred to the Sermon on the Mount as “the Magna Charta of Gospel morality?
4. Why is it appropriate that the Beatitudes follow so close to the Temptations?
5. Pop Culture: What insight into the Beatitudes can be had by the quote, "A man’s got to know his limitations" from the film Dirty Harry?
   1. Extra credit: Why was Harry called Dirty.
   2. Hint – think of the 3rd Beatitude.
6. What parallels can be drawn from the 1st and 8th Beatitude?

Blessed Maximilian Kolbe once said, "I must become a saint, and a great saint!" This part of Matthew's gospel is all about that process, as we will discuss on Thursday morning this week.

More of chapter 4

Here are some repeat and some fresh questions, concerning chapter 4 of Matthew's Gospel:

1. In the temptation tests of chapter 4, the enemy keeps saying, "If you are the Son of God..." and Jesus dumps the enemy's test by calling on actions
   1. obedient life by God's word
   2. obediently avoiding show and displays of power
   Was Jesus the only person who could fulfill those actions?
2. Who was intended by God to become ruler over the nations? Why was this a test for Jesus?
3. Was the enemy paying Jesus due respect to use the phrase "Son of God" in these temptations?
4. Was there a legitimate reason for Jesus to
   1. obtain bread
   2. cast himself off a parapet of the temple
   3. bow to the enemy?
5. In this triple testing, who was the hunter? Who was the prey?
6. Will angels minister to us or only to Jesus?
7. The enemy eggs Jesus on for food, safety and riches, but God the Father has a plan for Jesus and for us that starts way differently: chastisement, suffering and death. Can this be kosher?
8. What does the calling of Peter and Andrew in
   1. John 1:35 and following, plus
   2. Matthew 4:18 and following
   tell you about Jesus' skill as a fisher of men?

OK, that is a full plate. See you tomorrow morning for a cup of coffee and some prayer over the 4th chapter of Matthew's gospel.