{"id":860,"date":"2014-02-20T11:42:28","date_gmt":"2014-02-20T15:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=860"},"modified":"2014-02-20T11:46:01","modified_gmt":"2014-02-20T15:46:01","slug":"var-_gaq-_gaq-_gaq-push_setaccount-ua-25646250-2-_gaq-push_trackpageview-function-var-ga-document-createelementscript-ga-type-textjavascript-ga-51","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=860","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> Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams &#8211; Held on Sunday, February 16, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Outline of Post on the Scripture Session held on 02\/16\/14<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Introductory Remarks<\/li>\n<li>Background to today\u2019s Reading<\/li>\n<li>Reading Gen. 40: 01 &#8211; 23<\/li>\n<li>Discussion<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Introductory Remarks<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I handed out a blurb detailing a projected Lenten Program. It will be based on the book, <i>Jesus of Nazareth<\/i> What He Wanted, Who He Was by Gerhard Lohfink who was professor of New Testament exegesis at the University of Tubingen; &#8211; more on Tubingen &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/University_of_T%C3%BCbingen\">http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/University_of_T%C3%BCbingen<\/a>.\u00a0 In the words of Daniel J. Harrington, SJ \u201cLohfink&#8217;s\u00a0<i>Jesus of Nazareth<\/i>\u00a0is the best Jesus book I know. \u00a0It is solidly based on sound biblical scholarship, full of fresh theological insights, respectful of the Gospels and their portraits of Jesus, and beautifully expressed. \u00a0It is especially effective in highlighting the centrality of God&#8217;s reign and Israel as God&#8217;s people in Jesus&#8217; life and work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I had to select from the 21 chapters that make up the book what I could cover on the Thursdays in Lent beginning on March 13 and ending on five weeks later on April 10.\u00a0 I chose following five topics:<\/p>\n<p>1. The Proclamation of the \u00a0Reign of God \/ the Gathering of Israel: March 13<\/p>\n<p>Jesus was born Jewish, grew up in a Jewish family, read the Jewish scripture, and experienced Judaic life as it was lived in the 1<sup>st<\/sup> century of our era.\u00a0 The Jews of that time were hoping for the restoration promised them by the prophets after their return from exile.\u00a0 They chaffed under Roman rule and Greek culture.\u00a0 Jesus left Nazareth to follow John the Baptist, left John to proclaim primarily to peasants in the villages of Galilee that this hope and longing was happening in his message of the Kingdom of God, now in their midst.\u00a0 His aim was to restore Israel, gather them around him, in the light of YHWH\u2019s promise of old.<\/p>\n<p>2. Jesus&#8217; Parables: March 20<\/p>\n<p>He spoke to them in parables, concrete stories about Israel\u2019s identity that were charged with the promise of fulfillment yet a fulfillment in disturbingly different way.\u00a0 It was this both\/and that made Him and His message attractive and repulsive; unsettling.<\/p>\n<p>3. Jesus and the World of Signs \/ Miracles: March 27<\/p>\n<p>Jesus\u2019s message of the coming Kingdom of God was expressed not only in words but in might deeds; deeds that resonated with the history\u00a0 of the Jewish people.\u00a0 As they had been fed with manna in the desert so Jesus fed them with the loaves and fishes.\u00a0 As they were formed out of the twelve tribes of Israel so Jesus gathered from his disciples, The Twelve as a symbolic message of the restored and renewed Israel.\u00a0 As it was said of old, he would say to them, \u201cI have come not to destroy but to fulfill.\u201d\u00a0 The villagers brought their sick, possessed for him to heal them and Jesus did.<\/p>\n<p>4. Decision in Jerusalem \/ Dying for Israel: April 3<\/p>\n<p>His entrance on the back of a donkey into Jerusalem during the Passover feast with a hundred thousand or more gathering and his clearing the Temple were the final straws.\u00a0 For those for whom the Temple was the very center of the presence of their God; for the Roman ruler who, given the times and place, could not tolerate such symbolic acts; the answer was simple he must be done away with.\u00a0 In the midst of this potential maelstrom, Jesus tells his intimate followers, \u201cThis is my body broken for you.\u00a0 This is my blood poured out for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>5. The Easter Event \/ Jesus&#8217; Sovereign Claim: April 10<\/p>\n<p>His followers fled in fear; not only the fear of Jesus being crucified but the fear of experiencing the empty tomb.\u00a0 The empty tomb, however, was not the end of the story.\u00a0 Like Paul after them, they were to experience the Risen Lord.\u00a0 Their lives were transformed.\u00a0 From profound fear they returned to Jerusalem, and the rest of the Mediterranean region in courage; many of whom were to die for the sake of this Jesus.\u00a0 What then did Jesus claim?\u00a0 The answer to that question is how Lohfink ends his book.<\/p>\n<p>There is no expectation that the participants would read the book [after the sessions some may want to though].\u00a0 Lent is a time of preparation, a time of deepening of our faith in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 With such emphasis on our responsibility to evangelize, learning what contemporary theologians have come to know about who Jesus is and what He wanted would lie at the root of any effort to evangelize and make our efforts resonate with many who may feel a profound need to find direction in their lives.<\/p>\n<p>To register please contact Roberta at 330-452-9539 or <a href=\"mailto:rmuoio@stanthonyallsaintscanton.org\">rmuoio@stanthonyallsaintscanton.org<\/a>.\u00a0 You can also sign-up at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stanthonyallsaintscanton.org\/\">www.stanthonyallsaintscanton.org<\/a> under the Adult Education page.<\/p>\n<p>As I highlighted the content of these five evenings, Ken mentioned that he had read an article in the Canton Repository on the results of a survey the Vatican had taken on key issues in the church.\u00a0 He was a bit amazed at how different the United States Catholics are on many of the issues than Catholics throughout the rest of the world.\u00a0 His remarks reminded me of a foundational question I had asked some years ago.\u00a0 Are we Christians who happen to be born in the United States?\u00a0 Or are we citizens of the United States who happen to be Christians?\u00a0 Perhaps without fully realizing it, the survey revealed that many American Catholics are more formed by the culture of the United States than by the message of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>This brought to Kai\u2019s mind what he has observed as a German immigrant of Catholics in the States.\u00a0 He has experience a lack of understanding of even the most basic of Catholic teachings and practices.\u00a0 He mentioned as one example, that although Catholics can certainly follow the order of the Mass, they really are ill prepared to explain to others why the Mass has the order that it has.\u00a0 He asked, for example, why is it that the Kyrie precedes the Scripture Readings.\u00a0 Is there a reason for that and, if so, what is it?<\/p>\n<p>Well more than a half hour had passed and it was time to turn to our passage.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Background to today\u2019s Reading: Gen. 40: 01 \u2013 23.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Looking back to Brueggemann\u2019s schema I pointed out the unity of the dream theme in chapters 39 through 41.\u00a0 Chapters 39 and 40 find their culmination in chapter 41.\u00a0 Like 39, chapter 40 is focused on Joseph and dreams.<\/p>\n<p>The chapter carries two distinct and somewhat jarring themes.\u00a0 First we read in v. 8 \u201cWe have had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them.\u201d\u00a0 Joseph said to them, \u201cDo interpretations not come from God? Please tell me the dreams.\u201d\u00a0 The narrator in this single verse communicates so much to his audience; much of which without help we would tend to miss.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The dreams as we will come to know are about the future of the cupbearer and the baker.\u00a0 But there is no one in the empire who has the requisite knowledge to interpret the dream, to know the future.\u00a0 But what does the word \u201cempire\u201d communicate to the narrator\u2019s audience and thus to us?\u00a0 The \u201cempire,\u201d of course, is Egypt.\u00a0 The audience, however, has long since left Egypt, the country, behind them; it is their distant past.\u00a0 Just as Egypt, however, can speak to the narrator\u2019s audience in perhaps 1000 BCE so too it can speak to us.\u00a0 The \u201cEmpire\u201d stands for, is a symbol of, all of the powers that dominate our lives, that enslave us, to which we are addicted, mistaken.\u00a0 All of this creates a world of darkness.<\/li>\n<li>So Joseph responds to let us know that only YHWH has such knowledge that brings light into our lives.<\/li>\n<li>Without a second thought though our narrator then lets us hear Joseph say, \u201cPlease tell me the dreams.\u201d\u00a0 Who then is Joseph?\u00a0 He is first of all Israel.\u00a0 They are to speak for YHWH, bring his light to the nations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This seems good as far as it goes but, of course, it is only part of the story.\u00a0 We read a counter theme in v. 14 &#8211; 15 \u201cOnly think of me when all is well with you, and please do me the great favor of mentioning me to Pharaoh, to get me out of this place.\u00a0 The truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and I have not done anything here that they should have put me into a dungeon.\u201d<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Here is Joseph YHWH\u2019s interpreter of dreams imprisoned asking not YHWH but the Egyptian to favor him [show him kindness, hesed].\u00a0 Our narrator lets us know that we must live at one and the same time in the world of the powers to be and the world as YHWH intends it to be.<\/li>\n<li>Joseph himself knows that he is innocent and makes that claim.\u00a0 But to no avail\u00a0 for we read in the last verse<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>V. 23 \u201cYet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him.\u201d<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>We learn later that Joseph will remain in prison for another two years.\u00a0 Is it that the chief cupbearer has forgotten Joseph or has YHWH also forgotten him?\u00a0 What would the audience of the narrator think?\u00a0 What do we think?<\/li>\n<li>It is easy enough to think that God doesn\u2019t forget us until such time as we have found ourselves imprisoned for a very long time and then we too think that God has forgotten us.\u00a0 Ask Annette.<\/li>\n<li>So the narrator wants to let us know who YHWH is, how YHWH acts, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Thus we read from faith to faith for the sake of faith.<\/p>\n<p>There remains one other element in the story that we struggled with.\u00a0 There is a phrase that is repeated three times, vv. 13, 19, 20 \u201cLift up your head.\u201d\u00a0 For one it means life and for the other it means death.\u00a0 Like so many words, the narrator means more than one thing.\u00a0 Life and death are symbols.\u00a0 Yes they mean life and death but they also mean living in light which is life and living in darkness which is death. \u00a0And only YHWH has the knowledge that brings us light, the light that is life without which we live in darkness, death.\u00a0 So Christ tells us, \u201cI am light of the world.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus who is the Word of God.<\/p>\n<p><b>Reading: Gen. 40: 01 &#8211; 23 <\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/39\">http:\/\/usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/40<\/a>.\u00a0 <b><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Discussion<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Four pages are enough for now.<\/p>\n<p>You are invited to respond to these or other questions that might arise within you as you read this passage.\u00a0 Your comments, observations, questions are welcomed.\u00a0 See \u201ccomment\u201d link below<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Outline of Post on the Scripture Session held on 02\/16\/14 Introductory Remarks Background to today\u2019s Reading Reading Gen. 40: 01 &#8211; 23 Discussion Introductory Remarks I handed out a blurb detailing a projected Lenten Program. It will be based on &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=860\">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":[10,5],"tags":[15,18,19],"class_list":["post-860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-scripture","tag-historical-method","tag-religion-and-culture","tag-scripture-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860","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=860"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":864,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions\/864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}