{"id":807,"date":"2013-10-11T10:12:42","date_gmt":"2013-10-11T14:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=807"},"modified":"2013-10-11T10:12:42","modified_gmt":"2013-10-11T14:12:42","slug":"var-_gaq-_gaq-_gaq-push_setaccount-ua-25646250-2-_gaq-push_trackpageview-function-var-ga-document-createelementscript-ga-type-textjavascript-ga-36","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=807","title":{"rendered":"<script type=\"text\/javascript\">  var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-25646250-2']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);  (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text\/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:\/\/ssl' : 'http:\/\/www') + '.google-analytics.com\/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();  <\/script>  <\/heat> Jacob and Laban in Gilead &#8211; Held on Sunday, October 06, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>What impact, if any, has scripture study had on our image of God?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Some background to the question that occupied our group for nearly the first hour of our conversation on Sunday, October 06, 2013.\u00a0 We have been studying Genesis for more than two years now and I wondered what impact, if any, the time spent had had on our image of God.\u00a0 As adults we come to the Bible with already formed images and understandings.\u00a0 Our study could either affirm or challenge that formation.\u00a0 The question is something like has the forest changed because we have been studying the trees.\u00a0 Or maybe, have we missed the forest because of studying the trees.\u00a0 I was anxious to know.\u00a0 Below then is a summary of the conversation that took place.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation began with my sharing a few observations about understanding the scripture in general.\u00a0 Scripture is an extraordinarily rich library of the human and divine drama manifesting itself in the history of the people of the Bible.\u00a0 But there is not one understanding but many of that history.\u00a0 Jesus, for Christians perhaps, best exemplifies this diversity of understanding.\u00a0 The messiah that his disciples thought he was prior to the resurrection and the messiah that Jesus lived out were not only different images and understandings; they were at times opposed.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus wasn\u2019t the messiah that many contemporaries of him expected.\u00a0 Even though the early church was to find many elements in the Jewish Scripture that they [the early church] identified as portraying the Jesus they came to believe in; one of the most significant of these passages was the Servant Songs of Isaiah.\u00a0 Having different images, understanding emerge from the Bible is common; oppose images and understandings commonly emerged too.\u00a0 It is learning how to be faithful to one\u2019s own understanding and open to the other that summons the adult of today.\u00a0 Neither an easy journey nor one that always feels good.\u00a0 Risk is inherent in the journey.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t surprise me that Ken started it off.\u00a0 He was aware that it wasn\u2019t only studying scripture but life itself that has brought about some changes in him.\u00a0 Primarily he feels that his perceptive on God, religion, life is broader, more encompassing.<\/p>\n<p>When I asked him could he be more specific, it was Tina who responded.\u00a0 She remarked that prior to coming to the study group she understood the bible to be a history book; but a history book she had a hard time understanding and accepting.\u00a0 All those numbers \u2026 Now she thinks of the bible as an account of people, somewhat like her both doing good and failing.\u00a0 God loved them, God loves me, not because of the good I do but despite the failures that I have committed.<\/p>\n<p>Tim realized that his horizon has grown.\u00a0 Once clear example occurs \u00a0when he listens to the scripture during the liturgy.\u00a0 Many more questions occur to him.\u00a0 What is the author trying to say?\u00a0 Who is his audience?\u00a0 What in going on in his world?\u00a0 What is the meaning of the passage?\u00a0 He recognized as well that studying has perked his interest.\u00a0 He is studying on his own.\u00a0 He has come to realize that change is a constant in the life of the church.<\/p>\n<p>I remarked that the word \u201cchange\u201d is ambiguous.\u00a0 As Tim said, change is inevitable.\u00a0 At the same time we evaluate the change.\u00a0 Some change is good but other change is bad.\u00a0 And the real difficulty is that what one person evaluates as a good change, development, growth; another person evaluates as a bad change, decline, mistaken.\u00a0 One change is to be embraced fostered and another is to be resisted, reversed.\u00a0 Thus conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Such conflict has occurred from the very beginning of Christianity.\u00a0 Maybe one of the most significant conflicts occurred when gentiles became followers of Christ.\u00a0 Were these gentiles to follow the Jewish customs?\u00a0 Some Jewish Christians, Peter, initially thought yes; other Jewish Christians, Paul, thought no.\u00a0 Christians came to believe that Jesus was both God and Man.\u00a0 Within a few hundred years, some Christians had one understanding on what it meant for Jesus to be both God and Man and other Christians had a different and opposed understanding.\u00a0 This conflict was resolved at the Council of Nicea in around 325 CE.\u00a0 It was this Council that used a Greek word, homoousios; that was translated in Latin and transliterated into English, consubstantial, which was recently inserted \u201cback\u201d into the Nicene Creed which we recite at Mass.<\/p>\n<p>Mark wanted to make the point that many basic understandings haven\u2019t changed at all.\u00a0 He still fears God, loves God, trusts God, knows that God is a forgiving God, and that he is a sinner. But when it came to understanding the Bible, well then change has occurred.\u00a0 In fact, this is the basic that I keep coming back.\u00a0 It seems like there is always more to learn and I am drawn to that learning more.\u00a0 He brought forward the challenge he experienced in understanding the meaning of heaven not as an astronomical but a theological one; what can it mean that God is outside of time, without a past or future but an eternal now.<\/p>\n<p>For Rosemarie, her understanding is focused on what the Bible means to her now.\u00a0 She recalled that Jesus spoke in parables and they are hard to understand; of course it doesn\u2019t help that our minds are limited.\u00a0 Jesus challenged his disciples.\u00a0 He asked them who do you say that I am?\u00a0 It is clear to her that we need to continue studying.<\/p>\n<p>The different understanding that I had mentioned when we began our conversation found a resonance with our church today.\u00a0 As in the past, so today there are different and even opposed understandings.\u00a0 This is the world that God has given to us to live out.\u00a0 This is the world we are being invited to respond to in the light of the Father, the Son, and their Spirit.<\/p>\n<p>Without realizing an hour had gone by. We had intended to cover the story of Jacob and Laban in Gilead but time would not permit that.\u00a0 Fortunately the story contains two distinct episodes and we were able to focus our attention on the first episode, Gn. 31: 25 \u2013 37.<\/p>\n<p>We are reminded as we listen to the reading to wonder<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who are the characters in the story<\/li>\n<li>What role do these characters play<\/li>\n<li>What is the plot of the story, the author\u2019s intent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Reading: Gen. 31:25 \u2013 37: Jacob and Laban in Gilead.\u00a0 <\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/31\">http:\/\/usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/31<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You are invited to respond to these or other questions that might arise within you as you read this passage.<\/p>\n<p>Your comments, observations, questions are welcomed.\u00a0 See \u201ccomment\u201d link below<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What impact, if any, has scripture study had on our image of God? Some background to the question that occupied our group for nearly the first hour of our conversation on Sunday, October 06, 2013.\u00a0 We have been studying Genesis &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=807\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=807"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":808,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807\/revisions\/808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}