Al ve oku - Entertainment

Transkript

Al ve oku
An affection for the Turkish language, culture, and people motivates
this blog. I am using my favorite language-learning tool, the New
Testament. Reading a familiar text through a new set of eyes reveals
fresh facets, new insights.
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Contents
Introduction
16
Exegeting humble pie
16
Inappropriate suspician (James 1:6-9)
17
Soulless faith
17
Fussy, fastidious, nit-picking
18
Siz ey vefasizlar ...
19
The big picture
20
I Petrus@un mektubu, 1:12, 13
20
Cook me that rock, medium rare !
21
A better life, today
22
Waiting for the other shoe to drop
22
Taking the bitter with the sweet -- zestful living
23
Eyewitness news -- Petrus'un ikinci mektubu
24
Infiltrators (Petrus'un ikinci mektubu 2)
25
Life in the Shadow of the Volcano
25
Mutlu Kurban Bayramı, Türkçe arkadaşlarım !
26
Seeing and blind -- Birinici Yuhanna'nın mektuba 2
27
Crabs in a basket -- Birinci Yuhanna'nın mektubu 3
28
They overcame the Antichrist.
29
A light yoke, an easy burden
30
Yahunna'nın ikinci mektubu -- "A man has got to know his
limits."
31
Vagabond stars (Yahuda'nın mektubu)
31
Revelations -- should reveal.
32
Efes, İzmir, Bergama, Akhısar
33
3
4
Gelen esinleme 3
34
Gelen esinleme 4
35
The Open Secret
35
Here come the deputies (Esinleme 6)
36
Esinleme gelen bölümler 7 ve 8
38
The beatings will continue (Esinleme 9)
39
Sweet to the taste ...
39
Take a stick to it (Gelen Esinleme 11)
40
Now is come (Bölüm 12)
41
Denizden ve yerden çıkan canavarlar (Bölüm 13)
42
Epistemology question ...
43
Hello, again. Bölüm 15
44
A sea of blood (Bölüm 16)
44
"There was a young lady from Niger ..."
44
In one hour ...
46
Are you invited?
46
Great white throne -- final judgement
47
Coming down from heaven
48
The heavenly city
48
Someone else has been with her ... (Matt. 1)
49
Decrepit trees (Matt. 3:10)
50
Another inaugural address
51
Nazar değmek, nazar boncuğu
52
What, me worry?
54
Construction -- Matt. 7:24-28
54
Hospitality (Mat. 10)
55
Liberating servitude (Mat. 11:28-30)
56
Not nestled in a brass lamp ... (Mat. 12)
57
Supremely valuable (Mat. 13)
58
Walk, on the water (Mat. 14)
59
Metaphorical disconnect (Mat. 16)
59
Migrating mountains! (Mat. 17)
60
Workplace resentments (Mat. 20)
61
A man, two sons, had (Mat. 21:28-32)
62
Her şey hazır, gelin sölene! (Mat. 22:1-10)
63
Usurpers (Mat. 23)
64
You better watch out! (Mat. 24)
65
Gel, efendinin senliğine katıl ! (Mat. 25)
66
Nedir bu savurganlık? (why this waste?) Mat. 26
68
If you are arrested ... (Mat. 27)
69
Kangaroo Court, cont. (Mat. 27)
70
Korkmayın! (Mat. 28)
71
The Second Call (Markos 1)
72
The thunder of exploding canons (Mark 2)
73
A mixed bag (Mark 3)
75
A sower went forth to sow (Mark 4)
76
Esenlikle git. (Mark 5)
76
I don't get no respect (Mar 6)
77
Leadership (Mark 6, cont.)
79
With the fist? (Mark 7)
80
Men like trees, walking (Mark 8)
81
Informal Allies (Mark 9)
82
5
6
Down memory lane (Mark 11)
82
Simulacron 3
84
You better watch out! (Mark 13)
85
Partitions (Mark 14)
86
Mysterious naked stranger (Mark 14)
87
YAHUDİLER'İN KRALI (Mark 15)
88
Who will roll away the stone? (Mark 16)
89
to be continued ... Luke 1
89
Local Boy Breaks Bad (Luke 4)
90
Gentlemen, be seated. (Luke 5)
91
Counterculture (Luke 6)
92
The view from the edge (Luke 7)
93
Reaction shots (Luke 7)
95
Dikkat edin! (watch out! Luke 8)
96
the power of small things (Luke 9)
97
"A man has got to know his limits ... " (Luke 9)
98
a man of peace (Luke 10)
99
Let's hear it for chutzpah ! (Luke 11)
100
Eye in the sky vs. the Hidden Agenda (Luke 12)
102
Use Western Union (Luke 13)
103
The setup (Luke 14)
104
Like a slave (Luke 15)
105
He says to himself (Luke 16)
106
Standing still is not an option (Luke 17)
108
Continuous prayer (Luke 18)
109
Short guy stands tall (Luke 19)
110
So who's in charge, here? (Luke 20)
111
Turbulent heavens (Luke 21)
112
Bread and wine (Luke 22)
113
Imaginary emperor? (Luke 23)
114
"Let me make one thing perfectly clear..." (Luke 24)
114
Milestone
115
The day the earth stood still (John 1)
116
Paradoxical paradigm (John 1, cont.)
117
Standpoint theory (John 2)
118
[ctrl]-z (John 3)
119
"You talkin' to me?" (John 4)
120
We become like that which we behold (John 5)
121
Not a tame lion (John 6)
122
When the people start to whisper ... (John 7)
123
Your sins / within / you will die (John 8)
124
Who's to blame? (John 9)
125
Sedition, Sedition! (John 10)
127
If only ... (John 11)
128
Thieve's reasons (John 12)
129
Yıkamazsam (John 13)
130
Yüreğiniz sıkılmasın (John 14)
131
Sons and servants (John 15)
132
A quick heads-up (John 16)
133
Shirk bad associations ! (John 17)
134
Why are you picking on me? (John 18)
135
Who's in charge, here? (John 19)
136
7
8
Behind locked doors (John 20)
137
second and third chances (John 21)
138
The stupidest question in the Bible. (Acts 1:6)
139
The King and His Law (Acts 2)
142
One bright day in the middle of the night (Acts 3)
143
A state of denial (Acts 4)
144
Aiming too high (Acts 4, 5)
145
It takes work .... (Acts 16)
146
In your face! (Acts 7)
147
Abraham's Other Children (Acts 8)
148
The mechanics of conversion (Acts 9)
150
A light, an angel, a pig. (Acts 10)
152
Transmission bands (Acts 11)
153
Automatic assistance (Acts 12)
154
What to do with the pet guru? (Acts 13)
155
"... and the madness of crowds.[0]" (Acts 14)
156
"Unless you become like us ... " (Acts 15)
157
Strange doings in Makedonia (Acts 16)
158
Acts 17 -- to praise and paean the unknown
159
Acts 18 -- and encoouraging word
160
Acts 19 -- but who are you?
160
Acts 20 -- a famous saying of Jesus
161
Ominous foreshadowing -- Acts 21
162
Same old, same old (Acts 22)
163
Curses! (Acts 23)
164
The unhappy Felix (Acts 24)
165
The odd couple (Acts 25)
166
True safety (Acts 27)
166
Own hired house (Acts 28)
167
Herding cats (I Cor. 1)
167
I've got a secret ! (I Cor. 2)
169
Division of labor ( I Cor. 3)
169
Already? / Uncanny valleys ( I Cor. 4 )
170
Who's for dinner? (I Cor. 5)
171
Dispute resolution (I Cor. 6)
172
Hunker down and sit tight ... (I Cor. 7)
173
I only read it for the articles (I Cor. 8)
174
From the heart (I Cor. 9)
174
I went to the garden party (I Cor. 10)
175
Table manners (I Cor. 11)
176
Singing sweet harmony with Adam Smith (I Cor. 12)
176
Grow up! (I Cor. 13)
177
Pentecostals rock! (I Cor. 14)
178
Who's in charge here, anyhow? (I Cor. 15)
179
Systematic generosity (I Cor. 16)
180
Shake before using (2 Cor. 1)
181
I love a parade! ( 2 Cor. 2)
182
We become like what we behold (2 Cor. 4)
183
Invisible means of support (II Cor. 5)
183
These are the good old days (I Cor. 6)
184
Make room! (II Cor. 7)
185
Poverty and wealth (II Cor. 8)
186
9
10
Sowing and reaping (II Cor. 9)
186
A rigged game (II Cor. 10)
187
A matter of image (II Cor. 11)
187
When I am weak ( II Cor. 12 )
189
Paradox, again! ( II Cor. 13 )
190
Meanwhile, back in Anatolia ... (Gal. 1)
190
The Seductive Scaffolding (Gal. 2)
191
The true sons of Abraham (Gal. 3)
192
Peter Pan syndrome (Gal. 4)
193
If you do what you like ... (Gal. 5)
194
Who's laughing, now? (Gal. 6)
194
Those were the good old days ! (Eph. 1)
195
God of their fathers ( Eph. 2 )
195
Unthinkable! ( Eph. 3 )
197
Sin and anger ( Eph. 4 )
198
Gotta be bright ! (Eph. 5)
198
Preaching to slaves (Eph. 6)
199
New territory (Phil. 1)
200
Zero upward mobility ( Phil. 2 )
201
Watch out for dogs! ( Phil. 3 )
202
An insight in a shower ( Phil. 4 )
202
Collossians
203
Salonika 1 -- a happening place
203
Salonika 2 -- a new citizenship
204
Salonika 3 -- happy discoveries
205
Salonika 4 -- "Now I lay me down to sleep."
205
Salonike 5 -- the mushroom committe
206
II Salonika
207
Meanwhile, back in Efeses (I Timothy 1)
208
God likes good government ( I Timothy 2 )
209
Of kings and castles ( I Timothy 3 )
209
Left brain, right brain ( I Tim. 4 )
210
Priorities ( I Tim. 5:8 )
210
Servant or master? ( I Tim. 6 )
211
Non-automatic gifts ( II Tim. 1 )
212
The Big Picture ( II Tim. 2 )
212
If you can keep your head ( II Tim. 3 )
213
If you think it's hard now ... ! ( II Tim. 4 )
214
So who's lying? ( Titus 1 )
215
Matt. 1
215
Matt. 2 -- Happy Ephiphany !
216
Matt. 3 -- the threshing floor
217
Matt. 4 -- special people
217
Matt. 5 -- Lawyers step in ...
218
Matt. 6 -- deferred gratification
219
Matt. 7 -- a man of the future
220
Matt. 8 -- a talent for war [0]
221
Matt. 9 -- the Townman
222
Matt. 10 -- the Man of Peace
223
Matt. 11 -- are you the man?
224
Matt. 12 -- a strong man
225
Matt. 13 -- a man goes out to sow [0]
226
11
12
Matt. 14 -- a man on foot
227
Matt. 15 -- a man at table
228
Matt. 17 -- you da man !
230
Matt. 18 -- woe to the man
230
Matt. 19 -- a man and a woman
231
Matt. 20 -- the unfair man
232
Matt. 21 -- the hungry man of faith
233
Matt. 22 -- the badly-dressed man
233
Matt. 23 -- beware The Man
234
Matt. 24 -- let no man deceive you
235
Matt. 25 -- an austere man
236
Matt. 26 -- the price of a man
238
Matt. 27 -- the blood of this man
239
Matt. 28 -- man your battle stations !
239
Mark 1 -- by the company he keeps.
240
Mark 2 -- the center of attention
241
Mark 3 -- conflicting opinions
242
Mark 4 -- ignorant growth
242
Mark 5 -- alone in a crowd
243
Mark 6 -- the hometown crowd
244
Mark 7 -- the tidy crowd
245
Mark 8 -- never make excuses
246
Mark 9 -- looks like we've got company
247
Mark 10 -- the astonished crowd
249
Mark 11 -- who's in charge, here?
250
Mark 12 -- charisma, continued
252
Mark 13 -- beware the flim flam man
253
Mark 14 -- you're in for it now!
254
Mark 15 (a) -- beware the company you keep
255
Mark 16 -- a honkin' big stone
257
Luke 1 -- the mechanics of inspiration
258
Luke 1:5 -- when a nations kisses its liberties goodbye ...
260
Luke 2 -- treasured memories
260
Luke 3 -- jack up the radiator cap[0]
261
Luke 4 -- so who issued him his poetic license?
262
Luke 5 --
263
Luke 6 -- the kem göz and its cure
264
Luke 7 -- men of the present
266
Luke 8 -- the best revenge ...
268
Luke 9 -- a dead man shows up again
268
Luke 10 -- greeting the peace lover
269
Luke 11 -- why pray?
270
Luke 11 -- focus, focus, focus!
270
Luke 12 -- strange arithmatic
271
Luke 13 -- replacement theology -- fig and mustard
272
Luke 14 -- table manners
273
Luke 15 -- bad company
273
Luke 16 -- dude, the guy's an embezzler !
274
Luke 17 (a) -- a panaramic view
276
Luke 17(b) -- how to surpass 90% of the competition
277
Luke 18 -- the crooked judge
278
Luke 19 -- forget the Big Rock Candy Mountain[0]
278
13
14
Luke 20 -- a paradox
280
Luke 21 and prison novelists
281
Luke 22 -- questions of status
282
Luke 23 -- who ya gonna believe?
282
Luke 24 -- astonishing gladness
284
John 1 -- paradoxical salvation
284
John 2 -- thoughts on language learning
285
John 3 -- dangling conversation
286
John 4 -- where the action is
287
John 6 -- addiction to the trivial
288
John 7 -- it's not the lack of information ...
289
John 8 -- witness to truth
290
John 9 -- seeing and believing
291
John 10 -- Baa, baa, His sheep
292
John 11 -- Because He loved them, He neglected them
293
John 12 -- escape from autism
294
John 13 -- a vivid tableau
296
John 14 -- comings and goings
297
John 18 -- in broad daylight
298
John 19 -- Sezar'dan başka kralımız yok!
299
John 20 -- things that go bump in the night
300
Acts 1, 2 -- a new catalogue of nations
301
Acts 2, July 20, Tisha B'Av
303
Acts 3 -- resourceful people
304
Acts 4 -- putting toothpaste back in the tube
305
Acts 5 -- a puzzling miracle
306
Acts 6 -- in a strange land
307
Acts 7 -- Treason is the reason
307
Acts 8 -- beyond the comfort zone
308
Acts 9 -- Şam'a yolda
309
Acts 10 -- cross-cultural excursions
310
Acts 11 -- crossing picket lines
312
Acts 12 -- peeking over the edges
313
Acts 13 -- manger dogs
314
Acts 14 -- "they serve me tea."
316
Acts 15 -- trouble-shooting problems to their roots
316
Acts 16 -- guidance by bloody noses
317
Acts 17 -- the world turned upside down
318
Acts 18 -- "May God bless and keep the Czar ... "
320
Acts 19 -- "Life, the universe, and everything."
321
Acts 20 -- chiastic turn of events
323
Acts 21 -- when in Rome ...
324
Acts 22 -- and talking dogs
325
Acts 23 -- mob psychology
326
Acts 24 -- a little word play
327
Acts 25 -- without a clue
328
Acts 26 -- a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down ...
329
Acts 27 -- a man on a mission
330
15
Introduction
Monday, August 18, 2008
Gün aydın, dostlar.
Türkçe çalışıyorum.
I've been studying this wonderful and fascinating language for several years now, and try
to read İncil every day.
This blog will allow me to post some comments from my daily readings.
Çok teşekkür ederim,
RJR Fan
Posted by Al ve oku at 06:35PM (-04:00)
Exegeting humble pie
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Many amateur linguists use John’s gospel as their first extended text in a target
language. John’s imagery is concrete, the language simple, and the repetitive, poetic
style makes it easier to master new vocabulary words. You reach the end of Yuhanna,
finding yourself able to comprehend more and more entire sentences, and pat yourself on
the back. "Wow! I’m actually able to read this new language!"
For a dose of reality, turn the page. Luke, native speaker of Greek, master stylist, author
of the longest gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, and perhaps of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, promptly punctures pretensions. The percentage of readable sentences
plummets, the dictionary gets a workout, and all the new words create severe speed
bumps.
Why does Luke have to use so many synonyms?
Then, there’s the problem of word usage across three languages (Luke’s Greek, your
English, and the target language). For example, in Acts 18:26, we encounter the word
biçim, which is defined as "form, shape, manner, way." Then, in Acts 18:28 we meet
şekil, which is defined as "form, shape, diagram, illustration."
Say what?
A quick look at the original text reveals that, in both cases, the word in question needs to
be combined in thought with the verb immediately following it to approximate the meaning
of a single Greek verb.
Oh. Young reader, you have much further to go than you had planned on!
Bit of trivia thrown in just for fun. There is only one Malay word that got adopted into
English. It has two correct spellings, and is always combined with the English verb run.
16
Al ve oku
The word? amok/amuck.
Posted by Al ve oku at 12:03AM (-05:00)
Inappropriate suspician (James 1:6-9)
Hello again, fans and friends. Sorry to be away so long -- winding up course work while
working full time soaked up a considerable amount of attention. Now, thank God, I "only"
have a dissertation to complete -- and then, loans to pay off!
I was reading the first chapter of James (Yakub'un mektubu) this morning. Verse 6 (and a
few after) especially impressed me:
Yalnız hiç kuşku duymadan, imanla istesin. Çünkü kuşku duyan kisi rüzgarın sürükleyip
savurduğu deniz dalgasına benzer. Tüm yaşamında böyle deüişken, karasız olan adam
Rab'den bir şey alacaüın, ummasşn.
Key words this morning -- kuşku duyan.
• Kuşku -- suspician, doubt.
• Kuşkusuz -- doubtlessly, beyond suspician.
• Kuşku duymak -- to feel suspicious.
When we approach God in prayer, we must do so in faith. The natural thing, alas, is to
feel suspicious of our God's motivations and reasons. After all, the serpent began
undermining Eve's faith by questioning God's good intentions, and suggesting that the
Almighty was stingy, withholding good things from mankind. How do we know that God
has our best interests at heart, and is not just using us as pawns in some cosmic chess
game?[1]
That's the adventure of faith -- coming to terms with an invisible, but very present, deity.
Asking boldly, assuming, on the basis of what we know, of what has been revealed, that
our requests will be heard, and answered in the best possible way.
Soulless faith
In Turkish, the -s_z suffix means "without." If you like black coffee, no milk, you ask for
"Sütsüz kahve, lütfen." No sugar? That would be şekersiz. Today's thought from İncil is
from Yacub (James) 2:26:
Ruhsuz beden nasil ölüyse, eylemsiz iman da ölüdür.
Ruh is, I believe, a cognate with the Hebrew word for spirit. That's what it means,
anyhow. As a body (beden) sans spirit is dead, even so faith sans works is dead.
Which means -- for those of us who live in terms of our faith, it is way too easy to slip into
a fantasy world. If we are not acting on what we believe, we are amusing ourselves within
the playgrounds of our imaginations. You may have seen the movie A Beautiful Mind.
Al ve oku
17
The protagonist took vacations into a parallel universe, wherein he was at the center of a
global conspiracy, and the world depended on what he did next. He was also
schizophrenic.
May God have mercy upon us.
Fussy, fastidious, nit-picking
The fun of reading one's scriptures in a different language is -- you see things with a
slightly different perspective. For example, let's look at Yacub mektubu 3:1:
Kardeşlerim, biz öğreticilerin daha titiz bir yargılamadan geçeğimizi biliyorusunuz. Bu
nedenle, çoğunuz öğretici olmayın.
My friends, you know that we teachers are subject to a stricter judgement. For this reason
(bu nedenle), many of us (çoğunuz) teachers (öğretici) should not become (olmayın).
Daha titiz was the phrase that caught my attention this morning. Daha, of course, means
"more." Titiz, "fussy, fastidious, particular." I'd been thinking for 38 years that the "stricter
judgement" teachers struggled with was God's severe restraints upon those who would
be shepherds of His flock. This morning, though, I got to wondering -- are would-be
teachers and guides also setting themselves up as targets for petty sniping from other
people?
In either case, painting a target on one's chest may not be the wisest course of action.
The problem in American Protestant culture is, the notion that the vocational ministry is
somehow a superior calling, the badge of true and total commitment to the Lord and His
Kingdom. I was talking to a young man the other day who is earning a four-year
Batchelor of Divinity degree. Joining the ranks of those two freshly minted preacher boys
who graduate every year for each available pulpit. If you are a guy who is lacking in tact,
you ask such an one, "But what can you actually do? What kind of useful work are you
trained for?"
My ambition is to remind folks that God's Kingdom is at least as big as His universe.
Every worthy vocation, every honest line of endeavor, contributes to the honor of His
Name, when we do it well.
Vincent Van Gogh would have been far happier had he realized that he could be more
fruitful as a good painter than as a lousy preacher.
18
Al ve oku
Siz ey vefasizlar ...
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Yakub'un mektubu 4:4, 10
Siz ey vefasızlar, dünya ile dostluğun Tanrı'ya düşmanlık olduğunu bilmiyor musunuz?
Dünya ile dost olmak isteyen, kendinini Tanrı'ya düşman eder.
Rab'bın önünde kendinizi alçaltın, O da sızı yüceltekectir.
• vefa -- loyalty, faithfulness.
• vefasız -- disloyalty, unfaithfullness.
• vefasızlar -- those who are disloyal, unfaithful
And, three words that begin with d:
• dünya --world
• dost --friend
• duşman --enemy
I have been giving a great deal of thought for many years to the issue of community.
One useful insight is the sociological description of America as a "low-context" culture.
People tned to keep to themselves. Other cultures around the world assume that
everyone participates in the life of everyone else. An American lady in China who goes to
the public bathing facility wonders why so many other ladies pick the same time to show
up -- then discovers that she is the object of curiosity! On the other hand, if you have to
move, a dozen neighbors show up without being asked. You need help, they assume it's
their duty to offer it.
Over the last few years, I've eaten more frequently with Turkish Muslims than I have with
Christians from my own church. You would think that we, who share the miracle of
redemption, would be filled with eagerness to get together and compare notes. But, we
were Americans before we were Christians, and our early programming is a challenge to
overcome.
Muslims who become Christians lose their whole world. First, the job. Then, their family.
Finally, in many occasions, their lives. Can we, as secularized and atomized Christians,
invite these people over into our world? To be blunt, do we have a coherent world to invit
them into? One Turkish Christian scholar cites research that suggests that around 70% of
converts from Islam go back to their earlier faith. I grieve, when I realize how much of that
can be blamed on our own shortcomings as Western Christians.
Yet, as these verses hammer home, everyone has to, at some point, "fish or cut bait."
You can't be both the friend of God and the friend of the world that is fleeing from God's
face. Granted, there is the "world that God so loved," the world of people and nature.
Then, there is that elaborate scaffold of artifice and deception that we cherish as a shield
from the face of God.
May God have mercy upon us all. As vs. 10 points out, we must humble ourselves in
front of God -- who will then lift us up.
Al ve oku
19
The big picture
Yacub'un mektubu 4:8,9
Siz de sabredin. Yürekleriniz güçlendiren. Çünkü Rab'bın gelişi yakındır. Kardeşler,
yargılanmamak için birbirinize karşı homurdanmayın. İşte, yargiç kapının önünde
duruyor.
Be patient. Strengthen your hearts. For the Lord's coming is near. Brothers, don't judge
one another, grumble against (one another). Watch out, the judge stands at the door.
Given the time when this letter was written, in the era leading up to the catastrophic
destruction of Israel, the message is pretty clear. When major disaster is at the door, our
petty nattering at each other is ludicrous. As the Russian Orthodox prelates discovered
too late, and to their sorrow, the color of liturgical vestaments was not the most pressing
issue on the agenda in 1917.
I Petrus@un mektubu, 1:12, 13
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Melekler bu gerçekleri yanından büyük ölem duyarlar.
Bu nedenle zihinlerinizi eyleme hazırlayın. Ayık olun.
Let's look at a few more words.
• melek -- angel
• ölem -- longing, yearning, aspiration
• duymak -- to hear, feel, sense
• zihin -- mind, intellect
• eylem -- action, operation
• Ayık -- sober
We are those for whom the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. As Hebrews 1
points out, the Incarnation was not into angelic form, but into human. The angels had to
sit this one out, for the most part. Stuff is going on today, in our lives, that they eagerly
long to participate in, but it is our privilege, not their, to have God the Holy Spirit living
within us.
Therefore, we need to get our brains in gear. The King James Bible translates this phase
"Gird up the loins of your mind." The Turkish phrase commands us to "prepare your
minds for action." This mandate starkly distinguishes real Christianity from mushy
mysticism. It is a Hindu practice to endlessly chant a few nonsense syllables, until the
brain checks out and direct experience checks in. Yes, you can generate apparently
supernatural experiences by this means. Some scholars suspect that this is happening in
various Christian circles. Get a few thousand people together, then saturate/marinate in
the excitement, repeating endless simple-minded choruses until the brain goes offline,
and Shazam! People have amazing experiences!
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But are these experiences from the God Who strongly recommends wisdom? Who
requires us to think through what we're doing?
Presuppositional apologetics asserts that Trinitarian Christianity is the ultimate basis for
sanity. We, who experience a renewal of God's image in us, are equipped to think
straight. The unbelievers need to steal our presuppositions to get anywhere.
Which reminds me -- I really do need to get a grip on where I'm going with my
dissertation, this week!
Cook me that rock, medium rare !
Monday, December 01, 2008
Petrus'un mektubu 2:4,5 is a terrific passage for anyone with a sense of irony and a love
of the oxymoron.
İnsanlarca reddedilmiş, ama tanrı'ya göre seçkin ve değerli olan diri taşa, Rab'be gelin. O
sizi diri taşlar olarak ruhsal bir tapınağın yapımında kullansın.
And today's words are:
• diri -- alive; fresh; undercooked
• taş -- rock
How can a rock be alive? The paradoxes multiply. Rock -- immutable, solid, enduring.
Flesh -- prone to injury, decay, change. Rock -- inert. Flesh -- alive, growing, increasing.
An oxymoron is a literary device that combines apparent opposites to create a startling
new image. Peter begins with an architectural metaphor. Jesus is like "the Rock that the
buildrers rejected, which has become the chief corner stone." Something rejected by
men, chosen and precious in the sight of God. Of course, our Lord is more than a Rock.
More than a cold, rigid, abstraction. Christians assert that Jesus is the Almighty's "graphic
user interface" to the universe, the human face of God, simultaneously human and divine.
Not just a stone, but a "living" stone. It is as we "connect" to God through Jesus that we
experience the hope of eternal life. We become, in our own small way, "living stones,"
built up together into a habitation for God.
There is a final irony that the original readers of Peter's Greek letter would have enjoyed.
Jesus had a habit of renaming His disciples. Peter's parents named him "Simon." Jesus
called him "Rocky." Peter, after all, means "stone." Think of "petrified wood" -- wood
transformed into stone. Simon, the reckless, fickle reed who paniced at key moments,
grew into the name Jesus gave him, and became the man who asked to be crucified
upside down, since he was unworthy to die the same way Jesus did.
Jesus has a new name for you, too.
Al ve oku
21
A better life, today
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
I Petrus'un mektubu 3:10
Yaşamdan zevk almak ve iyi günler görmek isteyen,
dilini kötülükten, dudaklarını hileli sözlerden uzak tutsan.
Now, of course, we have a word list:
• zevk -- taste, flavor; pleasure. Hmmm ... reminds me of "zest!"
• hile -- trick, ruse, adulteration
• hileli -- fraudulent, trickery
And, a translation:
Folks, if you want to enjoy life and see good days, keep your tongue far from evil and
your lips from deception.
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about honest weights and measures. Bottom line:
folks who use "short" weights to cheat their neighbors, shorten their own lives! As modern
aphorisms assert, "What goes around, comes around," and "Payback is a bitch."
Fractional reserve banking is the lifeblood of our privately-pwnd Federal Reserve Bank.
This systematic fraud siphoned out 95% of the dollar's value since 1913 -- and has
recently imposed another major "tax on savings" with results that are yet to be seen.
Or, as Jesus told us, putting a positive spin on the issue, be generous. "For with the
measure you use, it will be measured unto you." (Luke 6:36) Teach your children to leave
generous tips -- at the moment, Christians have a reputation for stinginess. Waitresses
hate working Sunday afternoons.
And, to get back to this scripture reading -- be careful what you put on your resume.
Misrepresenting yourself is a dangerous form of fraud. Trying to live up to a fabricated
image is a recipe for disaster.
Waiting for the other shoe to drop
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
A colorful American idiom describes apprehensive anticipation as "waiting for the other
shoe to drop." This cliche dates back to the days when many people lived in "boarding
houses." You go to bed, just start to doze off, when the boarder in the room above you
drops one shoe on the floor. Thump! And you are unable to go back to sleep until the
thoughtless guy with heavy shoes drops that other one.
Much of İncil was written with this motif, this foreboding mood. A new world had begun
when God "put on shoes and walked among us." The ministry of Jesus inaugurated
God's Kingdom rule upon the earth with fresh power, fresh visibility. Yet, the new world aborning was also the death sentence upon the established order. The settled landmarks
men had structured their lives around were about to be shattered. And they knew it. They
had it "on the best authority" that the clock was running down on everything they took for
granted. Time was running out on the "terminal generation," the "this generation" Jesus
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had warned approximately thirty years before this letter was written.
I Petrus'un mektubu 4 begins with Peter flaunting a suspiciously rich vocabulary on the
theme of drunken partying. He is, of course, describing those things believers are
supposed to leave behind. He goes on to tell his readers, in verse 7:
Her şeyin sonu yakındır. Bu nedenle, sağduyulu ve dua etmek için ayık durun.
The Turkish possessive construction is a "belt and suspenders" arrangement, that tacks
different endings upon the item possessed, and the item possessing. This takes a while
to get used to. Look at the first sentence: Her every. şeyin -- thing. sonu -- end. yakın -near. dır -- is. şeyin takes the -in ending, since it is the thing that owns. sonu takes the -u,
the direct object ending, since it is the item owned.
The end of all things is near. The other shoe is about to drop. Therefore, for this reason,
sağduyulu (use common sense) and, in order to pray effectively, ayık durun (stay sober).
I suspect Peter is dealing with the temptations we all face when things are about to fall
apart. When the factory is about to shut down. When major changes are pending.
Taking the bitter with the sweet -- zestful living
Thursday, December 04, 2008
My relish for hot sauce amuses my children. It makes almost everything taste better,
except, perhaps, ice cream. The Turks have a word that applies to these products of the
chili pepper, acı -- bitter; sharp; hot; pungent. That's the adjective.
Or, when used as a noun, acı -- pain, ache, sorrow.
Or, you can combine it with the verb çekmek (to go out) to convey the sense of to feel
pain, to suffer. I'm reminded of the only Malay word that made it into general use in
English. It has two correct spellings (amok, amuck), and is always combined with the
verb to run.
A benefit of reading a familiar text in a new language is, you notice frequently repeated
phrases a bit more vividly. Acı çekmek shows up in various forms at least a dozen times
in Birinci Petrus'un mektubu. (1:6, 11. 2:18, 20, 23. 3:13, 17. 4:1, 19. 5:1, 9, 10) Suffering,
setbacks, disappointments are, Peter tells his readers, and us, a normal part of life.
Something we all face. Something that can enoble us, and make us better. Something
that can, unless we are careful, debase us, and make us bitter. I don't want to be trite,
here. Job's "comforters" were too fast to offer easy answers, and God was not pleased
with their "ministry." What do you tell a family watching a 13-year-old son losing a long
battle with cancer?
Peter's answer is -- view all that comes to us as from the hand of a personal, and caring,
God. When addressing communities of believers scattered throughout present-day
Turkey, Peter wrote:
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23
5:6 Uygun zamanda | sizi yüceltmesi için, | kendinizi | Tanrı'nın kudretli eli | altında
alçaltın.
5:7 Bütün kaygılarınızı | O'na yükleyin. | Çünkü O sizi kayırır.
At the end of the season/period (of testing) | in order that you might be lifted up, |
yourselves | God's mighty hand | humble under.
All of your anxieties | upon Him throwing. | Because He for you cares.
Or, as the King James Version of the Bible puts it,
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time: Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.
Eyewitness news -- Petrus'un ikinci mektubu
Friday, December 05, 2008
II Peeter 1:16, 17
O'nun görkemını kendi gözlerimizle görduk. Mesih, yüce ve görkemli olan'dan kendisine,
"Benim sevgili Oğlum budur. O'ndan hoşnudum," diyı gelen sesle, Baba Tanrı'dan onur
ve yücelıik aldı.
Today's words are:
• görkem -- spleandor, magnificence
• yüce -- high, exalted
• göz -- eye. gözler -- eyes, plural. gözlerimiz -- our eyes. gözlerimizle -- with our eyes.
kendi gözlerimizle -- with our own eyes.
When Jesus received His "mission statement" at the time of His baptism, it combined the
themes of supernatural messiah and suffering servent: "This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased." The message Peter, James, and John heard on the Mount of
transfiguration was similar: "This is my beloved Son, pay attention to Him." They'd just
been privy to a conversation between Jesus and the epitomes of the Law and the
Prophets, Moses and Elijah. Peter blurted out the first thing that came into his mind, and
the Father told him to shut up. Jesus does not rate parity with Moses and Elijah. He is
more than another prophet, more than another lawgiver. He is, rather, the One to whom
the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms all point.
The guy who saw this with his own eyes urged his readers, and us -- "Pay attention to
Him."
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Infiltrators (Petrus'un ikinci mektubu 2)
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Ama İsrail halkı arasında sahte peygamberler vardı, tıpkı sizin de aranızda yanlış öğreti
yayanlar olacağı gibi.
(This is actually Sunday morning, so this will be a brief Saturday post!)
Even as the people of Israel had false prophets in their midst, even so among you those
who spread lying teachings will come.
Peter was warning his people against infiltrators from the dead order. People who would
show up at the church suppers with an agenda of their own. Peter had good reasons for
worrying about this issue, since he had himself once been part of the party of partycrashers and party poopers.[1] Paul wrote the Galatians,
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be
blamed. For before that certain came frm James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but
whenthey were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of
the circumcision. (Gal. 2:11, 12)
A snake can continue writhing after its head is crushed. The apostate social order of firstcentury Israel had repudiated and crucified God's ambassador and messenger. It was on
life support, enjoying one final generation of existence before the hammer fell. The
Jewish culture and customs even had power to warp the behavior of people who should
have known better. God used Peter to bring the gospel to the Gentiles (see Acts 9 and
10) for the first time, using a vision of non-kosher food. Yet, when people deeply embued
in Jewish culture showed up in the rowdy, ambitious, and godly church at Antioch, Peter
suddenly remembered his roots and forgot his calling.
Even Peter, this major figure of the Gospels, who is viewed by Catholics as the first pope,
could be led astray by social pressures. It's no wonder so many Jews turned their backs
on Jesus towards the end of Israel's history, as those cultural pressure intensified.
Having been brought to his sense by Paul's rebuke, Peter apparently learned his lesson,
as was sensitized to how easily corruptible we all are, apart from the grace of God.
Especially when confident and charismatic corrupters sit down at table with us.
[1] ancient slang -- refers to someone who "brings down"[2] a happy event.
[2] more ancient slang -- means "demoralizes" to those of us of a certain age!
Life in the Shadow of the Volcano
II Pet. 3:8
Sevgili kardeşlerim, şunu unutmayın ki, Rab'bın gözünde bir gün bin yıl ve bin yıl bir gün
gibidir.
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25
Today, we'll look at a few one-syllable words that have caused oceans of ink to be
spilled.
• bin -- thousand
• bir -- one
• gün -- day
• yıl -- year
Modern idiomatic Turkish seems to use the word "thousand" in a manner close to that of
the ancient Greek-speaking residents of their neighborhood. Bin bir, for example, literally
means "1,001." Idiomatically, this phrase means "a great many, all kinds of." Think of the
bin bir "Arabian" Nights. Binde bir, one of a thousand, means "scarcely, very rarely,"
when pigs fly.
As you can see, the words for day and year are given in the singular. Turkish, with logical
economy of expression, sees no need to pluralize nouns that come after numbers. After
all the number has already told you to expect more than one!
Peter wrote,
My dear brothers, do not forget this, before the eyse of the Lord one day a thousand
years, a thousand years one day, is like.
People who live in the shadow of the volcano can get jaded after a while, bored,
indifferent to the disaster ready to break out suddenly upon them. The other shoe didn't
drop when we expected it to. Maybe it never will. Maybe we're getting away with
something. Peter, an old waterman, has already reminded his people of Noah's flood.
From experience he knew how quickly frail crafts could be overwhelmed in violent
weather. He now warns them, in very plain language, not to get indifferent to the passage
of time. God's clock operates differently from ours. "The millstones of God's justice grind
very slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine."
And no, these verses do not set us a liberty to concoct chronographies of apocalypse.
Quite the opposite. Peter's first readers knew that the clock was running out on Israel.
The final generation was coming to a close. 30+ years had passed, but the prophesied
death sentance was in abeyance, not canceled.
Mutlu Kurban Bayramı, Türkçe arkadaşlarım !
İkinci Yuhanna'nın mektubu 1:5,7
Tanrı ışıktır ve O'nda hiç karanlık yoktur
Ama kendisi ışıkta olduğu gibi, biz de ışıkta yürürsek, birbirimizle paydaşlığımız olur ve
O'nun Oğlu İsa'nın kanı bizi her günahtan arındırır.
I'd like to wish my Turkish friends a blessed and happy "feast of the sacrifice," one of the
two holiest days of the Islamic calendar.
Key words today:
• ışık -- light. Tanrı ışıktır -- God is light. ışıkta -- in the light.
• karanlık -- darkness.
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• kan -- blood.
Kurban, sacrifice, is an integral part of every religion. Evil is present in this world. Evil
must be dealt with, or the foundations of sanity and society are rattled. Roman Polanski,
the movie director, is lionized in Europe and reviled in America for taking indecent
liberties with a 13 year old girl. Those of us who endured his vile movie Chinatown were
not surprised. At the conclusion of this paean to nihilism, the young girl who is a child of
incest is taken into the tender care of her father/grandfather, while the protagonist
watches in impotent rage. Those who embrace and celebrate nihilism are menaces to
any society, Christian or Islamic.
Evil must be dealt with. In the Torah, one of the sacrifices involves a murdered stranger.
If a body is found in the countryside, and there is no way of tracking down the murderer,
then the elders from the nearest village sacrifice a cow at the scene of the crime, and ask
God to do justice where they were unable to.
Even atheistic "religions" have sacrificial rituals. Communism and Naziism practiced
human sacrifice on an industrial scale. When their lofty schemes to bring heaven and hell
on earth are only half-successful, the coercive utopians resolve the tensions by finding
some class of victims to blame. Jews. Kulaks. "The Rich."
Yet, as Aleksandr Soltszhenitsn wrote in The Gulag Archipelago, the line between good
and evil runs through each of our hearts. And who wants to destroy a piece of his own
heart?
Christians view the death of İsa as the ultimate kurban, a re-enactment of the heartwrenching sacrifice that Abraham was ready to offer. (Leonard Cohen's bleak Song of
Isaac portrays this event through the eyes of the victim.) No, we do not ascribe human
modes of sexual propagation to The Almighty. We view the sonship of İsa as a metaphor
for a deep and intimate relationship. Those who call a merchant the "son of a table," are
not saying that a piece of furniture bonked his mommy. Christians do not assert similar
preposterous things about the God we worship.
Yet, in some way, the death of İsa on the cross represents an atonement, a price paid for
evil, that permits us to leave our own evil behind.
Seeing and blind -- Birinici Yuhanna'nın mektuba
2
Troubled times require clear thinking. How can you tell who is on your team? How can
you detect, ahead of time, the people you can rely on "when push comes to shove?" For
that matter, how can I become a reliable team player in the ultimate game? I'd started
making notes on the first part of I Yuhanna 2 before reaching the end of the chapter, then
had to do some re-thinking.
John (Yahunna) is know as "the apostle of love." This does not, however, mean that he
was unaware of the turmoil swirling around him, and his people, during the times when
he wrote. Let's look at verse 10 and 11:
Al ve oku
27
Kardeşini seven, ışıkta yaşar ve başkasının tökezlemesine neden almaz. Ama
kardeşinden nefret eden karalıktadır, daranlıkta yürür ve nereye gittiğini bilmez. Çünkü
karanlık, onan gözlerini kör etmiştir.
Now, a few words:
• Kardeş -- brother
• sevmek -- to love
• nefret -- hate. nefret etmek -- to hate.
• tökezlemesine -- stumbling block.
• göz -- eye
• kör -- blind
Condensed version: folks who love their neighbors don't create physical or moral
hazards for them. Folks who hate their neighbors harm themselves first of all, since
hatred impairs one's common sense. Haters stumble around in the darkness.
The reference to the "stumbling block" traces back to a Mosaic law against making life
even harder for those with handicaps. "You shall not curse the deaf, nor set out a
stumbling block for the blind." Some practical jokes are off-limits.
In context, perhaps John was warning his people to watch out for folks who made it look
safe, or easy, to do the wrong thing. These tempters are not your friends.
Crabs in a basket -- Birinci Yuhanna'nın mektubu
3
I Yahunna 3:14, 15
Kardeşler, dünya sizden nefret ederse şaşmayın. Biz kardeşleri sevdiğimiz için ölümden
yaşama geçtiğimizi biliyoruz. Sevmeyen, ölümde kalır.
Today's word list:
• dünya -- the world
• nefret -- hate. etmek -- to hate.
• şaşmak-- to be surprised.
• ölüm -- death. ölümden -- from death. ölümde -- in/on/at death.
• yaşam -- life. yaşama -- to life.
When you are out catching crabs, you can toss them into a basket without a lid. As soon
as one crab starts to climb out, you see, the other crabs pull him back down. In toxic
cultures, those who don't want to go down with the ship are bitterly resented as traitors. In
many inner-city schools, students who pay attention to their studies are reviled and
brutally persecuted for "acting white."
At the time this letter was written, the Jewish nation that had repudiated Jesus was
closing in on its rendevous with destiny, its obliteration. Those among them who followed
the Messiah İsa came to be seen as traitors, holding on to an unfashionable hope.
Economic boycotts against Christians made life hard. There were reasons why the "poor
saints in Jerusalem" that Paul took up collections for were poor.
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And there were reasons why James, John, and Peter paid so much attention to the
obligations Christians have to one another. As Jesus warned His people at the last
supper, they better love one another, because they sure couldn't expect a lot of affection
from the world they were parting company from!
It takes stamina to "walk away from Omelas."
They overcame the Antichrist.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
I John 4:3,4 (Birinci Yuhanna 4.3,4)
İsa'yı kabul etmeyen hiçbir ruh Tanrı'dan değildir. Böylesi, Mesih-karşıtının ruhudur. Onun
geleceğini duydunuz. Zaten o şimdiden dünyadadır.
Yavrularım, siz Tanrı'dansınız ve sahte peygamberleri yendiniz, çünkü içinizdeki Ruh
dünyadakinden üstündür.
Let's look at a few words, again.
• geleceğini -- (the one who) will come
• duydunuz -- you have already heard
• Zaten -- as a matter of fact
• o şimdiden -- already, now
• dünyadadır -- world - in - is
Yuhanna warns his people to watch out for false prophets, for lying spirits. The spirit or
prophet who does not confess that İsa is the Anointed King who came into the world is
the spirit of antichrist. And folks, he was not warning them about some comic-book villain
due to show up thousands of years after they were dead. Yuhanna was warning them
about a present reality, a school of thought and its teachers that disregarded the core of
the Christian message: God made Himself known to humanity in and through the
biography, the real life, words, and deeds, of one historical figure.
You have to wonder, though: why would a Christian assembly give a hearing, or even the
time of day, to someone who did not take İsa seriously? Why was this a real threat? Well,
put yourself in their shoes. These were Jewish Christians, who adopted the pattern of
synagogue worship as the format for their own rites -- a couple of readings from the Law
and the Prophets, then a sermon. Add a few bells and whistles to accommodate İsa -perhaps add a reading from one of the apostolic letters circulating around. Commemorate
and confirm the covenant with bread and wine. Still, the basic language and structure
would have been familiar to any first-century Jews who wandered in. Some of whom
wandered back out again, and tried to take the followers of İsa with them, back into the
old familiar routines. (remember the crab basket?)
The old culture had its attractions. But those who embrace İsa have a spiritual core that
can make them victorious over the fatal charms and attractions of their native culture.
Al ve oku
29
A light yoke, an easy burden
Yahunna'nın birinci mektubu 5
Tanrı'yı sevmek, O'nun buyruklarını yerine getirmek demektir. O'nun burykları da ağır
değildir. Çünkü Tanrı'dan doğmuş olan herkes dünyayı yener. Bize dünyaya karşı zafer
kazandiran, imanımızdır.
And now, a few words:
• Tanrı -- God
• sevmek -- to love
• buyruk -- commandment
• ağır -- painful, irksome
• yenmek -- to overcome
• zafer -- victory
This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are
not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Interestingly enough, the Greek uses two flavors of the same word where English and
Turkish use two different words: yenmek/zafer and overcome/victory.
I do not know how many former smokers are in this audience. Anyone who has struggled
with addictions know what it means to walk on the precipice, all too easily slipping into
the behavior one abhors. This is especially easy to do during times of personal or
national stress. When "modern times" and rampant consumerism exploded upon the
American scene, so too did subtance abuse. Back then, it was the booze.
When you find yourself swept away by external and internal demons,[1] you can just give
up and go with the flow. The drunken reservation Indian is the stereotype for this
approach.
Or, you can look for some human means of salvation. Some "strong man" messianic
politician to make the bad things go away. A savior, like Hitler, Mussolini, or their peer
and fascist soul mate FDR. Or, perhaps, some popular movement that will rest the
anxieties of the age upon a symbolic victim. In America, this was Prohibition. The most
popular all-American beverage, our equivalent to France's wines and Germany's beers,
was lost. Thousands of acres of apple orchards fell to the ax, and many varieties of cider
apples were lost forever.
Finally, there is the perspective John offers us here. Simply obey God. Do the right thing.
Abstain from the wrong thing. And faith in the One who has overcome the world, death,
and the grace, can make it happen. Happiness, G. K. Chesterton wrote, is like glass. It
can be shattered in a moment. Or, it can last for thousands of years. Therefore, don't
break it.
ANYHOW: my preferred vice is a kind of lethal laziness, where I slip into neutral and
allow any passing diversion to seize and divert my attention. Especially when there is
serious work to be done. Nerds call this "dogwash." When the deadline is upon you, and
a major project needs to be completed, you suddenly notice all the chores you could be
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doing, like washing the dog.
Prayers appreciated, folks. I'll keep you posted.
[1] I am speaking metaphorically, of course. Dostoyevski wrote a novel about the
philosophical madness sweeping through Russia entitled The Demons. We know it by
Constance Garner's title, The Possessed.
Yahunna'nın ikinci mektubu -- "A man has got to
know his limits."
Haddini aşıp Mesih'in öğretisine bağlı, kalmayan hiç kimsede Tanrı yoktuk. Bu öğretiye
bağlı, kalanda ise hem Baba, hem de Oğul vardır.
And now, the word list:
• had -- limit, boundary
• haddini aşmak -- to go too far
• haddini bilmek -- to know one's place
• haddini bilmez -- presumptuous
• haddinden fazla -- excessive
• haddi zatında -- in itself, essential
John warned a sister church in this letter to watch out for vagabond contaminators,
wandering preachers who denied the core distinctive of the Christian faith: that God was
present in Jesus of Nazareth, the anticipated messiah.
I guess these people could spin entertaining stories. And we are all suckers for
entertainment. The problem was, they went beyond the facts, to preach as facts the
constructs of their imaginations. Leaving something rather important out.
Anybody who's followed the "Lakeland outpouring" knows that this temptatioin is still with
us.
Vagabond stars (Yahuda'nın mektubu)
Serseri yıldızlar gibidir.
And, today's word list:
• serseri -- tramp, vagabond, vagrant, stray
• yıldızlar -- star
• gibidir-- like, resemble
Well, this morning I read John's third letter, and Jude. Both deal with itinerant
messengers. First, the good guys, the "white hats."[1] John's church had sent out
teachers and prophets to encourage the other churches he was responsible for. Well,
these folks went out as Jesus had sent forth His disciples in Luke 9 and 10, basically
empty-handed, and depending on the hospitality of those they were sent to. This isn't
such a bad way to travel. Fifty years ago, when my beloved mentor R. J. R. was
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31
ministering to isolated Native American tribes, you could spend weeks imposing on
strangers, he reports. Within living memory, you could knock on a stranger's door in rural
Turkey, announce that God wished to be their guest, and receive a meal and a place to
sleep for the night.
III John dealt with a situation where the system broke down. One of his churches had
been taken over by a power freak with a pagan Greek name. Most of the time, if you
were named after a pagan deity, you changed your name when you changed your
religion. This guy didn't. He was still "the one who was nursing on / drawing sustenance
from Zeus." Diotrephes "loved to have the preeminence." He was en üstün olma
sevdasınd. He refused to extend hospitality to the itinerant preachers, and
excommunicated members who did remember their obligations. In this brief letter, John
contacts one of his loyal friends, and names a mutual friend who has a good report. John
also promises to show up soon, to settle matters face to face. Apparently even back then,
putting all the nasty details in writing was unwise!
And now, let's meet the black hats. Jude warned his people about drifters. Vagabonds.
People who drop in on church pot luck dinners just to cause trouble. To see what they
can get away with. To take advantage of members. These "vagabond stars" (the Greek
word, planetos, should look familiar) had no roots in the community, and bore no fruit for
the community. Some were reclaimable -- but you'd better burn your gloves after pulling
them out of the fire.
As a wag said many years ago, "A misplaced brother can do more damage than a
demon, because it's easier to cast out a demon than a brother."
[1] In classical American Western movies, the good guys wore white hats, and the villains
wore black cowboy hats.
Revelations -- should reveal.
We now commence one of my favorite books of the Bible[1], Tanrı'dan Yuhanna'ya gelen
esinlemek. Or, in English, the "From God, to John, coming stuff inspiration." Or, in Greek,
apokalupsis -- the unveiling. There is a blessing pronounced upon those who read these
words. The Greek word for "read," anagnoso -- to make known to those standing around,
implies that this divine favor rests upon those who read this letter aloud. Like most of the
books of the Bible, Esinlemek divides neatly into 50 chunks, so it's suitable for liturgical
reading, one chunk per week for a year.
Bottom line: Esinlemek is meant to be understood. It is supposed to make things plain. It
is meant to be a blessing to those who read it and take its message to heart. The
problem? Well, it's one of the most densely hyperlinked books in the Bible. It occurs,
conveniently, at the end of the Bible, like an index to the rest of it. To those who
understand the rest of Scripture, and know a little bit about the time when Esinlemek was
written, the message is plain.
Unfortunately, we have a major industry of "newspaper exegisis" in the USA. Folks attract
audiences, and get rich, out of retrofitting today's headlines into this book. Everyone
loves to think they play starring roles in a cosmic drama. After all, how could the
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consummation of all history happen except during the lifetime of someone as important
as ME?
Bu peygamberliğin sözlerini ukyuana, burada yazılanları dinleyip yerine geirene ne mutlu!
Çünkü beklenen zaman yakındır.
Quick list of interesting words:
• Çünkü -- because
• beklenen -- the thing awaited
• zaman -- time
• yakındır-- near is
At the time this book was written, the pressures on the believers were becoming almost
unendurable. John assures them that relief is near. The gigantic social and political
structures grinding them down were about to be cut down to size. Yes, dear reader,
believe it or not, John's letter to the seven churches was written to the seven churches of
Asia minor. It addressed their concerns. It offered them practical insights into their
situation, not cotton-candy speculations about stuff that wouldn't happen for thousands of
years. It concerns events that are about to happen. "The time is near." I take this literally.
By "near," Jesus meant "near." If by "near," Jesus meant "a few thousand years from
now," I'd not send Him out for pizza!
[1] My Turkish friends will be happy to hear that Esinlemek was written from an island off
the coast of Turkey, to folks living in seven Turkish cities.
Efes, İzmir, Bergama, Akhısar
The apostle begins this letter with personal notes to the pastors of seven churches. The
messenger carrying this document would take ship at Patmos, then disembark at the
nearest major port, Ephesus. He would follow a major highway north, take a right, and
come back a bit further inland.
Each of the seven letters is phrased as though dictated by Jesus Christ Himself. Each
addresses the responsible party by title (To the "angel" of the church of ... ) rather than by
name. You can be as opinionated as you want to be when hiding behind a pen name. In
today's google generation, it's not wise to engage in spirited internet debate under one's
own name. In John's day, Christians were persecuted as a subversive cult, and the
leaders were special targets for imperial attention. Each "angel" gets a blunt assessment
of his situation, a pointed recommendation, and a promise of reward for those who hear
and heed:
Kulağı olan, Ruh'un topluluklara ne dediğini işitsin. Gelip gelen ...
And here's today's word list:
• Kulak -- ear
• Ruh -- Spirit
• gelip -- winner, victor. Gelip gelmek -- to win, to overcome.
Finally, Jesus uses a component of his description in the first chapter as he addresses
each church.
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33
The rival powers of Rome and Jerusalem were turning up the heat on the young Christian
community. It's hard to predict how a man, or a community, will react under pressure.
Ephesus was losing the zeal that had earlier made this church the powerhouse that
evangelized all of Asia Minor in two years. Pergama and Thyatira (Bergama and Akhısar)
were vulnerable to charismatic male and female teachers with seductive messages.
İzmir was praised for faithfulness under vicious persecution, especially from the local
Jewish community. A old document, The Martyrdom of Polycarp, indicatest that this
animosity still simmered a century later. When Polycarp, a disciple of John the
Evangelist, was sentanced to death by fire, the Jews eagerly desecrated their own
sabbath to scavange up plenty of firewood from local baths and workshops.
One of these days I'll have the opportunity to visit these seven cities, myself.
Gelen esinleme 3
Here's a word of encouragement for folks "between jobs," or for anyone struggling to find
his place in the world:
Davut'un anahtarına sahip olan, açtığını kimsenin kapayamadığı, kapadığını kimsenin
açamadığı.
Jesus describes Himself to the church at Sardis as the one who has "the keys of David,
who opens and no man can shut, who shuts and no man can open. I'm sure you
recognize "Davut." Anahtar, key, figured in a successful political slogan a few years ago.
The winning candidate promised the voters, "Beş ay, iki anahtar." Louis XIV, who
promised "a chicken in every pot," and Hitler, who promised "a car in every garage," were
minor league in comparison to this gent. Put me in office, and in five months, you'll each
have two keys (new house, new car). Unlike Jesus, this guy did not actually deliver on
the promise, but this slogan is still admired for sheer audacity in four words!
When addressing the church at Philadelphia, Jesus mentions again the false Israel, the
Jewish congregations in the neighborhood that made life miserable for the Christians. He
encouraged His people to stand firm, and promised them marks of citizenship in the true,
eternal, and heavenly Israel, the new Jerusalem.
Jesus had harsh words for Laodicea:
Ne soğuksun, ne sıcak. Keşke ya sapuk, ya da sıcak olsaydın.
Two new words today:
• soğuk -- cold
• sıcak -- hot
Laodicea was renowned for its hot / mineral springs, its healing baths, and its
pharmaceutical industry. There were also springs of clear, cold, drinkable water. The
church, however, had in its complacency fallen between both possibilities. (By the way -the Turks do not mark each faucet with an S. Hot water comes from the faucet with the
red handle, cold water from the blue-handled faucet.)
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I think I'll have Beth and Laura memorize this most famous verse from Chapter 3:
İşte kapıda durmuş, kapıyı çalıyorum. Eğer biri sesimi işitir ve kapıyı açarsa, onun yanına
gideceğim, ben onunla ve o da benimle, birlikte yemek yiyeceğiz.
I'll give you one word, and you can find this verse very easily: kapı -- door.
Gelen esinleme 4
The writer hears a voice -Buraya çık! Bundan sonra olması gereken olayları sana göstereyim.
Come here! I will show you those things that will soon happen!
Oh boy! Now, do we get to the black helicopters and millions of Chinese warriors riding
horseback across the Gobi and Sahara deserts? The universal product codes tattooed on
the forehead? All that exciting science-fictiony stuff?
Now, actually, what we see is the central reality of the universe -- a throne. From the
perspective of the throne, the turbulent surging waves of human history are transparent
as glass. Surrounding the throne are 24 other thrones, occupied by the symbolic
representatives of the church of all ages, adoring the King, and reigning with Him over
the affairs of men. And we see representatives of the entirety of the created universe
offering unceasing adoration to the Lord.
This book is, after all, first and foremost, the revelation of Jesus. Not history written in
advance, of interest to the few, but a paean of adoration to the Lord of history.
As the old cliche asserts, it doesn't matter what the future holds. What matters is Who
holds the future.
The Open Secret
Gelen esinleme 5
Ama ne gökte, ne yeryüzünde, ne de yer altında tomarı açıp içine bakailecek kimse
yoktu. O zaman acı acı ağlamaya başladım. Çünkü tomarı açmaya ve işine bakmay layık
kimse bulunamadı.
Have you ever had a dream where you were confronted with a mystery, some key of
cosmic significance, that would miraculously transform your situation? Then you wake up,
and can't remember what the big secret insight was?[1]
Let's look at a few words:
• gök -- heaven. gökte -- in heaven
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35
• yer -- earth. place. yüz -- face. yeryüzünde -- on earth.
• altında -- under
• tomar -- scroll.
• layık -- worthy
• acı -- bitter. bitterly. acı acı -- extremely bitterly.
No one can accuse the writer of this book of concealing his emotions. As Jimmie
Hollandsworth pointed out, the imagery in Esinleme is cartoon-like. Bold colors, loud
noises, hard-edged images. In this chapter, he sees something that makes him weep
bitterly. The most important information in the universe, the key to everything else, is
sealed -- with seven seals. And nobody can be found who is worthy to break the seals,
and release the vast resources this document conveys.[2]
What's the meaning of it all? Or as Michael Caine plaintively asks in the final, memorable
shot of the movie Alfie, "What's it all about?"
The riddle of "life, the universe, and everything" is right there -- in front of the writer -- and
inaccessible. Frustration enough to make anyone weep.
Ah, but as the chapter unfolds, One is found who is worthy to break the seals. I'm
reminded of how Paul inverted the meaning of the word "mystery." Before his time,
esoteric cults, mystery religions, flourished in the Roman empire. Something in us
relishes secrets, as long as we're the ones who know them! Today, grown men get
together to play "let's pretend" in Masonic lodges around the world. The word "mystery,"
in fact, comes from the Greek word "mystes," initiate. Someone who has completed the
ordeal and been initiated into the secret knowledge of the order. Paul, however, asserted
that the biography of one Man, Jesus of Nazareth, was the open secret, the key to
unlocking all the riddles of life.
My prayer for those who read this blog is for you, too, to find out "what's it all about," and
not be left as clueless as Alfie at the end of your story.
________________
[1] I had a nightmare sometime in the 1990's, during which I was working on a PhD
dissertation that would bless many people, and help them get a grip on their lives, their
hopes, their destiny, their culture. In my dream, I experienced rich satisfaction in the
course of performing intensely meaningful work. The nightmare component? I knew that I
was dreaming, not actually doing it ... back then!
[2] Oh, yes. It's a legal document, a will. Back then, a man on his deathbed would call
seven friends, each of whom would affix his wax seal to the rolled-up will. Upon his
demise, the seven friends would convene again. Each would examine the seal, and
testify that it was intact. The will was valid. It has not been tampered with.
Here come the deputies (Esinleme 6)
In our last chapter, we met the One who is worthy to probate the will, and to release the
legacy to the heirs. Israel was promised a specific chunk of land, on condition of
obedience. The New Israel, the Church, is promised the whole world, and told to bring
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the nations to heel.[1] (the Great Commission recapitulates the Dominion Mandate, you
see.)
Problem? Well, the other team disputes the title, and needs to be evicted. And it's not
going to be a pretty process. In the most memorable scene in Michael Moore's
documentary Roger and Me, the camera follows sheriff's deputies knocking on doors and
compelling families to leave the homes they can no longer afford to rent.
This is the chapter that features the fabled "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." I'm
especially fond of #1:
Bakınca beyaz bir at gördüm. Bu ata binmiş olanın bir yayı vardı. Kendisine bir taç verildi
ve galip gelen biri olarak zafer kazanmaya çıktı.
We'll look at a few one-syllable words today:
• at -- horse
• taç -- crown
• yay -- bow, spring, arc
We've seen one phrase a few times before. Seven times, in chapters 2 and 3 -- galip
gelen. To overcome. The rider on the white horse is, obviously, the One who is Revealed
in this book. The King goes forth, to overcome, to gain the victory. When there are real
enemies on the field, real foes[2] of God and man, real battles ensue. Jesus Himself told
us, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword." The brutal processes of history selectively
"sift out the souls of men before the Judgement Seat."
However, this is a long-term project. Satan, and his stooges, don't have a long-term
future. As Maynard Keynes said, "In the long run, we shall all be dead." The future
belongs to those with the faith, patience, and integrity to do the right thing, over the
course of generations, despite the lure of tempting short cuts.
______________
[1] To "bring (something) to heel" is an idiomatic expression from the realm of training
dogs. The "Heel!" command compels the well-trained canine to stand motionless just
behind your left foot. This expression means, to bring something under control.
[2] English is a shotgun wedding[3] of two contrasting linguistic families, the Germanic
and the Romantic. This gives writers incredible flexibility, since so often you can choose
alternate words for the same item. "Perspire" sounds more elegant than "sweat," for
example. Most of the time, the more frequently used word comes from the Anglo-Saxon
side of the family. The only exception I'm aware of is enemy/foe.
[3] A "shotgun wedding" is a traditional old American solution to the problem of out-ofwedlock pregnancy. The responsible man is compelled to marry the girl.
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Esinleme gelen bölümler 7 ve 8
America is a fertile seedbed for novel new heresies. It could be because of a
cantankerous, independent streak in our national character. Perhaps, we exemplify
Francis Shaeffer's maxim, "the little man with the open Bible can tell the 51%, 'You are
wrong.'" There's an anti-intellectual undertow in American Christian culture that glories in
re-inventing the wheel, one generation after another. After all (I speak foolishly, here!),
Christianity is so simple that any fool can understand all there is to know about it, right?
No need to invest whole generations in wrestling with the implications of our faith -- a
moment's effortless inspiration can speak directly to the heart of the matter. And
Christianity is, after all, a new kind of "feeling" about oneself, and one's universe. Not a
challenge to the way one understands "life, the universe, and everything."
Chapter 7 is a favorite among cultists, since it seems to suggest that 144,000 folks have
an exclusive claim on God's ultimate favor. Everybody likes the idea of being in the know,
belonging to a select group, an ultimate elite. Yet Revelation is a prophetic book, using a
specialized vocabulary. In those earlier days, 1,000 often meant "a number too big to
bother counting." 12 is of course the numeric designator of God's covenant people.
Squared, to make sure all of them are indicated. Times 1,000, to convey the image of a
vast, uncountable, number. Note what is happening to these select elect: They are each
receiving God's "seal of approval." God's mark of ownership. This chapter echoes
chapter 9 in Ezekiel, where the prophet sees an angelic messenger with writing utensils
going through Jerusalem to put God's mark on all those "who sigh and cry for the
abominations" of that city. As Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be
comforted."
But the comfort may need to wait for the next life. Those who are protected by God's
trademark on their thoughts and deeds, His Word bound upon forehead and right hand,
will receive their reward. And here's today's selection:
Çünkü tahtın ortasında olan Kuzu onları güdecek
ve yaşam sularının pınarlarına götürecek.
Tanrı onların gözlerinden bütün yaşları silecektir.
And, a few of the words:
• taht -- throne
• Kuzu -- Lamb
• yaşam sularının pınarlarına -- to living waters springs
• yaşlar -- tears
Yes, even if we perish in our tribulations, we can anticipate standing before the throne of
The Lamb who is also a Shepherd.
Meanwhile, back on planet earth, there's more to do than just "grin and bear it." Chapter
8 presents the church's artillery, the Christian's counter-attack. We can pray. No, not just
in the sense of vaporing pious wishes towards an imaginary heaven. When we assemble
for worship, we are in the presence of the King, doing business in the throne room of the
Almighty, presenting our case to the ultimate Judge, back seat drivers on the bridge of
the Star Ship Universe. The leaders of the church (remember, the "angels" we met in
chapters 2 and 3?) take our prayers to God -- and stuff begins to happen around us.
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No, we didn't lose count. A pattern repeated several times in this book is -- a set of
actions, a pause for reflection, then the concluding members of the set. After the
business of sealing His chosen is completed, after the church steps up to the plate and
fulfills its duty to pray, the pent-up wrath of God against His enemies is released. The
leaders of the church are the maestros of history, implementing God's will for the nations
by worship, prayer, and faith.
The beatings will continue (Esinleme 9)
The drug-addled hippies had a folk remedy for a bad LSD ("acid") trip -- take another
dose, of ten times as much. A standard definition of insanity is, to continue repeating
behaviors that have failed to achieve the desired goal. Or, as a management joke goes,
"The beatings will continue until morale improves."
Geriye kalan insanlar, yani bu belalardan ölmemiş olanlar, kendi elleriyle yaptıkları
putlardan dönüp tövbe etmediler.
And now, a few words!
• geri -- back, remainder
• kalan -- remaining, remainder
• insan -- man, mankind
The original readers of this book watched, stunned, as the people around them kept on
doing the same stupid things that had brought their disasters upon them in the first place.
The "remaining remainder of the men" continued to worship their blind, deaf, and useless
idols. But are we that much smarter? The dominant idol of our age is "The Government."
Government programs try to "help" poor families by making the men unnecessary -- and
bastardy skyrockets. In some targeted populations, fewer than 20% of the children grow
up at home with their fathers. Government "education" produces an ever-growing crop of
people who either can't read, or don't like to read. This development produced A Nation
At Risk, the title of report produced by a committee of "experts" three decades ago. The
solution, these "experts" said, was to entrust more power and money to the same clowns
who had created the problem!
Sweet to the taste ...
And, a look at another slice of life:
Meleğin yanına gigip küçük tomarı bana vermesini istedim. Bana, "Al, bunu ye!" dedi.
"Midende bir acılık yapacak, ama ağızında bal gibi tatlı olacak."
Today's words:
• melek -- angel
• miden -- stomach
• bal -- honey
Ezekiel, too, was handed a scroll and told to eat it. The New Testament keeps telling us
things that the Old Testament failed to mention. Ezekiel reported how God's Word was
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"as sweet as honey." John tells us "the rest of the story." After the intial exhileration, the
new things we learn, the fresh insights on life, can make life harder for us.
"You're going to have a hard life," a doting father warned his love-smitten daughter.
"Yes," her blessed husband admitted a decade or two later. "But it's also been a very
good life!"
Take a stick to it (Gelen Esinleme 11)
The first verse of this chapter provides an important clue as to when it was written:
Bana, değneğe benzer bir ölçü kamışı verilip şöyle dedi, "Git, Tanrı'nın tapınağını ve
sunağı ölç, orada tapınanları say.
Today's word list:
• değnek -- stick, rod, cane
• benzer -- like a (this is a "post-position." English speakers need to learn to think
backwards when learning Turkish -- and vice-versa. It's like a preposition, except it
comes after the word it points to!)
• ölçü -- measure, measurement. ölçmek -- to measure.
• kamış -- reed
• tapınak -- temple
Derek Prince, the great pentecostal Bible teacher, once compared a certain Biblical
doctrine to a vest. If you get the first button in the right buttonhole, the rest all fall neatly
into place. I disagree with the doctrine he applied this metaphor to, but the word picture is
useful here.
What is the significant element in this verse? The temple. John writes about it as though it
were there. So this opens the door to two possibilities:
1. The temple was there, and this book, and probably the entire NT canon, was
completed before AD 70, when the temple was destroyed.
2. John wasn't writing to the folks he said he was writing to, the seven churches he
was responsible for in Asia Minor (Anatolia), but to folks living thousands of years
later, when another temple has been built.
American atheists assert that Jesus and Paul were false prophets, since they spoke of
something dramatic that would happen within a generation of our Lord's death, burial and
resurrection. The fertilizer would hit the air conditioner[1] in such a powerful, obvious, and
visible way that the whole world would see God's judgement in the event.
The people I find convincing argue that our Lord's coming "with clouds" does not refer to
His second coming in the flesh at the end of history, at the time of the general
resurrection. Throughout the Bible, God's "coming with clouds" is used as a metaphor, a
word picture, for God's spectacular and visible judgement upon a social order. If we apply
this Biblical word picture to the Olivet Discourse, then Jesus was describing the Jewish
War, the seven-year tribulation that befell Israel 40 years (one generation) after the
prophecy was given. A judgement that culminated in an obliteration of the temple that
was so thorough that not one stone was left standing upon another. Well, when the
temple burned, the extensive gold plating on the inside melted and ran down between the
cracks in the masonry. To recover the gold, the Romans dismantled the temple stone by
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stone.
So is the New Testament powerfully convincing? Or a little bit silly?
______________________
[1] This is a euphemism for the colorful slang description of a messy situation: "Well, the
shit really hit the fan!"
Now is come (Bölüm 12)
Ergun Caner, a prominent Baptist writer and professor, lamented a side-effect of the
printing press. People no longer felt compelled to memorize the Bible. Muslims know the
value of committed sacred text to memory. Throughout the world, pious children spend
hours absorbing the Arabic Koran. It does a man good to have noble words ready to
reflect upon at any idle hour, or when suffering insomnia. At some point, I really do need
to see to it that my girls memorize the Sermon on the Mount, for example.
Today's chapter includes a jubilant hymn of victory that I often recite to myself for comfort
and encouragement. Let's see what the first part looks like in Türkçe.
Bundan sonra gökte yüksek bir sesin şöyle dediğini duydum __
Tanrımızın kurtarşı, güçü, egemenliği ve Mesihinin yetkisi şimdi gerçekleşti.
Çünkü kardeşlerimizin suçlayıcısı, onları Tanrımızın önünde gece gündüz suçlayan,
aşağı atıldı.
And now, a brief word list:
• kurtarma -- salvation, rescue, recovery
• güç -- power
• egemenlik -- kingdom
• yetki -- authority, jurisdiction
• gerçek -- true, real, actual, fact, realilty, truth
• gerçeklmek -- become true, be realized
It's interesting the way different languages use different word orders. In English and
Greek, the emphasis is strongly asserted by the way the hymn begins. "Now is come ..."
"Arti egeneto ..."and then, the laundry-list of amazing blessings released into humanity's
experience by the achievements of our God and His Christ. The Turkish translation I'm
using begins with the list, then puts the verb where it belongs (if you are a Turk) at the
end of the sentence -- all of these things "now are realized."
In the Book of Job, we see Satan having ready access to God's Throne, where he
accuses the man. In the gospels, after our Lord's emissaries return from a successful
evangelistic tour, Jesus exults greatly and says, "I saw Satan falling as lightening from
heaven." Here, the heavens shout for joy because Satan's access to the higher protocol
levels has been canceled.
And when did Satan get the boot? When did God establish His salvation, power, and
Kingdom? When is the "now?" of this verse?
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Your answer will have a lot to do with how much you enjoy victory in this life.
Denizden ve yerden çıkan canavarlar (Bölüm 13)
John wrote to a specific group of people about the specific trials they faced. It's
interesting to note, however, how often history repeats itself. Apparently, if we fail to learn
its lessons, we need to repeat the grade.
In this chapter, John sees a beast arising from "the sea." The sea is, throughout the
Bible, a word-picture of humanity -- dark, turbulent, acted upon by exterior forces. The
Beast from the sea is, obviously, both Rome and Caesar. The Caesar is, obviously, Nero.
The dude who used to dress up in an animal costume with razor-sharp steel claws, to
tear into chained captives in the arena. The chapter uses a discrete code to label Nero -if you spell out Caesar Nero in Hebrew characters and add up the numeric values of
those letters, you get 666. The Roman empire was in the midst of a turbulent period. At
one point, it had five emperors in less than a year. Yet somehow Rome managed to pull
itself together and stagger on for another four centuries.
The beast I'm fascinated by, however, is the Beast from The Land. Which land? THE
Land -- Israel. After this (Bundan sonra) ... well, let's let John use his own words:
Bundan sonra bir canavar gördüm. Yerden çıkan bu canavarın kuzu gibi iki boynuzu
vardı, ama ejderha gibi ses çıkarıyordu.
And, today's word list:
• kuzu gibi -- like a lamb
• ejderha gibi -- like a dragon
Like a lamb, this beast had two horns. Like a dragon, it spoke. Knowing where this beast
arose, The Land of Israel, its identity is easy to discern. As you recall, the ruling class of
first-century Israel both resented Rome (the Pharisees) and depended on Rome for their
political power (the Sadducees). When push came to shove, when the rulers of Israel
confronted the Messiah, God's King of Israel, they said, "We have no king but Caesar."
They pledged allegiance to God's enemy, and the ultimate enemy of their people. Their
immediate descendants paid the price for that misplaced loyalty.
Yet, time after time, we see God's people functioning as "Sampsons in reverse," propping
up enemies of God and man. Israel's ruling class provided a credibility transplant to
Rome, that helped Rome over a rough spot in their history. The Soviet experiment was
funded with American money during the "New Economic Policy," the "Lend-Lease
program," the post-Stalin "thaw," "detente," and "glasnost."
Finally, here in America Christian parents are politely cooperating with the godless plan
for their extermination by "rendering unto Caesar that which is God's." Christian parents
support secular humanism by willingly providing this beast with the feedstock and fodder
it demands -- the bodies, minds, and souls of their children. As public education has
become ever-more consistent to the dreams of its founding fathers, Horace Mann and
John Dewey, those who go through the intestines of this leviathan emerge quite changed.
Unlike "weasel coffee," it's not for the better. Very few are able to think like Christians any
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more -- although they may "feel" and emote in culturally sanctioned ways.
Yet, every proud enemy of the gospel eventually collapses under its own weight. And we
can hasten that glorious day by simply refusing to provide artificial life support to godless
systems.
Epistemology question ...
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Here's today's verse (14:3)
O yüz kırk dört bin kişi, tahtın önünde, dört yaratığın ve ihtiyerların önünde yeni bir ezgi
söylğyordu, yer yüzündex satın alınmış olan bu kişilerden başka kimse o ezgiyi
oğrenemedi.
• yüz -- hundred
• kırk -- fourty
• dört -- four
• bin -- thousand
• yeni -- new. The fabled "new troops" of the Ottoman empire were the yeni çeri -- a
term more familiar in its anglicized spelling of Janissary.
• ezgi -- song
Twelve, of course, is the number of God's people taken as a whole. Twelve tribes of
Israel, twelve apostles of Jesus, twelve "good men and true" sitting on a jury. Oh, yes.
There is a reason why a jury has twelve members. They represent the godly community
in the exercise of justice, in the Anglo-American common-law tradition.
Just to make sure the reader understands that this body represents all of God's people,
John squares the number, to get 144, then multiplies it by a thousand for good measure.
God's people bear the mark of his ownership upon their foreheads. And they have a new
song to sing, one that mystifies the outsiders. The Calvinist has a simple way of
explaining this phenomenon. For reasons of His own, God makes some people His own - and makes Himself known to his own. There are some scholars who argue that the
elect and the reprobate actually have different epistemologies, different structures of
knowledge. The elect struggle to apply the knowledge of God to every detail of their lives.
The reprobate desperately struggle to blind themselves to the evidence right in front of
their eyes every day. As C. S. Lewis observes in one of his Narnia stories, "if you try very
hard to make yourself stupider than you are, you will very often succeed."
Yet, there has to be some underlying common hard-wiring that defines the human soul,
so that people of different faiths, and no faith, can communicate with one another. Still,
part of our walk with God just does not make sense to those who do not know God. In
which case, we have recourse to prayer.
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Hello, again. Bölüm 15
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Gökte büyük ve şaşılacak başka bir belirti gördüm. Bu, son yedi belayı taşıyan yedi
melekti. Tanrı'nın öfkesi bu belalara son buluyordu.
John sees another great sign in the heavens, something else his readers need to get a
grip on in order to make it safely through the events that were about to happen. Let's look
at a few words:
• gök -- heaven. Gökte -- in heaven.
• son -- end. Final. Last.
• son bulmak -- to find an end. to be complete.
Seven angels appear, holding seven phials or cups, which contained the seven plagues
that would exhaust the wrath of God upon His earthly enemies. These plagues tended to
symbolically echo the plagues Moses unleashed upon Egypt, as well as indicate what the
Jewish nation had to look forward to. For example, hailstones of a talent's weight (about
40 kilograms). Roman catapults hurled limestone rocks about that size into rebellious
Jerusalem. The people inside, in desperate blasphemy would shout, "Here comes the
Son!" They recognized God's condign judgement when it fell upon them.
Take note, though, of who the agents of this wrath are. Folks we've met in chapters 2 and
3. The seven leaders of the seven churches.
We underestimate the power of corporate prayer, and the authority God has given us to
bring rebellious nations to heel.
A sea of blood (Bölüm 16)
The plagues are falling. Prayers are being answered. And that is not always good news
for everybody.
İkinci melek taşını denize boşaltı. Deniz, ölü kanına benzer bir kana dönüştü ve işindeki
bütün canılar öldü.
Josephus, renegade Jewish warrior who went over to the Roman side in time to save his
own hide, wrote several large history books, including first-hand reports of The Jewish
War. The Sea (of Galilee) was, indeed, turned to blood. Literally, since it was covered
with corpses.
"There was a young lady from Niger ..."
Monday, January 05, 2009
The limerick is a unique popular verse form in English. It follows the rhyme scheme of A
A B B A. It's designed for humor, and many limericks are unfit for mixed, or decent,
company.[1] The rhyme scheme need not be perfect: part of the human in the following
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limerick stems from the way Niger and Tiger look so much alike, but are pronounced so
differently.
There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a Tiger.
They came back from a ride,
With the lady inside,
And the smile on the face of the Tiger.
There's some grim wisdom lurking behind the laughter. Will the project you're committed
to take you towards your goals? Or will it consume you?
In Bölüm 17, the prophet has a vision of a lady riding a fantastical beast. With imperial
pomp, she gloats over the suffering of the "little people" who got in her way, and offers
the nations a cup brimming with her own wickedness. A golden cup, mind you.[2] The
prophet is astonished. What right does this emblem of all that is wrong have to ride so
high? And the angel tells him,
Melek bana, "Neden şaştın?" diye sordu. "Kadının ve onu taşıyan yedı başlı, on boynuzlu
canaverın sırrını ben sana açıklayayım."
And, a few words:
• şaşmak-- to astonish
• kadı -- woman
• açıklamak -- to open up, to reveal
Israel was riding high. Acording to at least one scholar, Max I. Dimont, nearly one out of
every seven households in Rome worshipped the God of Israel. Yet this was the same
Israel that discarded God's King, and loudly, and proudly, asserted that they wanted no
king but Caesar. This was the same Israel that imposed an economic boycott on
Christians, and saw to it that those who named the name of Christ would never get
anywhere, socially, politically, or vocationally. This was the Israel that told the nations to
suck it up, grin and bear it, and rejoice to bear the yoke of Rome.
When Christians use force, and the threat of force, against their neighbors, the results
can be "unanticipated consequences." Protestant Christians in New England were
worried about the influx of Irish Catholics. So, they teamed up with a Unitarian, Horace
Mann, to set up the "common schools." These "generic" schools would, they believed,
wean the young ones away from allegiance to the Pope, and turn them into proper
Americans. Yet when people of contrasting convictions attempt to work together, those
who believe the most firmly are called upon to give ground to those who believe less,
until finally the enterprise is captured by those with no faith at all.
Today, only a small percentage of Christian young people who attended public schools
still embrace the faith of their parents.
_________
[1] "Mixed company" means a gathering comprised of both genders.
[2] Jamie Buckingham was reminded of this passage when reading a novel by an
American novelist. The prose was exquisite, but the story was defiling.
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In one hour ...
One of Woody Allen's best movies, Crimes and Misdemeanors, shows how the central
character, an optometrist, commits two murders: of his mistress, and of his conscience.
Towards the end, as the honored professional man tells his story to a failed movie maker
(played by Allen), he asks the nebbish: "Suppose you did something horrible, and nothing
happened. What would that tell you?" The Allen character replies, "That my worst fears
were realized."
John Calvin said that God judges some sins in this life, so that men will not impugn His
justice. Some sins, however, go unpunished until the next life, since we do need to walk
by faith and not by sight. The people of Israel had lived under the Sword of Damocles for
nearly an entire generation. They knew of the doom Jesus had predicted ... but it had not
happened yet. Therefore, he must have been just another false prophet, right? John,
however, has a different message for them:
Çektiği ıstıraptan dehşete düşecekler, uzakta durup,
"Vay, vay, büyük kent, güçlu kent Babil!
Bir saat işinde cezanı buldun diyecekler."
• ceza -- punishment
• ıstırap -- pain, suffering
• dehşet -- terror, horror, awe
Jersalem had become "the big city, the strong city, Babylon." Yet, "in one hour," in a very
brief period of time, the bills came due.
Are you invited?
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
In many of his parables, Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a party. A metaphor
used frequently in the New Testament for the Church is -- the Bride of Christ. As a
collective entity, we are bound in strong ties of covenantal affection to the One who died
for us and redeemed us with His own blood. Another metaphor used for the connection
between Christ and His people is -- as close as if He were the head, and we were the
rest of the body.
The Gospel is an invitation to come to the party, come into fellowship with God and with
His people, feast on His provision, rejoice in His presence. In this chapter, we see the
invitation extended yet again:
Melek bana, "şunu yaz" dedi. "Ne mutlu Kuzu'nun döğün şölenine çağrılmış olanlara!" Ve
şunu ekledi "Bunlar gerçek sözlerdir, Tanrı'nın sözleridir."
And, a few words for today:
• mutlu -- blessed. Ne mutlu -- how blessed!
• döğün -- wedding feast.
• gerçek -- truth, truth, fact, actual.
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Come on in! Check out the place settings -- your name may very well be on one! The
universe rings and echoes with the joy of the occasion: men and God at table are sat
down. Fellowship is restored and celebrated. It's great now, and the best is yet to come!
Great white throne -- final judgement
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
The Koran portrays the final judgment as a walk over a narrow bridge that arches across
the flames of Hell. The Biblical vision is of a pure, gleaming throne, with a personal Judge
reviewing the books.
Büyük bayız bir taht ve tahtın üzerinde oturanı gördüm. Yer ve gok O'nun önünden
kaçtılır ve yok olup gittiler. Tahtın önünde duran büyük küçük, bütün ölüleri gördüm.
Sonra bazı kitaplar aöıldı. Yaşam kitabı denen başka bir kitap daha açıldı. Ölüler,
kitaplarda yazıl anlara bakılarak yaptıklarına göre yardılandı.
A few words:
• büyük -- great, big
• bayız -- white
• taht -- throne
• küçük-- small
• kitap -- book
Chapter 20 is the one that has spawned all kinds of fanciful speculation. There is a
classical word for apocalyptic hysteria, chiliaism. This comes from the Greek word for
thousand. Chiliaism is an obsession with an imaginary future, and a lust to make pretty
maps of it. The screen against which this imaginary future is projected is the "thousand
year reign" mentioned in this chapter. What does it mean? When does it start? How long
does it last? How does it end? Well, Hitler dreamed of a "thousand-year Reich."
Byzantium lasted around a thousand years. The Hapsburg Catholic dynasty endured for
nearly as long, in Europe.
In the Bible, though, it all depends on context. Frequently, "thousand" is a word-picture
for "too many to count." If, as Psalm 50 says, God owns "the cattle on a thousand hills,"
then who owns the beasts on hills 1,001 to n? And Revelation is a book of word pictures.
Traditionally, the Church has countenanced three different millenial theories. A wild card
popped up 150 years ago, alas, and now bedazzles and dumbfounds many American
Protestants. The contenders are:
• Amillenialism -- we are in the millenium, the time when Jesus is ruling, in a spiritual
sense, but evil will be giving us a run for our money all the way 'til the end.
• Postmillennialism -- we are in the millenium, Jesus is ruling now, and the world will
be gradually transformed as Christians are faithful in their works of service.
• Premillennialism -- things will go from bad to worse, until the other team controls the
entire field. At which point comes the end, followed by a literal thousand-year epoch
of peace and plenty.
• Dispensationalism -- we can know in detail the sequence of events that will happen
after "the rapture," after we are removed from the scene, and those events have no
relevence to us.
The point of this chapter, however, is brutally simple: all of us will face our Maker on the
Last Day, and will give an account of what we have done with the lives we were given.
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Coming down from heaven
Friday, January 09, 2009
The grand story, with all of its cartoon-like violent, vivid imagery, sound track and drama,
is beginning to wind down. Like Ezekiel, the prophet John describes God's dwelling place
with humanity:
Sonra melek beni Ruh'n yönetiminde, büyük ve yüksek bir dağ götürdü. Oradan bana,
gökten, Tanrı'nın yanından ince O'nn görkemiyle ışıldayan kutsal kenti, Kudüs'u
gösterdrdi. Kentin ışıltısı, çok değerli bir taşın, billur gibi parıldayan ışıltısına benzıyordu.
And now, a few words
• billur -- crystal
• parıldamak -- gleam, glitter, twinkle
• ışıltı -- glitter, twinkle
The prophet describes a gleaming city descending from heaven, from the Divine
Presence. I am reminded of John's description of the new birth in chapter 3 of his gospel,
as the birth "from above." I am also reminded of the phrase that occurs several times in
The Epic of Gilgamesh -- "When kingship was let down from heaven."
Somehow, a new reality, a new kingdom, a new order, shows up in the neighborhood.
And the nations have reason to rejoice.
The heavenly city
Ezekiel ends with a river gushing forth from the threshold of the temple, going forth to
water the land, and getting deeper as it goes. Johns' revelation, too, ends with a river,
clear as crystal, of the water of life. It proceeds from Heaven's Throneroom, and goes
forth to bring life to the City of God. Both banks have trees, whose leaves are for the
healing of the nations. Twelve kinds of trees, simultaneously and continuously blooming
and bearing fruit. As my beloved mentor R. J. Rushdoony explained, creative people
prove in their experience that -- the closer they get to their muse, the more prolific and
productive they become. Potential, as a wag once said, means "not any good, yet." As
we "stir up" the gift within us, as we act upon our calling, equipping, and destiny, we enjoy
seasons of great achievement.
The Heavenly Jerusalem, as we have seen, is God's mobile home on earth, the people
among whom He lives and moves, speaks and acts. His Spirit pours forth from His
throne, permeates the city, and incidently makes things right for the nations of the world.
Let's look at one more time passage. The angel is leaving John with some parting words,
about the words he's just been entrusted with:
Sonra bana dedi ki, "Bu kitabın peygamberlik sözlerini mühürleme. Çünkü beklenen
zaman yakındır.
And now, a few words:
• mühürlemek -- to seal up. In this case, the verb is in the negative imperative -- "Hey,
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YOU. Do NOT seal this up."
• beklemek -- to wait for
• zaman -- the time
• yakındır -- is near
This command is in stark contrast to the command Daniel received at the end of his
prophetic career. The aged prophet Daniel, who'd served as vizier for four successive
emperors, was curious about how things would turn out. He was told that it was none of
his business. The book was "sealed," inexplicable until the appointed time. Daniel was
told to live out his life patiently, and look for the resurrection, when his questions would
finally be answered.[1]
Daniel's message was "sealed," until the time of our Lord Jesus Christ, who made things
explicit. John's message, on the other hand, was not sealed. The time was near, and his
Revelation was meant to be understood by, and to benefit, the people he was writing to
at that time. There is, alas, in American folk Protestant culture, a diseased notion afloat
that John was actually writing to us, rather than to those whom he said he was
addressing! Talk about vanity!
Still, it is edifying to read of God's mercies lavished, and promises kept, and prophecies
fulfilled, in the past. Since He is "the same, yesterday, today, and forever," we, too, can
receive strength for our trials, and expect a victorious conclusion to our life's quest.
___________________
[1] My favorite G. K. Chesterton short story, found in The Club of Queer Trades, tells of a
Major Brown who accidently blundered into the middle of someone else's story. Major
Brown's task, at the end of the story, was to let mysteries alone, and wait til the next life
for the answers. Some questions, such as how things turned out for old romantic
interests, are best left alone.
Someone else has been with her ... (Matt. 1)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
In Shakespeare's day, after a performance of the play Richard II, the lead actor scrubbed
off his makeup and hurried on over to the home of an available young woman. As he
pounded on the door, an upstairs window opened. The playwright looked down and said,
"William the Conqueror came before Richard II!"
A guy I know was once infatuated with a young lady of suspect virtue. Then, one
memorable night, he learned that this lady had, shall we say, "a history." Including with
the guy he was rooming with.
It can be stunning to learn that things are not symmetrical with the object of one's chaste
and all-consuming desire. To learn that she may be your first, but you are number 1 ... n
in her list!
Imagine the cauldron of emotional upheaval that buffeted Yusuf when Meryem came
home after a visit with her cousin Elizabeth -- and was six months pregnant. Matt. 1:19
describes the man's true nobility:
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Meryem'in nişanlısı Yusu, doğru bir adam olduğu ve onu herkesin önünde utandırmak
istemediği için ondan gizlice ayrılmak niyetindeydi.
A few words to revıew:
• nişanlısı -- betrothed
• doğru -- righteous. straight. true.
• herkesin -- everybody
• utandırmak -- to put to shame
• gizlice -- secretly
Yusuf would have been well within his rights to have denounced Meryem as a loose
woman. There's a cynical old American saying, "The first baby can come any time; the
rest all take nine months." Even in first-century Palestine, people could count to nine.
Yusuf knew that marrying Meryem would expose him to a life time of humiliation, of
people quietly chuckling and nudging each other as he walked past them. In addition to
this was the stunning, horrifying certainty that ladies do not get pregnant on their own;
obviously, at least one other person had been with her. Still, he was willing to engage in a
sham marriage, and a discrete divorce, in order to shield the baby from the stigma of
bastardy, and Meryem from the strictures of justice.
It was after Yusuf decided to do the kind thing that supernatural encouragement came his
way. His sterling character shines forth, however, since he made the decision to
subordinate his own reputation, and his own outraged feelings, to the welfare of Meryem
and the babe she carried.
(For the record, Christians do not believe that God had carnal relations with Meryem. Like
Muslims, we believe that Jesus was conceived by a miracle, and Meryem's virginity was
not impaired.)
Decrepit trees (Matt. 3:10)
Under American tax laws, you can depreciate trees -- if you are an orchardist. It takes
several years for a young apple tree to start bearing fruit. If properly tended, it can
continue to do so for decades. Eventually, though, the tree's productivity tapers off, and
it's time to yank it out, by the roots, and bring out the chainsaw. Seasoned apple wood is
dense, burns hot, and makes excellent firewood.
Some trees are consigned to the flames sooner than others.
One verse from today's reading impressed itself upon my awareness this morning:
Balta şimdiden ağaçların köküne dayamıştır. İyi meyve vermeyen her ağaç kesilip ateşe
atılacak.
And, here's a few words for today:
• balta -- ax
• ağaç -- tree
• kök -- root
• meyve -- fruit
• ateşe -- fire
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Martin Luther, the monk who catalyzed the Protestant Reformation, once pointed out
how plants normally bear fruit for the benefit of other creatures. "Only Satan, and men
controlled by Satan, bear fruit for themselves," he wrote. Productivity appears to be hardwired into the structure of the universe. We exist to achieve purposes larger than
ourselves. To benefit those around us, starting with those closest to us. People who
achieve high levels of productivity in demanding vocations also tend to have long lives.
Pablo Casals and Pablo Picasso were both working, as cellist and as artist, well into their
nineties.
On the other hand, I'm sure we all know people of remarkable potential, who just sort of
fizzled on the launch pad, and never really soared[1] into achieving the things they could
have done. Dear friends, charming people, and derelicts. Often, these are the people
who die early.
Retirees often experience health problems. While they were working, engaged with life,
making things happen, they tended to outrun illness. The very act of generating output
maintained their health. The vigorous older people we know are those who still have
things to do.
May God grant us the grace to stay in the race all the days of our lives.
__________
[1] When Jewish people "assimilate," and walk away from their faith and heritage, they
frequently change their names. One such, a Nazi collaborator who today destabilizes
nations, adopted a verb for a surname. An Esperanto verb, the future tense of "to soar."
You may have heard of George Soros.
Another inaugural address
Gospel writer Matthew presents much of our Lord's preaching in the form of one long
message, towards the beginning of his biography. You might call it the King's "inaugural
address," as He commences His public ministry. Every king makes promises. So, too, did
İsa:
Ne mutlu ruhta yoksul olanlara! Göklerin Egemenliği onlarındır.
Ne mutlu yaslı onlanlara! Onlar teselli edilecekler.
Ne mutlu yumuşak huyla onlanlara. Onlar yeryüzünü miras alacaklar.
Ne mutlu doğruluğa acıkıp ve susayanlara! Onlar doyurulacaklar.
And a few words:
• Ne mutlu -- how blessed!
• Göklerin Egemenlik -- Kingdom of Heaven. You may recognize the word borrowed
from the Greek, "hegemon."
• doğruluk -- righteousness
The Muslims I number among my friends earnestly yearn to live right with God. They
"hunger and thirst" after righteousness. The vile Hollywood myth (that faith and family do
not matter) profoundly disturbs much of the world. The desire to live by transcendent,
eternal values gives people of faith an edge over people who believe in nothing. The
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future looks problematic for post-Christian secular Europe. They imported Muslim
laborers to replace the children they were too selfish to have, and are now trying to figure
out how to deal with a virile and culture in their midst that has no desire to assimilate into
the culture of godless hedonism.
In 1992, an English teacher and I conversed at length while enjoying a city-sponsored
cruise on the glorious Dnieper river. She had grown up believing that Ukrainians and
Russians were Slavic brothers working together to build an ideal civilization. Then, the
wall came down, and the archives opened. Her entire frame of reference was discredited.
She hoped her 14 year old son would believe in God, though, and was glad that we had
come from America to talk to her people about God. She was not yet ready to believe,
however, and I have often prayed for her since. William Conrad's novel Victory deals with
a man who seeks refuge from the world in stoic unbelief, and finds that option totally
futile.
As a Christian, I grieve for my friends who yearn for righteousness, but are "barking up
the wrong tree."[1] As a person of faith, however, I believe that God can and does make
Himself known to those who seek.
______________
[1] American metaphor derived from coon hunts. The prey eventually is "treed," and the
hounds surround the tree barking madly. Unless, of course, they are "barking up the
wrong tree."
Nazar değmek, nazar boncuğu
Envy is a sin against the 10th commandment. Otto Scott wrote that envy is as destructive
to a society as a major earthquake is to a city. In tribal parts of Africa, where envy reigns
supreme, the people live in identical round huts. If a man's crops are thriving, he'll sneak
out at night and spoil his own harvest, lest envious neighbors accuse him of, and lynch
him for, witchcraft. After all, if a man prospers, it can only be because he made someone
else suffer.[1] In the west, capitalism began churning out wealth on an unprecedented
scale only after a millennium of sermons preached against the sin of envy. As the
Westminster shorter catechism explains in quaint, but perceptive and elegant language:
Q. 80. What is required in the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition,[169] with a
right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his.[170]
Q. 81. What is forbidden in the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment forbiddeth all discontentment with our own estate,[171]
envying or grieving at the good of our neighbor, and all inordinate motions and affections
to anything that is his.[172]
In Turkish folk tradition, the fear of envy appears as an anxiety about "the evil eye." The
expression nazar değmek means to suffer from the evil eye, and the nazar boncuğu is a
lovely glass blue and white bead that protects one from the evil eye.
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Well, Jesus, peygamber İsa, also warns us to watch out for the evil eye. However, in the
creative way in which this matchless teacher stood accepted notions on their head, Jesus
warned us to watch out for our own evil eye!
Bedenin ışığı gözdür. Görünüz sağlamsa, tüm bedeniniz aydınlık. Görünüz bozuksa, tüm
bedeniniz karanlık olur. Bura göre, içinizdeki "ışık" karanlıksaü ne korkunçtur o karanlık.
And we have some wonderful words to contemplate today.
• beden -- body. bedeniniz -- your body.
• Gör -- eye. Görünüz -- your eye.
• ışık-- light
• sağlamsa -- if healthy, whole, wholesome ...
• aydınlık -- shining, filled with light.
• karanlık -- is dark
• korkunçtur -- how dreadful, terrible is ...
When you offer your friend that lovely Turkish greeting Gün aydın, you are wishing him
or her a bright and shining day.
Apparently Jesus is telling us that the focus of our lives determines the quality of our
lives. I worry about my culture, since its corporate dreams seem so obsessed with death
and decay. Consider the most popular shows on TV -- CSI, NCIS, etc. Other societies on
the verge of collapse had similar obsessions. And, as much as I enjoy that kind of
television (only for the scientific part, of course!), I sometimes wonder how wise it is to
invite so much darkness into my thought life!
Still, darkness recognized as such is relatively harmless compared to darkness embraced
as the light. Ideology, Russian novelist Soltsenitsyn wrote, is that 20th century invention
that made it possible for men to do -- routinely, dispassionately, and on an industrial
scale -- the kinds of atrocities that previous generations could only commit in the heat of
battle. C. S. Lewis warned us against the ultimate tyrant -- the one who wants to do us
good, in his own terms. A regular dicatator has to sleep sometimes, and can get bored
with tormenting you. The do-gooder, by contrast, has a self-image that is predicated upon
his redemptive role.
May God have mercy upon us, and permit us to see things clearly.
_____________
[1] These parts of the world are kept poor by envy and the fear of envy. During good
times, these folks barely subsist. During bad times, they starve. Zimbabwe used to be
"the breadbasket of Africa." Then, a significant part of the population indulged in an orgy
of unrestrained envy -- and now face starvation on a massive scale. They got what they
wanted, and are now reaping the wild oats they sowed. But they can comfort themselves,
as they bury their children, with the cheerful thought, "Hey, at least I got to stick it to The
Man!"
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What, me worry?
Children of the sixties remember Mad Magazine, its trademark character Alfred E.
Neumann, and his trademark catch-phrase, "What, me worry?" A similar message from
the ultimate sane man is really helpful in today's uncertain economic climate:
Gökte uçan kuşlara bakın! Ne eker, ne biler, ne de ambarlarda yiyecek biriktirirler. Göksel
Babanız yine de onları doyurur. Siz onlardan çok daha değerli değil misiniz?
And, a few words:
• bakın -- Look at! Behold! Consider!
• kuş -- bird
• çok daha -- very much more
• değerli -- precious, costly, valuable
• doymak -- to be full up, to be satisfied
İsa spoke of a God whose awareness and compassion extended even to the birds of the
air. A God who lavished elegance upon the ephemeral lilies of the field. And are we not
far more valuable to the One who takes note of every sparrow that falls?
Siz önce O'nun egemelıiğinin ve O'ndki doğruluğun ardınadan gidin, o zaman size tüm
bunlar da verilecektir.
The exuberant goodness of the Creator should be reason enough for us to spurn our own
pettiness, and "live large," in the light of His expansive generosity. "Every day above
ground is a bonus," and as long as we are "on the clean side of the dirt," we have reason
for gratitude.
Construction -- Matt. 7:24-28
As a liberal arts degree holder, I've working my share of construction-related jobs. The
starting point was always the foundation. As one wise mentor explained, "A mistake in
the foundation will chase you all the way to the chimney top!" When you are forming up a
rectangular foundation, use a long tape-measure to make sure that the diagonal corners
are identical. Then you'll know that the corners are square.
Later, I was the man with the white hard-hat, clean hands, and clipboard who wandered
around job sites watching other people work. I took notes of what went on. When one
contractor poured inadequate concrete into a bridge, my notes documented the fact, and
a painful penalty clause kicked in.
Jesus worked construction, I believe. He knew about sawdust and planks. Consider, for
example, this parable:
«İşte bu sözlerimi duyup uygulayan herkes, evini kaya üzerinde kuran akıllı adama
benzer. Yağmur yağmış, seller yükselmiş, yeller esmiş ve eve saldırmış; ama ev
yıkılmamış. Çünkü kaya üzerine kurulmuştu.
Bu sözlerimi duyup da uygulamayan herkes, evini kum üzerinde kuran budala adama
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benzer. Yağmur yağmış, seller yükselmiş, yeller esmiş ve eve yüklenmiş. Ve ev çökmüş;
çöküşü de korkunç olmuş.»
İsa konuşmasını bitirince, halk O'nun öğretişine şaşıp kaldı. Çünkü onlara kendi din
bilginleri gibi değil, yetkili biri gibi ders veriyordu.
• sel -- flood
• yel -- wind
• uygulamak -- to apply
When I pray, I like to use a deck of 3 by 5 index cards. Each has a word, or a brief
phrase, indicating a matter where I want to invoke God's favor. The top card, therefore
the first and last thing I pray for, is Wisdom. Since we tend to get what we pray for, it's
pretty important to pray for the right things! I am also painfully aware of the foolishness in
my own life, the areas wherein I lack awareness.
This morning, however, a disturbing thought occurred: is it wise to pray for more wisdom,
unless one is busy applying the wisdom he already has? Brilliant people rarely achieve
leadership positions in corporate environments. They have their brilliant insights, and
stop there to gloat. In real life, however, it's the doers who make progress.
May a merciful God have mercy upon us, and not leave us stranded inside our own
ineptitude!
Hospitality (Mat. 10)
Gary North once wrote that rich people tend to be as heavily in debt as poor people. They
live in bigger houses, with bigger mortgages. They drive fancier cars that take longer to
finance. The expense of "keeping up appearances" may leave little true discretionary
income.
So, what's the difference? Well, a rich guy has a lot farther to fall if he suffers financial
setbacks. On his way down, he usually leaves his friends behind. By contrast, true
generosity is often found among the poor. People who live close to the edge are,
perhaps, more likely to extend a helping hand to others who topple over the edge. After
all, they might need a hand themselves another day.
Cultures held in disdain by elites often have a ethic of hospitality. R. J. Rushdoony, a
Presbyterian scholar who served for a decade as a missionary to western Native
American tribes, wrote of how a man could journey among these tribal people for weeks.
Food and lodging graciously offered, no questions asked. A Turkish friend explained a
custom among the rural people in his nation. You could knock on a total stranger's door,
tell him that "Allah wishes to be your guest today," and get a meal and a place to sleep.
No questions asked, no pay requested.
When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to preach throughout Israel, they relied upon
this same ethos of hospitality:
Onun evine gireken, evdekilere esenlik dileyin. Eğer o evdekiler buna layıksa, dilediğiniz
esenlik üzerinde kalsın ...
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Now, a few words for the day:
• layıksa-- worthy
• esenlik -- peace
• dilek -- wish, desire, requrest (noun)
• dilemek -- wish, desire, requrest (verb)
• dilek dilemek -- to make a wish
One of the most successful communes in America manufactures recreational vehicles.
They've been in business for decades, now. One of their ambitions is to provide safe and
affordable housing for traveling evangelists. The bringer of the message can pull into the
marketplace, step out of his air-conditioned bubble of portable America, bequeath
enlightenment to the benighted heathen, then ride off into the sunset.
Do you all see the problem with this?
Jesus charged His disciples to tap into pre-existing networks of credibility. When you
show up to announce the King's reign, offer free samples of the Kingdom's wealth. Heal a
few sick people. Cleanse lepers. Raise the dead. Announce that the King reigns, and has
wonderful things in mind for His loyal subjects. Then, make inquiries to find a "man of
peace," a worthy host. Pronounce a blessing upon his household. Stay with that family for
the duration of your time in the city. Mesh with real life.
When we preach the gospel, we invite people into eternal fellowship with the Eternal
God. A message transmitted over natural channels sounds more convincing, I suspect,
then one that drops down from out of nowhere, without any context.
Liberating servitude (Mat. 11:28-30)
Ivan Illych once said, "The gospel is like a joke told to a circle of men. And one man
smiles." Every public figure fears "losing the audience." You give it your best shot, and
the joke falls flat. The listeners miss the point. Instead of laughter or applause, you hear
that latest cliche for disconnect -- the sound of crickets.
After the twelve disciples came back from their preaching tour throughout Israel, Jesus
rejoiced greatly in His spirit. Even though the "chattering classes" of first century Israel
failed to get the point, people were responding. Demons were fleeing. The Good News
was transforming lives. And it is good news:
Ey bütün yorgunlar ve yükü ağır olanlar! Bana gelin, ben size huzur veririm. Ben
yumuşak huylu ve alçakgönüllüyüm. Boyunduruğuma girin ve benden öğrenin, böylece
canlarınız huzur bulur. Boyunduruğum kolay taşınır, vereceğım yük de hafiftir.
Let's look at today's words:
• boyun -- neck
• boyunduruğum -- yoke, bondage
• huzur -- peace of mind, comfort
• yük -- burden, load, cargo
• kolay -- easy
• hafif -- light
Some deaf tourists were visiting an art museum. They became excited while viewing
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Salvador Dali's surrealistic The Sacrament of the Last Supper. To those with eyes to see,
the Savior says (in sign language) "Come unto me."
Not nestled in a brass lamp ... (Mat. 12)
Ottoman Turkish (Osmanlı) was one of the few languages in the world with a vocabulary
as large as we English speakers enjoy. Like English, Osmanlı was a "shotgun wedding"
of contrasting linguistic families. The core, those 20% or so of the words you use 80% of
the time, were from the Ural-Altaic family. For literature and poetry, Osmanlı relied heavily
upon Persian-derived words. Farsi is an Indo-European language. Religious and legal
terms came from Arabic, a semetic language. Despite the efforts of Ataturk's language
reformers, a number of the older words are still in circulation. Saat (hour) and kitap
(book), for example.
Today's word, from the Arabic, is cin. English speakers recognize djinn and geni. This is
a spiritual being, a powerful one of malevolent character that must be handled with care,
if at all.
First-century Israel was conversant with the care and handling of cinler. In fact, there
were professional exorcists who traveled around performing rituals that were intended to
grant relief to the sufferers of demonic possession. Some of you may have seen the
depressing Linda Blair movie The Exorcist which presented the process as frantic,
desperate, and ritualistic.
When Jesus came along expelling demons with a word of command, this gave his
enemies yet one more reason to complain. If demons were docile in his presence, didn't
that prove that he was really on their side?
Eğer ben cinleri Beelzebub'un gücüyle kovuyorsam, sizin adamlarınız cinleri kimin
gücüyle kovuyorlar? Sizi bu durumda kendi adamlarınız yargılacak. Ama be cinleri
Tanrı'nın Ruhuyla kovuyorsam, Tantrı'nın Egemenliği üzerinize gelmiş demektir.
And, a few more words.
• gücüyle -- with the power of. güç (power) + üy (direct object of possessive) + le (with)
• kovmak -- drive out. kovuyorsam -- If I drive out. kov (stem) + uyor (first personal
singular present) + sam (subjunctive)
Oh, yes. Jesus was not the only exorcist around. Merely the most effective one.
Exorcism is still practiced among Christians, by the way. Rarely with the pomp and
pagentry the movie would lead you to expect. Being able to pray, and command demons,
in the name of Jesus is like having the right to sign checks using the name of one who
has unlimited wealth.
During the time of his earthly ministry, Jesus swept much evil out of the life of his nation.
After his exit, however, because of the stubborness of the nation in its unbelief, the forces
of spiritual evil returned, with a vengeance.
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Supremely valuable (Mat. 13)
"Opportunity cost" is a phrase you'll find in economics textbooks. The cost of doing item A
is, you can't do item B. Given limited resources of time and capital, we make choices
every day, every moment. Will I update my blog? Or play a computer game for five
minutes? The book The Unheavenly City defined the poverty-mentality as "presentoriented." If you always do, at the moment, that which looks most appealing, at the
moment, you are and will be poor. Or, as a wise sloganeer said, "If you do what you like
you won't like what you do." Comoputer programmers coined the term "dogwash" to
describe this phenomenon. The closer you get to the deadline of a major project, the
more urgent other chores look. Yes, I need to debug this module, but the dog really
needs washing ...
Laying claim to something supremely valuable requires the sacrifice of something, or
perhaps everything, less valuable. Properly appreciating one's wife, for example, means
forgoing every other woman on earth. Jesus described God's Kingdom in terms familiar
to people whose poverty was relieved by hopes of good luck from time to time:
Göklerin Egemenliği, tarlada saklı bir defineye benzer. Bunu bulan adam yine saklamış.
Sevinç içinde gitmiş, varını yoğunu satıp o tarlayı satın almış.
And, a few words:
• tarlada -- field
• defineye -- treasure
• saklı -- to hide
• var -- there is
• yok -- there is not
• varını yoğunu -- everything; lock, stock and barrel[1]
• satın almış-- to buy
• satın -- to sell
Discovering unexpected resources will test your character. A daughter who'd selected a
worthless husband frequently called her parents for financial help. Then, one glad night,
she called with good news, for a change. They'd won $5,000 on the lottery! To the aging
parents, this looked like the opportunity to get caught up on bills, to get ahead. A few
nights later, the daughter called again, begging for help. What happened to the jackpot?
"Oh, we spent that on more lottery tickets."
In America, the vast majority of big winners at the lottery are worse off in five years than
they were before they won. Expenses (and needy relatives) grow faster than unearned
income.
In this case, the unexpected resource found by some, overlooked by others, is the
Kingdom of Heaven. The opportunity to be in on what God is up to, to find a place in His
ongoing program, a position on His team. Something of so much eternal and
transcendent value that people have gone singing to their deaths in order to participate.
Well, as financial guru Peter Daniels once said, "The cost of a small dream is exactly the
same as the cost of a big dream -- your whole life." May our merciful Creator grant us
grace to dream big, live big, and spurn petty distractions in pursuit of worthy goals.
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___________
[1] This metaphor comes from America's historic love of firearms, and refers to parts of a
rifle.
Walk, on the water (Mat. 14)
One of the most memorable scenes in the Bible happened after Jesus spent a night in
prayer, by Himself, on a mountain -- then noticed that his disciples were having trouble
getting across the lake. Being the benevolent soul, He walked on over to help out.
Sabaha karşı İsa, gölün üstünde yürüdüğnü görünce dehşete kapıldılar. "Bu bir hayalet!"
diyerek korkuyla bağrıştılar. Ama İsa hemen seslenerek, "Cesur olun! Ben'im,
korkmayın!" dedi.
And, a few more words:
• cesur -- courage
• Cesur olun! -- be brave!
• Ben'im! -- It's me!
• korkmak -- to fear
• korkmayın! -- don't be afraid!
One of our Turkish friends has a fear of dogs. "Köpeğe kormasınız?" I asked. Alas, I'd
left out the k, and was asking them if they smelled the dog!
The most frequent command in the İncil is, korkmayın! Do not be afraid! When the Book
of Revelation enumerates the kinds of folks who will not be welcome in the Heavenly
City, the list starts with "the fearful and unbelieving." Apparently, our Lord knew that life is
filled with things to be afraid of. Yet we also have His hand of protection upon us, and His
power around us, and His angels standing guard over us. Faith, and reason, mark out the
right course of action: be brave, and hang in there!
Metaphorical disconnect (Mat. 16)
OK, let's set the stage. Jesus recently fed more than 4,000 people from a handful of
supplies. The team is boarding their commuting vehicle, and someone forgot to pack the
box lunches. Not the best time for a food-based metaphor.
İsa onlar, "Dıkkatli olun, Ferisilerin ve Sadukilerin mayasından kaçının!" dedi.
Today's words:
• dıkkat -- Caution!
• Dıkkatli olun -- Watch out!
• maya -- leaven / yeast
• ikiyüzlük -- Hypocrisy. iki- -- two. -yüz- -- face. -lük -- having the characteristics of.
• kaçmak -- avoid
Well, the official political and religious leaders of Israel had just finished demanding a
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sign from Jesus -- "and maybe then we'll take you seriously." Jesus, however, knew the
folly of defending yourself to people whose minds were already made up. He warned his
people against letting that kind of corrosive skepticism take root in their minds. Like
leaven in dough, contemptuous unbelief would eventually permeate one's entire attitude
towards life.
His disciples, however, were thinking about lunch, and missed the point. Our Lord's
rebuke, however, anchored in in their minds so well that we still read this saying today.
Unfortunately, history demonstrates that they still missed the point.
The "leaven of the Pharisees" is defined in one of the gospels as "hypocrisy." The
popular religious leaders of the day took delight in their ceremonial displays of their
religious fidelity. Thirty years or so later, when Paul brought a painfully garnered "care
package" to the church at Jerusalem, the leaders were barely polite. Yes, that's nice, that
those gentiles thought to help out. But what REALLY matters is -- we have many among
us who are zealous for the Jewish traditions. So why don't you play along with them?
Jesus knew better than to "play ball" with the Pharisees. Paul tried to make nice, tried to
get along, and demonstrated by his painful experience that there's just no pleasing some
people.
In the long run, many Jewish Christians buckled under the pressure, and went back to
their native culture. Short-term relief, however, came at the price of eternal damnation for
themselves and their descendants. And, the short-term was short, indeed. The Christians
in Jerusalem who stood fast, who remained faithful to Jesus, took the unanticipated break
in the Roman siege as their sign to beat feet and get out.
Migrating mountains! (Mat. 17)
After taking Peter, James, and John along for a brief mountain-top hobnob with Moses
and Elijah, Jesus rejoined the rest of the disciples. While the Big Cat was away, the mice
did play. A case of demonic possession showed up that followed the Linda Blair script
more closely. And for some reason, these seasoned evangelists who'd cast out demons
with a word during their preaching tour, were in over their heads. Jesus interrogated the
lad's father, and cast out the devil.
Why had the first team failed?
Sonra öğrenciler tek başlarına İsa'ya gelip, "Biz cini neden kovamadık?" diye sordular.
İsa, "İmanınız kıt oldoğu için," karşılığını verdi. "Size doğrususunu söyleyeyim, bir hardal
tanesi kadar imanınız olsa şu dağa, 'Buradan şuroya göç! derseniz, göçer. Sizi için
imkansız bir şey kalmez."
And, a few words:
• imanınız -- your faith.
• kıt -- scarcity. Famine.
• hardal tane -- mustard seed
• dağ -- mountain
• göç -- to migrate, to move off
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Well, I can read the newspapers and see all the hysteria over major corporations tossing
folks overboard. Or, I can pray in faith, and share with the world the amazing things that
God can do.
Workplace resentments (Mat. 20)
It's hard to fill out a standard job application when you have a work history as interesting
as mine. You're pursuing some gigantic project to change the world, but need a little cash
in hand from time to time. So, you hang around on a street corner where contractors can
pick up day laborers who get paid in cash at the end of each day. Or, for the more
middle-class person, you go to ManPower.[1] Show up wearing coveralls, and that
costume might get you a three-week gig at a cinderblock factory. You pick up fresh
blocks from a conveyor belt, and stack them neatly on pallets. It's those skinny four-inch
wide blocks that take the most out of you, since you grab and stack them two at a time.
Day laborers frequently have addiction problems. Hire a few to help you unload a truck,
and you can smell the wine oozing out of their pores after a few hours. They are typically
lower-class, socially and economically. During the Reagan Recession of the early 80s, I
counted myself fortunate to land a job with a predominantly black work crew, cleaning
and baling plastics and fabrics for recycling. A place to go, something to do, and
someone to pay me for it -- and life suddenly looked significantly brighter. I learned about
"mother's day," that glad event once a month when federal checks flood the hood to
temporarily enrich the unwed mothers and any boyfriends who could latch onto that gravy
train.
Still, the guy who paid me $5 / hour, cash, gave me a foothold when I desperately
needed it. A few years later, when he came by the software vendor where I worked, I had
the chance to thank him.
I don't think I'd be a good union man. The guy who provides me with work, tools, and a
workplace, is my benefactor, not my enemy.
Still, day laborers are acutely aware of every hour that they work.
Mat. 20 begins with a disturbing little parable about some day laborers. The vineyard
owner goes out first thing in the morning, and hires a batch to work his vineyard. He goes
out a few hours later, and hires some more. Goes out at noon, finds the latest crop of
guys shaking off their hangovers, and puts them to work. Rinse and repeat.
At the end of the day, he pays the folks who worked a single hour a full day's wages. The
same as everyone else. Of course, this does not sit well with the people who've endured
the weight and heat of the entire day. Well, tough. After all, Jesus points out,
İşte böylece sonuncular birinci, birinciler de sonuncu olacak.
And, a few words:
• bir -- one
• son -- the first
• sonuncular -- last
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• sonuncular -- the last
• olacak -- will be
Well, actually, this is a word of hope for us late bloomers. Israel had spent a few
thousand years, by that time, testifying to the One God, and smashing idols -- at least,
when they weren't building fresh idols of their own. Now that the consummation of their
pilgrimage was at hand, the torch was about to be handed to a batch of latecomers.
That hurts, folks. There was a time when I wanted to be a leader in our church. It never
happened. Time after time, I'd see newcomers drop in from out of nowhere, suddenly
acquire the recognition and honors I craved -- then casually discard opportunities I
despeartely yearned for. It's like having a younger brother show up and displace you from
the center of the universe!
On the other hand, though, every one of us benefits from the work of those who have
gone before. As Sir Isaac Newton said, we see farther because we can stand on the
shoulders of giants. God can indeed raise up new witnesses from unexpected places.
A man, two sons, had (Mat. 21:28-32)
I have a somewhat lengthier quote to discuss from İncil, the parable of the two sons
found in Mat. 21:28-32. My English-speaking friends can look it up.
İki oğul benzetmesi
«Ama şuna ne dersiniz? Bir adamın iki oğlu varmış. Adam birincisine gidip, Òğlum, git
bugün bağda çalış' demiş. «O da, `Gitmem!' demiş. Ama sonra pişman olup gitmiş.
«Adam ikinci oğluna gidip aynı şeyi söylemiş. O da, `Giderim, efendim' demiş, ama
gitmemiş. «İkisinden hangisi babasının isteğini yerine getirmiş olur?» «Birincisi» diye
karşılık verdiler.
İsa da onlara, «Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, vergi görevlileriyle fahişeler, Tanrı'nın
Egemenliğine sizden önce giriyorlar» dedi. «Yahya size doğruluk yolunu göstermeye
geldi, ona inanmadınız. Oysa vergi görevlileriyle fahişeler ona inandılar. Siz bunu
gördükten sonra bile pişman olup ona inanmadınız.
A man two sons had. Bir adamın iki oğlu varmış. The -mış verb ending, by the way, is
nearly unique in major languages. It's called the "dubative" or "narrative" suffix, and is
used by Turks to indicate events they have no personal, direct, knowledge of. When
translating this single syllable into English, you need to use such expressions as "they
say," or "it has been said," or "once upon a time."
I have read, it has been said, that Muslims and Christians have contrasting opinions
about the two sons. Christians take note of the fact that the second son at least repented
and did the right thing. The Muslim notices that the first son at least showed proper
respect for the father. Islam does not mean "peace," but "submission." Although the
Muslims I've met yearn to please God and take delight in prayer, there is an emphasis on
external conformity as the ultimate duty of a man, or nation. Kidnapped journalists are
released if they'll repeat the Arabic statement of faith in One God and in Mohammad his
prophet. To the journalists, it's just a matter of parroting nonsense syllables. To the
kidnappers, it's a valid conversion to flaunt to the world.
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A superficial compliance is a small price to pay for peace in the family. No sense in
getting all worked up over things you can't change. Republicans under the 0bama
administration can see the charm in the Turkish proverb "İt ürür, kervan yürür." The dogs
bark, the caravan moves on. No need to join forces with Al Capp's caricature of college
demonstrators, Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything (S.W.I.N.E.).
Yet, there is a Kingdom, and there is a King, whose interests take priority over the status
quo. And there are real, and eternal, consequences for ignorning reality.
Her şey hazır, gelin sölene! (Mat. 22:1-10)
Monday, February 02, 2009
This is the parable of the big party,and of the people who missed it.
İsa söz alıp onlara yine benzetmelerle şöyle seslendi: «Göklerin Egemenliği, oğlu için
düğün şöleni hazırlayan bir krala benzer. Kral, şölene davet ettiklerini çağırmak üzere
kölelerini göndermiş, ama davetliler gelmek istememiş.
«Kral yine başka kölelerini gönderirken onlara demiş ki, `Davetlilere şunu söyleyin: Bakın,
ben ziyafetimi hazırladım. Sığırlarım, besili hayvanlarım kesildi. Her şey hazır, gelin
şölene!'
«Ama davetliler aldırmamışlar. Biri tarlasına, biri ticaretine gitmiş. Öbürleri de kralın
kölelerini yakalayıp hırpalamış ve öldürmüşler. Kral öfkelenmiş. Ordularını gönderip o
katilleri yok etmiş, kentlerini ateşe vermiş.
«Sonra kölelerine şöyle demiş: `Düğün şöleni hazır, ama çağırdıklarım buna layık
değilmiş. Gidin yol kavşaklarına, kimibulursanız düğüne çağırın.' Böylece köleler yollara
dökülmüş, iyi kötü kimi bulmuşlarsa, hepsini toplamışlar. Düğün yeri konuklarla dolmuş.
As you can see, this story did not have a happy ending for the folks who got the
invitations. Let's look at a few of the words Jesus uses to describe God's glorious
kingdom:
• konuk -- guest
• davet -- invitation, party, reception
• şölen -- feast, banquet
• ziyafet -- feast, banquet
Way back in the old days, leaders didn't have business meetings, they had feasts. The
guests would show up and "pledge allegiance" to the King by partaking of his food and
drink. So one picture we have of the Heavenly Kingdom is of an ongoing celebration, a
rocking, raucous, party, with the King having the most fun of all.
But, there is a dark side to this happy picture. Suppose you refuse the invitation? What if
you are so embedded in the narcotizing routine of life that the call catches you by
surprise? How many of you have had your heart's desire dropped into your lap, then
fumbled away because you'd neglected to prepare yourself for the desired opportunity?
Well, folks, you can't say you weren't warned. If you look back upon those educational
failures in your life, they came despite the advice and counsel of friends, family, and your
own conscience. Procrastination, or just plain laziness, immobilized you, kept you from
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acting upon what you should have done -- and it can take decades to recover from the
consequences of missing your window of opportunity.
Or even eternity.
Or, as in the case of Israel, thousands of years. Ever since God's promise to Eve in the
Garden, of a redeemer who would crush the Serpent's head, God had given His people
"previews of coming attractions." He had sent the prophets generation after generation to
"make plain the way of the Lord." The religious leaders of Israel knew how to count, and
knew from Daniel's prophecy that The Messiah was right in their midst. Yet, for reasons
of their own, they refused to recognize God's King, and led a whole nation over a cliff.
Invitations in those days took two stages. First of all, the King would let it be known that
the event was going to happen. Then -- well, it takes a lot of time in a pre-industrial
society to slaughter, butcher, and cook a lot of beasts. To bake up a lot of cakes and
cookies. To blend the beverages, count the silverware, get the ducks in a row. Finally,
when all things were ready, the food was hot, come and get it, the second invitation went
out.
Folks, my prayer every day is for wisdom to heed the first invitation, the knowledge of
what I ought to be doing right now, so that the second invitation doesn't catch me flatfooted and embarrassed before the world, and the clown on the stage of my own
conscience.
Usurpers (Mat. 23)
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Replacing a reigning social paradigm is hard work. The status quo has an inertia that
keeps it going long after it's lost its bearings. One thing you can do, of course, is accuse
the current caretakers of having betrayed their legacy. In the early part of the Turkish war
of independence (Kurtuluş Savaşı -- war of salvation), Kemal Atatürk often referred to the
"captive Caliph," and asserted that the reigning political and religious head of the
Ottoman Empire was the victim of unscrupulous aides, who compelled him to act contrary
to the interests of his people. This reminds me of what I read this morning in Mat. 23:
Bundan sonraİsa halka ve öğrencilerine şöyle seslendi, "Din bilginleri ver Ferisiler
Musa'nın kürsüsünde otururlar. Bu nedenle size söylediklerinin tümünü yapın ve yerine
getirin, ama onların yaptıklarını yapmayın. Çünkü söyledikleri şeyleri kendileri yapmazlar.
And now, a few more words.
• kürsü -- pulpit, professorship, chair. What I'd like to have when I finish my
dissertation!
• din bilgin -- religious teacher
• yapmak -- to make or do. yapın -- do this! yapmazlar-- they do not do.
When you offer a new interpretation of accepted truths, your biggest adversaries will be
the folks who are vested in the status quo. They will not welcome your fresh and fervant
insights with alacrity, since you are also, perhaps unknowingly, asserting that they
dropped the ball. Missed the point. Lost the scent.
Most people, most of the time, go with the status quo, and the established leaders. A
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remnant, however, will hear and heed. Isaiah's Job, as Albert J. Nock explained, is to
explain "the way of the Lord more perfectly," day by day, essay by essay. Some will hear.
"The gospel is like a joke told to a circle of men. And one man smiles." (Ivan Illych) And,
when the house of cards comes tumbling down, those who have a better idea will be
ready to lead.
A focus of my scholarly and personal interest for the last four decades has been
supplanting civilizations, usurping paradigms. Few in first-century Israel heard and
heeded the message of Jesus. Today, however, a billion or more of us around the world
call Him Lord.
You better watch out! (Mat. 24)
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Watch the classic German flick M some time. It's a standard police procedural with some
interesting twists. The criminal underclass makes common cause with the police to track
down a child murderer. The characters are recognizable types, the cops and robbers so
frequently encountered in our own movies, acting as expected.
The kicker? The movie was released, I believe, in 1938 or 1939. The perfectly normal
society it depicts is -- Nazi Germany. When you are on the eve of dramatic and
permanent cultural disaster, it's still hard to believe that life won't go on just the same as
always.
Some of our Lord's words were starting to worry His disciples. If He felt free to castigate
the legitimate rulers of Israel, what could the Israel that followed their lead hope for? In
their anxiety, the disciples pointed out the apparent permanence of the cultural landmarks
at the center of their identity as Jews.[1] "Master! Look at these buildings! This
magnificent masonry!"
"So?" Jesus replied. "Not one of these stones will be left standing on another."[2]
"When will all this happen?" the startled disciples asked when they'd settled down for the
evening. The resulting conversation, the Olivet Discourse, is reported in all three of the
synoptic gospels. It is couched in the Biblical language of prophecy, using themes and
metaphors drawn from prior scripture. Jesus answers their "when" question thus:
Size doğrusuna söyleyeyim, bütün bunlar olmadan bu kuşak ortadan kalkmayacak.
I'm telling you straight, this generation will not have moved on before all of these things
happen. (in the Turkish, you can string together double negatives for emphasis. Jesus
means exactly what He's saying.)
So what are we supposed to do? Well, Jesus tells us several things NOT to do:
Sakın kimse sizi saptırmasın!
Korkmayın sakın!
Do NOT let anyone deceive you.
Do NOT be afraid.
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And, one thing the listeners were assured of:
Ama sonuna kadar dayana, kurtulacaktır.
A few words:
• bu kuşak -- this generation
• bütün bunlar -- all of these things
• Sakın -- watch out! Beware!
• saptırmak-- deceive
• korkmak -- fear
• sonuna -- to the end
• kurtulacaktır -- will be saved
When Jesus came with / in the clouds of judgment, the whole world beheld that the Son
of God was, indeed, reigning from heaven. Those who were prepared to drop everything
and head for the hills escaped with their lives. They had endured, holding fast their
allegiance to Israel's Messiah, even when most of Israel went back to "business as
usual." Therefore, they were ready, when the prophesied events came to pass, to make a
run for it.
Tough times don't last, Robert Schuller entitled a book of his. But tough people do.
______________
[1] To this day, during a Jewish wedding, a crystal goblet is broken to commemorate the
destruction of the temple at Jerusalem.
[2] When the temple caught fire, much of the gold trim and accessories melted, and
flowed down between the building stones. To recover the gold, the Romans dismantled
the ruins stone by stone.
Gel, efendinin senliğine katıl ! (Mat. 25)
Thursday, February 05, 2009
This is a very frightening chapter to read, if you are "between jobs" and living on
government largess in the form of "unemployment insurance." It starts with the parable of
the ten virgins (On kız benzetmesi) going to a party.
Bunların beşi akılsız, beşi de akıllıymış.
The words:
• Bunların -- of these
• beş -- five
• akıl -- mind, intelligence, wit
• akılsız -- foolish (lacking the above)
• akıllı -- wise (possessing the above)
• mış -- narrative / dubitative tense indicator
The problem with effortless subsistence living is -- you can get comfortable there. The
"assistance" cripples drive and initiative. As Rush Limbaugh mentioned once, sparrows
raised in captivity have brains about 30% smaller than wild sparrows. The African
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immigrants to our country had something that the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Jewish,
Ukrainian, etc. immigrants lacked -- assured room and board. As a wise old Lutheran
pastor and former associate of Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "The natural condition of
mankind is slavery. This is what people yearn for and seek above all else. A slave, after
all, is domestic cattle, who needs to be housed and fed." Haagen Staack, a buy who'd
seen the Nazi regime up close and personal in the course of smuggling 126 Jews out of
Germany, achieved this insight while pastoring a blue-collar union-dominated town in
Pennsylvania.
It takes very little effort to subsist, to let "the village" take care of you. African tribesmen
who anticipate a good crop will often go out at night and destroy part of their own fields,
lest their prosperity triggers accusations of witchcraft. They can meet their goals of
subsistence during good times, but starve when bad times come.
In our Lord's grim little cautionary tale, the foolish virgins did nothing more than what the
moment apparently required. They contacted their two possible employers per week.
Then, when the long-awaited, longed-for opportunity happened, they were caught with
their britches down.[1] They did not have the surplus resources needed for the moment.
They had failed to use their time, their opportunities, wisely. The expression "high leisure
preference" is the modern euphemism for the older word "lazy."
The bottom line is, if we are not OVER-prepared, we will not be ready for our
opportunities. When Arturo Toscanini aspired to become a great conductor, he
memorized orchestral scores. When his opportunity finally came to substitute for the
regular conductor, he strode to the podium, closed the score, and conducted the
symphony from memory.
Folks, it is scary when you recall that God does, indeed, answer prayers and give us the
opportunities we cry out for. Bungle a few of those by neglecting current opportunities,
and this parable resounds "like a firebell in the night."
And the second parable is like unto it. A rich man entrusts his assets to several
managers. Takes a business trip. Comes back to see what they've achieved. The
winners are praised. The loser, however, is the guy who tried to coast, to mark time, to
merely subsist. He never got to hear the glad words addressed to his peers,
Gel, efendinin senliğine katıl!
Come, of your Master's joy, enter in!
And what is our Master's joy, that we are called to participate in? I suspect, it is the joy of
creative productivity. The Bible presents a God who works, who rejoices in His work and
His works, and who invites us to become, like Him, productive.
May we have the grace and character to do so.
_____
[1] Little American cowboy metaphor. When the hired gun comes looking for you, you
really don't want to be caught "doing your business" in the outhouse!
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Nedir bu savurganlık? (why this waste?) Mat. 26
Friday, February 06, 2009
Loyalty can be bought. Folks tend to remember those who extended a helping hand in
their hour of need. Savvy politicians exploit this fact all the time. Apparently, generosity
was a part of our Lord's ministry during his last three years. He would heal the sick, cast
out devils, and, from time to time, miraculously cater a massive picnic. I get the
impression, however, that this was in addition to a usual, routine, program of dispensing
alms. Consider today's chapter. While Jesus and the disciples are dining at the house of
Simon the Leper, a woman comes in and lavishes costly aromatic oils on Jesus. The
disciples are shocked:
Öğrenciler bunu görünce kızdılar. "Nedir bu savurganlık?" dediler. "Bu yağ pahalıya
satılabılır, parası yoksullara verilebilirdi."
And, today's words:
• Öğrenmek -- to learn.
• Öğrenci -- a learner. Öğrenciler -- learners.
• yok -- nothing.
• yoksullar -- those who have nothing.
• savurgan -- prodigal, extravagant.
Think how much good we could have done with this money that this dumb chick just
wasted!
Jesus reproved them for misunderstanding the significance of this act of worship. "Don't
worry, you'll always have poor people around to help. But you won't always have Me with
you like this."
Interesting how that works. Yes, we must help the poor. The fact remains, however, that
the demand for charity, for free goods, will always exceed the supply. When a
government decides, for example, to dump a few more billion dollars into "poverty"
programs, the supply of poor people increases to meet the demand. In 1973, America
had the moon. Politicians decided they'd rather buy poverty -- and we have a lot more
hopeless poor people among us now.
Utlimately, the only way to truly feed the poor is at the table of the Lord. When poor
people begin attending church, sit under the teaching of the Bible and modify their
behavior to fit in with the new crowd, they usually cease being poor within a few years.
When Jesus fed the multitudes, in John's account, they showed up at synagogue the next
day to demand another free meal. They were more interested in what Jesus could do for
them, then they were in what He required of them.
Ultimately, our "food" is to do God's will. The rest falls into place when we get that right.
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If you are arrested ... (Mat. 27)
Alexander Solzhenitsyn's magnificent epic The Gulag Archipelago begins with a
description of being arrested. You've been walking past discrete doors for years,
assuming that they have nothing to do with you. Then, suddenly, a pair of neatly
manicured, but strong, hands reach out. And the universe is shattered. After all, each of
us is the center of his own universe.
Or maybe you're walking through a university housing area after stopping by to see a
friend, quietly minding your own business, and an overbearing rent-a-copy asks to see
your driver's license. "Why?" you ask, in honest curiosity. "Because I asked you to," he
replies, and an incredibly stressful 15 minute conversation ensues. You suddenly realize
that America, "the land of the free and the home of the brave," has become a police state
while you weren't looking. The old Nazi command, Zie papieren, bitte, the internal
passport, has come to our shining shores.
And then you start to notice how many cop shows acclimatize us to the notion that armed
military assaults on American civilians are normal. Agents clad in military regalia, carrying
military weapons, following military tactics, smash open doors and barge in shouting "FBI!
FBI!" And you find yourself recalling how the largest government massacre of civilians
since Wounded Knee -- more than 80 men, women, and children burned to death inside
their own church -- began as an FBI publicity stunt.
Hey, fellow frogs, the heat is slowly being turned up on our kettle.
I recently read an incredibly detail and helpful "how to" essay on dealing with police, but
haven't been able to track it down since. This essay contains much of the same
information. You may have to be patient -- the server takes a while to respond.
Or, for a handy wallet-sized summary, you can go here:
Bottom line: NOTHING you tell a curious cop can do you any good. ANYTHING you say
can and will be used against you. Remember the Magic Words "I am going to remain
silent. I want a lawyer." Practice saying these Magic Words -- in front a mirror, in drills
with friends -- until you can automatically recite that mantra during one of the most
stressful moments of your life.
So what does this have to do with the Bible? Well, Jesus was arrested on trumped-up
charges. If' He'd had sense enough to keep His mouth shut, The Man would not have had
anything to charge him with.
Başkahin ise O'nun, "Yaşayan Tanrı adına sana yemin ettiyorum, söyle bize, Tanrı'nın
Oğlu Mesih sen misin?" İsa, "Söylediğin gibidir" karşılığını verdi. "Üstelik size şunu
söyleyeyim, bundan sonra İnsanoğlu'nun, kudretli Olan'ın sağında oturduğunu ve göğün
bulutları üzerinde geldiğini cöreceksiniz."
Today's words:
• Söylediğin -- as you say
• gibidir -- so it is.
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If Jesus had stopped there, things could have turned out differently for Him -- and for
those of us who have been redeemed by what happened next. But, He had to go ahead
an incriminate Himself.
Folks, keep in mind that we can very easily talk way too much when in stressful
situations. Memorize the magic words, use them, and you just might save yourself a
world of trouble.
And the world isn't depending on you for its salvation, anyhow!
Kangaroo Court, cont. (Mat. 27)
Strangely enough, Pontius Pilate is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox church. After all, he
did try to short-circuit the judicial lynching Jesus was being hustled into. And his wife did
have that disturbing dream the night before, right? The historical record doesn't support
that optimistic speculation. Pilate was a provincial governor who was noteworthy for his
brutality. Once, when exhorting his hearers to repent, Jesus cited the example of some
Galileans, "who blood Pilate mingled with that of their sacrifices." After one massacre too
many, Pilate lost his job, retired to the Swiss mountains, and drowned himself in Lake
Geneva. Yet to this day, the name of this petty and venal Roman satrap is recited day
after day in the creeds of the Christian faith:
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
The third day, He arose again from the dead.
Let's take a look at a memorable selection:
Mat 27:23 Pilatus, "O ne kötülük yaptı ki?" diye sordu. Onlar ise daha yüksek sesle,
"Çarmıha gerilsin!" diye bağrışıp durdular.
Mat 27:24 Pilatus, elinden bir şey gelmediğini, tersine, bir kargaşalığın başladığını
görünce su aldı, kalabalığın önünde ellerini yıkayıp şöyle dedi: "Bu adamın kanından ben
sorumlu değilim. Bu işe siz bakın!"
Mat 27:25 Bütün halk şu karşılığı verdi: "O'nun kanının sorumluluğu bizim ve
çocuklarımızın üzerinde olsun!"
And, a few phrases:
• O ne kötülük yaptı ki? -- This one, what evil has he done?
• Onlar ise daha yüksek sesle, "Çarmıha gerilsin!" -- They again more loudly
screamed, "To the cross compel him!"
• elinden bir şey gelmediğini-- from his hands this thing had gone / become impossible
• kalabalığın önünde ellerini yıkayıp -- the crowd in front of his hands he washed
Finally, we find in this selection the phrase that Jewish folks call "the infamous blood
libel" -- O'nun kanının sorumluluğu bizim ve çocuklarımızın üzerinde olsun! -- His blood
guilt is ours, and our children's, will be upon. Well, they got their wish, quite literally. The
penalty for demanding Barabbas rather than Jesus, for preferring a murderer to the Lord
of Life, was paid in full a generation (40 years) later when Roman armies and internal
warfare turned Jerusalem into a charnel house, which experienced a catalogue of horrors
unsurpassed before or since.
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The grandchildren of the self-accursed did not inherit the guilt of their fathers. However,
it's pretty hard to admit it when your folks made a monumental blunder. Add a few
thousand years of being in denial, and opinions can really harden. Still, throughout
history, Jewish people have become Christians. Including the founding pastor of our
church.
OK -- one piece of unfinished business from yesterday: for a detailed handbook on
dealing with the police, you can go to this website. Probeer is die beste verweer, our
Afrikaaner friends tell us. Preparation is the best weapon. Or, as the old English proverb
has it, Better safe than sorry!
Korkmayın! (Mat. 28)
Ghost stories usually involve "things that go bump in the night," not things that happen in
broad daylight. You find yourself in an ominous place, preloaded with trepidation, nerves
on edge, and a cold shiver of dread going down your spine. Maybe you think you see
something or someone uncanny out of the corner of your eye in uncertain light. The story
gets bigger with the telling, and the next visitor to the haunted site is even more likely to
verify your ghost story.
Every culture has its ghost stories. Apparently, we are hard-wired to sense an eternal
dimension to our personalities, something that must extend beyond the termination of
bodily existence. In most pagan pictures of the universe, the afterlife is the after-life,
populated with disembodied spirits who float around, tethered to the pains of the past,
bitterly envious towards those of us who are still "on the clean side of the dirt."
The resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of the Christian faith, does not follow these
"ghost story" expectations. See for yourself:
Mat 28:2 Ansızın büyük bir deprem oldu. Rab'bin bir meleği gökten indi ve mezara gidip
taşı bir yana yuvarlayarak üzerine oturdu.
Mat 28:3 Görünüşü şimşek gibi, giysileri ise kar gibi bembeyazdı.
Mat 28:4 Nöbetçiler korkudan titremeye başladılar, sonra ölü gibi yere yıkıldılar.
Mat 28:5 Melek kadınlara şöyle seslendi: "Korkmayın! Çarmıha gerilen İsa'yı aradığınızı
biliyorum.
Mat 28:6 O burada yok; söylemiş olduğu gibi dirildi. Gelin, O'nun yattığı yeri görün.
Today's amazing phrase: O burada yok. He, at his place, is not!
Today's amazing word: Korkmayın! -- Fear not!
And, let's see how Matthew's biography of Jesus ends:
Mat 28:18 İsa yanlarına gelip kendilerine şunları söyledi: "Gökte ve yeryüzünde bütün
yetki bana verildi.
Mat 28:19 Bu nedenle gidin, bütün ulusları öğrencilerim olarak yetiştirin; onları Baba,
Oğul ve Kutsal Ruh'un adıyla vaftiz edin;
Mat 28:20 size buyurduğum her şeye uymayı onlara öğretin. İşte ben, dünyanın sonuna
dek her an sizinle birlikteyim."
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In heaven and on earth all power to Me has been given.
For this reason (Bu nedenle) go, all nations My disciples/students make ...
Behold I (İşte ben) the world's end until (dünyanın sonuna dek) all the time (her an ) with
you I will be (sizinle birlikteyim).
The Muslim faith assumes that one as holy and beloved by God as Jesus could never
have died such a shameful death on a cross. The problem is, the eyewitness accounts
hold taht this is exactly what happened. Furthermore, it is the resurrected Jesus who
sends us out to bring every nation under the oversight of our gracious King, and who
promises to be with us as we pursue this assignment.
By the way -- I discovered an amazing Bible study tool on the web, at www.e-sword.net .
Click here to download it yourself. In case you're wondering why I'm including longer
Scripture extracts, it's because I no longer need to type them up myself on my Turkish
keyboard. I now have the entire Turkish Bible on my computer, along with several other
languages and versions. For example: the last time I priced the Septuagint (Greek OT),
hard copies cost around $70. I now have a free copy on my hard drive. I can read a
selected chapter, add my own notes to it, or see what Matthew Henry had to say about it.
The Second Call (Markos 1)
Mar 1:16 İsa, Celile Gölü'nün kıyısından geçerken, göle ağ atmakta olan Simun ile
kardeşi Andreas'ı gördü. Bu adamlar balıkçıydı.
Mar 1:17 İsa onlara, "Ardımdan gelin" dedi, "Sizleri insan tutan balıkçılar yapacağım."
There are a lot of words to enjoy in these few sentences!
• göl -- lake. Celile Gölü'nün -- sea of Galilee.
• ağ -- net. ağ atmak -- to cast a net.
• balık -- fish. balıkçı -- fisherman. Note the -çı suffix. It's the "agent ending," like the er in the English words baker or painter.
Folks, it's my third trip through İncil, and it's finally starting to be fun. Enough vocabulary
has lodged in my cranium so that I can actually read chunks of İncil, instead of just
struggling through Turkish. And sometimes, still, when I need to look up a few words, the
effort brings a familiar story into a vivid, sharp, focus.
Try this sentence, for example:
Mar 1:35 Sabah çok erkenden, ortalık henüz ağarmadan İsa kalktı, evden çıkıp ıssız bir
yere gitti, orada dua etmeye başladı.
And the words:
• Sabah çok erkenden, -- Morning very early
• ortalık henüz ağarmadan -- surroundings not yet had turned gray
• İsa kalktı, -- Jesus got up,
• evden çıkıp -- the house left
• ıssız bir yere gitti -- waterless a place went to
• orada dua etmeye başladı-- there prayer began
So much to reflect upon in this brief chapter! We could note how Jesus always seemed
to have a convenient desert to retreat to. Apparently, the sown areas of Palestine had an
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ongoing battle with the encroaching wild parts. Biosphere II, an adventure described as
"The Three Stooges Meets Star Trek," failed because the makers assumed that nature is
normative, rather than fallen. They insisted on including a desert in their sealed
environment, which soaked up oxygen from the atmosphere. At one point, they had to
sneak in another 20 tons or so of the vital gas!
What most forcibly impressed me, though, was the "double call." The first chapter of
John's gospel introduces us to the characters we meet in this chapter, perhaps several
years earlier. These rugged fishermen knew who Jesus was, and knew that He had a
mission to achieve. For some time now, I imagine, they had been "waiting for the other
shoe to drop." Big parties in those days took a long time to prepare. So the host would
send out a general invitation -- "be ready in the next week or so." When all things were
ready, another invitation would go out -- "Come and get it before we throw it away!"
Most of us have a vague sense that we are destined for greatness. We have a notion that
there is a reason for our time on this planet. This presents us with a dilemma: do we
coast while awaiting the second call? Or do we prepare ourselves for it? I've had several
very painful experiences that resulted from answered prayer that I was unprepared to
profit from. The lazy man assumes that he has more time than is actually the case. In
reality, we never have quite as much time as we had counted on.
For example: my written exams exposed an embarrassing lack of mastery in the area of
theory. SO when I prepared for my orals a few weeks later, I consecrated the Saturday
before to really nailing down my factoids in the area of theory.
Then, I got laid off on Friday, and was too upset to really study the rest of the weekend.
The following Monday's conversation was very unpleasant in places.
I hope someday to work, perhaps teach, in Turkey. Hence, my daily work with the Turkish
language. When my opportunity presents itself, I yearn to be ready.
Which reminds me -- I'd probably be wise to wind up my dissertation as quickly as
possible.
The thunder of exploding canons (Mark 2)
Sorry, some great puns[0] lodge in one's memory for decades! Besides, that's a more
eye-catching title than "Jesus on paradigm shifts," which is what we'll discuss from
today's scripture reading. Let's start with "epicycles."
In Ptolemy's model of the universe, the earth sat rock-solid in the middle, and the
heavenly bodies slid by overhead on their well-greased tracks.[1] However, some of the
vagabond/hobo stars did not keep pace with the other stars. In fact, they slid backward a
day or three per year. OK, mount those on slower or faster tracks than the rest of the
stars. Then put them on a cycle (epicycle) that actually twirls around the track it's
mounted on, to explain the apparent retrograde motion.
This model of the universe got trickier every time a new heavenly body was discovered,
but it rattled and clanked along for quite a while. Then, Copernicus had a brilliant notion:
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perhaps the sun, not the earth, was the center of the heavenly dance. Change your
perspective, and things suddenly look much more logical.[2]
Thomas Kuhn popularized the term "paradigm shift" in his book The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions. A model of reality works for a while, with a few exceptions. Patch
on a few rules to account for those exceptions, and then a few more pop up. Eventually,
your model is so plastered over with exceptions that it's hard to see what it's good for.
About that time, a new model pops up that resolves the conundrums.
The old order keeps trying to impose its rickety traditions on the new paradigm, of course.
That's what humans do. A locomotive going through a city must be preceeded by a man
on horseback waving a warning flag. The motor on a horseless carriage must be in front,
because horses go before the cart, of course!
Jesus was asked why he and his disciples did not feel themselves compelled by the
tabus and totems of their culture. Why, he even drank wine and feasted with notorious
public sinners and quislings! With a typically vivid word picture, Jesus replied:
Mar 2:22 Hiç kimse yeni şarabı eski tulumlara doldurmaz. Yoksa şarap tulumları patlatır,
şarap da tulumlar da mahvolur. Yeni şarap yeni tulumlara doldurulur."
• yeni -- new. The "new troops," the yeni çeri, entered our language in the anglicized
word janissary.
• şarap -- wine
• tulumlara -- wineskin
• patlatır -- to explode
• eski -- old. A Turkish proverb concerning putative political "change" is appropos for
our day, when Carter-era handlers come out of the woodwork to manage their new
figurehead -- Eski hamam, eski tas. Same old Turkish bath, same old pouring bowl.
Conversion is a profound paradigm shift. You suddenly realize that you are not the
center of the universe, but you do have a Creator to answer to. Then, you discover that
this Creator loves you, and provides everything you need to pursue an incredible
adventure in living. Then, you discover that this Creator and Savior has good things in
mind for the world He so loved, and you're invited to pitch in!
Nations and cultures, too, can suffer / enjoy paradigm shifts. Perhaps the most pithy
paragraph on that topic was penned by my favorite Marxist Jesuit, the late Ivan Illych:
Some fortuitous coincidence will render publicly obvious the structural contradictions
between stated purposes and effective results in our major institutions. People will
suddenly find obvious what is now evident to only a few . . . Like other widely shared
insights, this one will have the potential of turning public imagination inside out. Large
institutions can quite suddenly lose their respectability, their legitimacy, and their
reputation for serving the public good. It happened to the Roman Church in the
Reformation, to royalty in the Revolution. The unthinkable became obvious overnight:
that people could and would behead their rulers. ("Tools for Conviviality", p. 111)
We live in interesting times ...
________
[0] Thanks and a tip of the hat to Jim Graham, classmate at William Fleming HS.
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[1] See the movie The Truman Show, which begins, literally, with a "falling star!"
[2] Kepler's Witch is a powerful biography of the guy who refined Copernicus' chart.
Johannes Kepler was a large-hearted but rather frail Protestant who had to hit the road
several times when his home town came under the jurisdiction of a Catholic ruler. He
thought Christians could find better things to do with their lives than fight one another,
and reached out in Christian charity to a conceited Catholic lens grinder and fellow
astronomer, Galileo, during that gent's time of trial. Later generations failed to give Kepler
the credit due him, in part because of his "day job" -- royal astrologer. His era's equivalent
of our economists.
A mixed bag (Mark 3)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
There's a lot to talk about in this chapter. We could, for example, discuss the episode
where the mother and brothers of Jesus show up, apparently motivated by concerns
about our Lord's sanity. There's also a story about how hardhearted religious folks can
be. But I'm sure we'll swoop through here again someday. So, let's look at the odd
company Jesus selected as the foundation stones of His new civilization:
Mar 3:14-19 İsa bunlardan on iki kişiyi yanında bulundurmak, Tanrı sözünü duyurmaya
göndermek ve cinleri kovmaya yetkili kılmak üzere seçti. Seçtiği bu on iki kişi şunlardır:
Petrus adını verdiği Simun, Beni-Regeş, yani Gökgürültüsü Oğulları adını verdiği
Zebedi'nin oğulları Yakup ve Yuhanna, Andreas, Filipus, Bartalmay, Matta, Tomas, Alfay
oğlu Yakup, Taday, Yurtsever* Simun ve İsa'ya ihanet eden Yahuda İskariot.
And, a few words:
• on -- ten. iki -- two. on iki -- twelve.
• yurt -- homeland. sevmek -- to love. Yurtsever -- patriot. Turkish foreign policy -- and
I wish it was ours -- is pretty simple. Yurta suhl, cihanda suhl. Peace at home, peace
abroad.
It's interesting to note how these disciples are identified in varying detail. Some, like
Taday, Tomas, and Matta, just have their names listed. Alfay's family is mentioned. We
know who his daddy is. Yakup and Yuhanna come with their nicknames attached, in
Aramaic and Turkish, as well as their paternal connection. They are simultaneously the
sons of Zebedi, and the sons of thunder. (Did their irate father explode when his lads
walked away from the family business? Or did Jesus comment on their hot-headed
character? Or both?)
People have always had different approaches to dealing with the culture around them.
Simon belonged to a nationalistic party that yearned to purge the land of Greek and
Roman influences. On the other hand, Philip was named for the father of Israel's Greek
conqueror, Alexander the Great. Imagine the charisma it took to make a cohesive team
out of such contrasting personalities. Imagine the lively they conversations they had
around campfires!
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A sower went forth to sow (Mark 4)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A sower went forth to sow.
Mar 4:13 İsa sonra onlara, "Siz bu benzetmeyi anlamıyor musunuz?" dedi. "Öyleyse
bütün benzetmeleri nasıl anlayacaksınız?
Mar 4:14 Ekincinin ektiği, Tanrı sözüdür.
Mar 4:15 Bazı insanlar sözün ekildiği yerde yol kenarına düşen tohumlara benzer. Bunlar
sözü işitir işitmez, Şeytan gelir, yüreklerine ekilen sözü alır götürür.
Mar 4:16, 17 Kayalık yerlere ekilenler ise, işittikleri sözü hemen sevinçle kabul eden, ama
kök salamadıkları için ancak bir süre dayanan kişilerdir. Böyleleri Tanrı sözünden ötürü
sıkıntı ya da zulme uğrayınca hemen sendeleyip düşerler.
Mar 4:18, 19 Yine bazıları dikenler arasında ekilen tohumlara benzerler. Bunlar sözü
işitirler, ama dünyasal kaygılar, zenginliğin aldatıcılığı ve daha başka hevesler araya girip
sözü boğar ve ürün vermesini engeller.
Mar 4:20 İyi toprağa ekilenler ise, sözü işiten, onu benimseyen, kimi otuz, kimi altmış,
kimi de yüz kat ürün veren kişilerdir."
And, a few words:
• benzemek -- to resemble. A famous Turkish proverb goes "Biz bize benziriz" -- we
resemble ourselves.
• benzetmek -- to like, compare, mistake for
• benzetme -- parable
• benimsymek -- to adopt as one's own, consider one's own.
This parable is rather important, as our pastor has said several times. İsa sonra onlara,
"Siz bu benzetmeyi anlamıyor musunuz?" dedi. "Öyleyse bütün benzetmeleri nasıl
anlayacaksınız? Jesus then said to them, "You this parable understand not? How can
you then all the other parables understand?"
Millenial cults expect God's Kingdom to drop suddenly, fully-formed, out of the sky. The
classical name for this aberration is chiliaism, from the Greek word for thousand, chilia.
Jesus, however, tells us that the Kingdom grows quietly and discretely for the most part,
as people appropriate His Word, incorporate it into their lives, and become living
examples of divine mercies and excellence.
Esenlikle git. (Mark 5)
Today's reading is full of action. Jesus crosses the lake to the Gadarene area. Perhaps
he'd heard the howls and shrieks of the tormented soul -- and yes, you can hear a human
voice across Lake Galilee at that point, given certain conditions. Jesus then encountered
a demoniac who lived in ritually unclean places, among the tombs. In the midst of what
an American preacher and prohibitionist called a "bootleg pork industry." Dutch scholar
Grotius[1] suggested that this region was populated by renegade Jews, who'd turned
their backs on the laws and culture of their society. Or, maybe they raised pigs for the
Roman and Greek occupying forces. In any case, it was not a wholesome environment.
Yet Jesus brought mercy and deliverance to the most miserable of its occupants. One
man had "contained" enough demons to drive 2,000 self-respecting pigs to commit
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suicide! On his next visit, whole towns came out to greet and welcome him.
Well, today's selection comes from the second story in this chapter, the case of a woman
who'd suffered "an issue of blood" for 12 years. A continuous case of ritual uncleanness
and isolation. She forced her way through a crowd that closed in on Jesus from all four
sides, assuming that a mere touch of the hem of his garment would suffice to heal her. It
was as she believed -- and a man on a mission, crowded and jostled all around,
nonetheless perceived that one one touch faith. He stopped, asked the beneficiary to
step forth, then told her,
Mar 5:34 İsa ona, "Kızım" dedi, "İmanın seni kurtardı. Esenlikle git. Acıların son bulsun."
• Kızım -- my daughter. In Turkey, students call their teacher Öğretmenim -- my
teacher.
• İmanın -- your faith. Second person singular possessive, used for children and close
relations.
• seni -- you. Second person singular pronoun, used for children and close relations.
• Esen -- peace. Esenlik -- peaceful. Esenlikle -- peacefully.
• Acıların son bulsun. -- your sufferings an end have found.
I hope more of my readers will start learning Turkish. It's a fascinating language, with a
very regular grammar. You build words by snapping suffixes onto the root, like lego
blocks. Turkish is also the fifth largest language family on earth; only English, Chinese,
Hindi, and Spanish have larger numbers of speakers. Turkish, and closely related
dialects, are spoken in the central Asia region stretching from the Urals to the Pacific.
___
[1] Yes, I downloaded Matthew Henry's commentaries along with all the other treasures
available for free from www.e-sword.net !
I don't get no respect (Mar 6)
The late American stand-up comic Jacob Cohen / Jack Roy (better known by his stage
name of "Rodney Dangerfield") had a trademark line: "I don't get no respect." With a
deadpan[1] delivery, he kept audiences howling with one improbable scenario after
another. A few that are suitable for mixed company go like this:
I don't get no respect. Last week I told my psychiatrist, "I keep thinking about suicide." He
told me from now on I have to pay in advance.
I tell ya when I was a kid, all I knew was rejection. My yo-yo, it never came back!
Most of the early life of Jesus is a mystery. He lived an ordinary, unremarkable life as
son, big brother, and junior carpenter. Apparently, he was good at his trade: Justin Martyr
reported that wooden plows Jesus made were still in use more than a century later.
When he received his call to preach, and began touring the country working miracles and
explaining God's Kingdom, word got back home. The hometown folks were curious.
Then, when he finally addressed the local synagogue, they were scandalized. He may
have put on freshly washed apparel, but he did not soar in wearing a halo. The people
marveled at the elegance of his oration -- but did not at all like what they heard. In Luke's
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77
gospel, we get a more detailed report of the sermon. Here, though, Mark focuses on the
audience reaction:
Mar 6:1 İsa oradan ayrılarak kendi memleketine gitti. Öğrencileri de ardından gittiler.
Mar 6:2 Şabat Günü olunca İsa havrada öğretmeye başladı. Söylediklerini işiten birçok
kişi şaşıp kaldı. "Bu adam bunları nereden öğrendi?" diye soruyorlardı. "Kendisine verilen
bu bilgelik nedir? Nasıl böyle mucizeler yapabiliyor?
Mar 6:3 Meryem'in oğlu, Yakup, Yose, Yahuda ve Simun'un kardeşi olan marangoz
değilmi bu? Kızkardeşleri burada, aramızda yaşamıyor mu?" Ve gücenip O'nu reddettiler.
Mar 6:4 İsa da onlara, "Bir peygamber, kendi memleketinden, akraba çevresinden ve
kendi evinden başka yerde hor görülmez" dedi.
Mar 6:5 Orada birkaç hastayı, üzerlerine ellerini koyarak iyileştirmekten başka hiçbir
mucize yapamadı.
Mar 6:6 Halkın imansızlığına şaşıyordu. İsa çevredeki köyleri dolaşıp öğretiyordu.
• şaşmak -- to be astonished. şaşıp kaldı -- they were astonished / fell into
astonishment. şaşıyordu -- He was astonished.
• Bu adam bunları nereden öğrendi?-- This man / these / from where come /
teachings?
• Kendisine verilen bu bilgelik nedir? -- Who gave (him) this knowledge?
• Nasıl böyle mucizeler yapabiliyor? -- How / these miracles / is he able to do?
They went on to discuss his ancestery, calling him "Mary's son" (Meryem'in oğlu) -which must have been an insult in a patriarchal culture, that usually identified people by
their fathers. People back then could count to nine, and Jesus was born full-term but
three months ahead of schedule.
As this story begins, the people are astonished. When it ends, Jesus is astonished. The
obdurate unbelief of his own people surprised even the Messiah. As John put it, "He
came unto his own, and his own received him not."
To some extent, this may have been the "consultant effect." A consultant, the American
idiom tells us, is "someone fifty miles from home with a briefcase."[2] Or, maybe we are
blind to that which is closest to us. Familiarity breeds contempt, the old proverb says.
Or, maybe Jesus presents himself in deniable form. It takes faith to view the universe
through the lens of one man's biography, and faith is how we interface with our Creator.
_____
[1] "deadpan" means -- with a straight face that is incongruous with the hilarious
comments being uttered. Frequently adopted by the "straight man" in comic duos.
[2] Or, "someone who borrows your watch, tells you the time, then charges you for that
service."
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Leadership (Mark 6, cont.)
Seeking a few moments of peace and privacy, Jesus and the 12 cross the lake. Their
indefatigable fan club sees where they are going, runs around to the anticipated landing
spot, and welcomes Jesus, probably with applause, to the spot where he'd gone to try to
escape them. And our Lord, moved with compassion, provides some more instruction,
and a miraculous meal. He had compassion on the multitudes:
Mar 6:34 İsa tekneden inince büyük bir kalabalıkla karşılaştı. Çobansız koyunlara
benzeyen bu insanlara acıdı ve onlara birçok konuda öğretmeye başladı.
And, a few words:
• tekne -- trough, vessel. tekneden -- from the boat.
• Çoban -- shepherd. Çobansız -- without a shepherd. koyun -- sheep.[1] benzetmek -resembled.
Yes, Israel had a ruling class of secular quislings[2] -- the Sadducees who had no faith in
the life to come, and made it their goal to do well for themselves in this life, no matter who
they had to work with or step on. This power structure had its defenders and fawning
media outlets, the Scribes and Pharisees. Yet, from our Lord's perspective, the people of
Israel had no one to care for them, no one to help them live as God intended them to.
Yet, this apparently amorphous mob did have its own internal structure. Jesus
commanded the disciples to have the men sit down, with their families, in groups of 50
and 100. The Greek text here uses the term συμπόσια συμπόσια -- group by group. A
"symposium" is, after all, a group of folks that meets to eat and talk. The Turkish uses a
similar construction: Mar 6:39 İsa herkesi küme küme yeşil çayıra oturtmalarını buyurdu.
Jesus / all of them / group by group / green grass upon / they must sit / commanded.
Even in cultures characterized by a leadership vacuum, there is an underlying sense of
spontaneous order. The early Soviet experiement began with an era of unbridled license
and promiscuity. When the stern commisars saw their society crumbling, they
immediately put on the brakes and instituted a regimen of puritanical sexual morality. The
question people face from time to time, when the established order loses credibility, is -can spontaneous order fill the gap? Can we keep our families together when the culture
around us self-destructs?
______
[1] In English, the plural of sheep is sheep. The plural of deer is deer. Sorry 'bout that ...
[2] The term "quisling" has almost completely fallen out of the vernacular, and is rarely
used in idiomatic contemporary English. It refers to a Norwegian prime minister who
cooperated with the Nazi occupiers during WW II, and whose name has since become a
synonym for puppet leaders.
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With the fist? (Mark 7)
Our Lord's rivals for the public ear, the Pharisees, were masters at the art of "differential
righteousness," to use Thomas Sowell's colorful phrase.[1] They cherished a number of
traditions that served to distinguish them from people whose real lives kept them too busy
to dot every t and cross every i. (this may not be a good example, since the Turkish
alphabet includes ı, the "undotted i.") Mark's gospel uses a word found nowhere else in
the New Testament to describe their handwashing technique: πυγμῇ . There have been a
number of suggested translations of this adjective: did the Pharisees wash "oft?" "To the
elbow?" "With the fist?"
Well, back to the story. As Bruce Barton put it in his book The Man Nobody Knows, Jesus
was "the most sought-after dinner guest in Jerusalem." His gift of gab, his ability to tell
stories and his relish for lively debate, made for entertaining evenings. Even when the
target of his repartee
was the host.
In this case, Jesus and his crew had scandalized the sophisticated crowd by failing to
properly perform the ritual ablutions. Let's look at the conversation:
Mar 7:5 Ferisiler ve din bilginleri İsa'ya, "Öğrencilerin neden atalarımızın töresine
uymuyorlar, niçin murdar ellerle yemek yiyorlar?" diye sordular.
Mar 7:6 İsa onları şöyle yanıtladı: "Yeşaya'nın siz ikiyüzlülerle ilgili peygamberlik sözü ne
kadar yerindedir! Yazmış olduğu gibi, 'Bu halk, dudaklarıyla beni sayar, Ama yürekleri
benden uzak.
Mar 7:7 Bana boşuna taparlar. Çünkü öğrettikleri, sadece insan buyruklarıdır.'
Mar 7:8 Siz Tanrı buyruğunu bir yana bırakmış, insan töresine uyuyorsunuz."
Mar 7:9 İsa onlara ayrıca şunu söyledi: "Kendi törenizi sürdürmek için Tanrı buyruğunu
bir kenara itmeyi ne de güzel beceriyorsunuz!
Mar 7:10 Musa, 'Annene babana saygı göstereceksin' ve, 'Annesine ya da babasına
söven kesinlikle öldürülecektir' diye buyurmuştu.
Mar 7:11 Ama siz, 'Eğer bir adam annesine ya da babasına, benden alacağın bütün
yardım kurbandır, yani Tanrı'ya adanmıştır derse, artık annesi ya da babası için bir şey
yapmasına izin yok' diyorsunuz.
And, a few words:
• at -- horse. ata -- ancestor. atalar -- ancestors. atalarımız -- our ancestors.
atalarımızın -- of our ancestors.
• Bana boşuna taparlar. -- to me / empty / their worship (is)
To maintain their traditions, the Pharisees were quite willing to ignore God's law. "Mom,
Dad, sorry to see you destitute, but I gave all I had to the church." In America,
"fundamentalists" have acquired a reputation for a vain self-righteousness predicated on
maintaining a handful of taboos.
Still, the fact that these Pharisees continued invited Jesus over for dinner indicates that
real righteousness, a joyous delight in serving God and neighbor, is a winsome trait.
_________
[1] In his book The Vision of the Anointed, Sowell demonstrates by one example after
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another that the "chattering classes" currently in ascendency in the United States, the
politicians, professors, and press, are driven to distinguish themselves from the mass of
humanity by championing people and things that normal people find repellant.
Men like trees, walking (Mark 8)
In Mark 8, we have another miraculous feast. The disciples forget to pack their lunch
afterward, and miss the point Jesus tries to make. He reproves them for their lack of
understanding. Shortly after, he will praise Peter for a perceptive insight. In between,
though, we have another healing.
Mar 8:21 İsa onlara, "Hâlâ anlamıyor musunuz?" dedi.
Mar 8:22 İsa ile öğrencileri Beytsayda'ya geldiler. Orada bazı kişiler İsa'ya kör bir adam
getirip ona dokunması için yalvardılar.
Mar 8:23 İsa körün elinden tutarak onu köyün dışına çıkardı. Gözlerine tükürüp ellerini
üzerine koydu ve, "Bir şey görüyor musun?" diye sordu.
Mar 8:24 Adam başını kaldırıp, "İnsanlar görüyorum" dedi, "Ağaçlara benziyorlar, ama
yürüyorlar."
Mar 8:25 Sonra İsa ellerini yeniden adamın gözleri üzerine koydu. Adam gözlerini açtı,
baktı; iyileşmiş ve her şeyi açık seçik görmeye başlamıştı.
Mar 8:26 İsa, "Köye bile girme!" diyerek onu evine gönderdi.
Mar 8:27 İsa, öğrencileriyle birlikte Filipus Sezariyesi'ne bağlı köylere gitti. Yolda
öğrencilerine, "Halk benim kim olduğumu söylüyor?" diye sordu.
Mar 8:28 Öğrencileri O'na şu karşılığı verdiler: "Vaftizci Yahya diyorlar. Ama kimi İlyas,
kimi de peygamberlerden biri olduğunu söylüyor."
Mar 8:29 O da onlara, "Siz ne dersiniz, sizce ben kimim?" diye sordu. ...
And, a few phrases:
• köyün dışına çıkardı -- village / outside / led
• "İnsanlar görüyorum" dedi, "Ağaçlara benziyorlar, ama yürüyorlar." -- "Men I see," he
said, "Trees they resemble, but they walk."
• Köye bile girme! -- Do not go into the village!
The Gospels contain travel stories, public sermons, staff briefings, and personal
conversations. In this healing of a blind man, Jesus takes him by the hand, and leads him
outside of the village, away from prying / curious eyes. Prays for him twice. Then sends
him to his own home. Apparently, there were times, perhaps most of the time, when
Jesus shunned fame, publicity, and big media events.
The John Candy comedy Delirious is a very insightful meditation on the mystery of the
Incarnation. In this movie, a writer of soap operas gets hit on the head, knocked
unconscious, and awakens inside his own story. Working within the story, he can shape
the actions of those around him by using his typewriter to edit the storyline on the fly.
Suddenly, the characters start acting out of character. A tycoon stays home from work,
waiting for the cable guy. People wonder what makes them say, or do, inexplicable
things. At a party, french doors swing open to admit several deer with snow swirling
around -- a simple typo on a script direction to bring in "cold beer."
Watch his movie when you get a chance, and you'll see why God played a cameo role
when He stepped into His own story, our universe. He respects the character of the
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people within the story, and does not trample on our sense of ourselves with flashy
displays of dominating power.
Informal Allies (Mark 9)
As we have seen frequently already, the Israel of our Lord's day was a demon-haunted
culture. We may never know all the reasons why this was the case. Perhaps, the political
leaders were too busy sucking up to the Roman occupying powers. Perhaps, the
religious leaders were too busy celebrating themselves to notice, or care about, what was
happening among their people. In any case, exorcisms occupied a large space in the
ministry of Jesus. And we know from Acts 19:13-16 that some of the Jewish religious
professionals profited from this situation.
Yet, the use of the name of Jesus by Jewish exorcists happened during the lifetime and
ministry of the Lord.
Mar 9:38 Yuhanna O'na, "Öğretmenim" dedi, "Senin adınla cin kovan birini gördük, ama
bizi izleyenlerden olmadığı için ona engel olmaya çalıştık."
Mar 9:39 "Ona engel olmayın!" dedi İsa. "Çünkü benim adımla mucize yapıp da ardından
beni kötüleyecek kimse yoktur.
Mar 9:40 Bize karşı olmayan, bizden yanadır.
Mar 9:41 Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, Mesih'e ait olduğunuz için sizlere bir bardak su
veren ödülsüz kalmayacaktır."
And, a few words:
• Öğretmenim -- My teacher. A title school kids in Turkey still us when addressing their
teachers.
• Senin adınla cin kovan birini gördük -- Your / name with / demon / expelling / one /
we saw ...
Bottom line? Be thankful for allies! Even those who may not be formally associated with
your team. God Himself can and will sort out the sincere from the charlatans.
Down memory lane (Mark 11)
Today's reading brought to mind one of the highlights of my undergraduate education. 31
years ago, as a final exam in Koine Greek, we were assigned this chapter and told to
translate it into English. At that time, I'd already been reading the New Testament in
French for nearly a year, and had that experience to draw upon. When reading
something in a new language, if you try to translate every word, word by word, you soon
get bogged down, frustrated, and desperate. The trick is to pick out the key words, then
decode those around them, until the complete sentence pops into focus. Fortunately for
junior linguists everywhere, Pareto's 80/20 rule holds here as well. In English, 20% of the
words in everyday use are used 80% of the time -- and almost all of these derive from the
Anglo-Saxon side of our language.[1]
Master a relative handful of key words, structural words, skeletal words, and translation
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becomes possible. The words you know provide a base of operation, so that you can
make forays into the surrounding territory, and guess at the meaning of the unknown
words.
Meanwhile, thanks to that amazing software I downloaded from http://e-sword.net, I can
copy and paste larger chunks of source material into my ruminations here!
Mar 11:15 Oradan Yeruşalim'e geldiler. İsa tapınağın avlusuna girerek oradaki alıcı ve
satıcıları dışarı kovdu. Para bozanların masalarını, güvercin satanların sehpalarını
devirdi.
Mar 11:16 Yük taşıyan hiç kimsenin tapınağın avlusundan geçmesine izin vermedi.
Mar 11:17 Halka öğretirken şunları söyledi: "'Evime, bütün ulusların dua evi denecek' diye
yazılmamış mı? Ama siz onu haydut inine çevirdiniz."
Mar 11:18 Başkâhinler ve din bilginleri bunu duyunca İsa'yı yok etmek için bir yol
aramaya başladılar. O'ndan korkuyorlardı. Çünkü bütün halk O'nun öğretisine hayrandı.
Mar 11:19 Akşam olunca İsa'yla öğrencileri kentten ayrıldı.
Mar 11:20 Sabah erkenden incir ağacının yanından geçerlerken, ağacın kökten kurumuş
olduğunu gördüler.
Mar 11:21 Olayı hatırlayan Petrus, "Rabbî, bak! Lanetlediğin incir ağacı kurumuş!" dedi.
Mar 11:22 İsa onlara şöyle karşılık verdi: "Tanrı'ya iman edin.
Mar 11:23 Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, kim şu dağa, 'Kalk, denize atıl!' der ve yüreğinde
kuşku duymadan dediğinin olacağına inanırsa, dileği yerine gelecektir.
A Jewish professor once suggested that this episode represented an assault on
capitalism. Actually, the key issue was worship. People came from all around the known
world to honor and worship the God of Israel. They had an area called "The court of the
Gentiles" where they were permitted to stand, with a low "wall of partition" to keep them
from the areas where only Jews could tred. Not content with this demeaning gesture, the
Jews had turned the place where Gentiles came to worship into a shopping mall.
Israel, frequently described by the prophets as "God's fig tree," had become barren. The
Jewish temple / religion / nation was doomed, about to be blighted from the roots up, and
cast into the sea.[3]
Happy reading, fellow philologists!
____________
[1] For new readers -- English is a "shotgun wedding" of two contrasting language
families -- Romance, from Norman[2] French, and Germanic.
[2] (parenthetically, the Normans were descendents of the men from the North,
Scandinavian vikings who settled down and assimilated, adopting the language of their
new country.)
[3] Around 150 AD, Roman soldiers needed building material to construct a causeway out
to a rebellious island. That is where the masonry of this temple ended up, in the sea.
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83
Simulacron 3
Science fiction is the literature of Big Ideas on Gigantic Canvases. It is also a branch of
children's literature, with special attractions for teenage boys. The dreams of competence
and achievement have a powerful hold on the imaginations of lads becoming men. I still
cite writers of the 60s in my scholarly works, names like Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein,
"Cordwainer Smith"[1], Bester, and Galouye.
Daniel F. Galouye wrote a novel with an intriguing premise. Imagine a virtual world,
populated with artificial intelligences (AIs), created for the purpose of market research.
System operators can project their avatars into this virtual world to interact with the
denizens.
But suppose the AIs decided to build their own simulacron?[2]
And now for today's parable.
Mar 12:1 İsa onlara benzetmelerle konuşmaya başladı. "Adamın biri bağ dikti, çevresini
çitle çevirdi, üzüm sıkmak için bir çukur kazdı, bir de bekçi kulesi yaptı. Sonra bağı
bağcılara kiralayıp yolculuğa çıktı.
Mar 12:2 Mevsimi gelince bağın ürününden payına düşeni almak üzere bağcılara bir köle
yolladı.
Mar 12:3 Bağcılar köleyi yakalayıp dövdü ve eli boş gönderdi.
Mar 12:4 Bağ sahibi bu kez onlara başka bir köle yolladı. Onu da başından yaralayıp
aşağıladılar.
Mar 12:5 Birini daha yolladı, onu öldürdüler. Daha birçok köle yolladı. Kimini dövüp kimini
öldürdüler.
Mar 12:6 "Bağ sahibinin yanında tek kişi kaldı, o da sevgili oğluydu. 'Oğlumu sayarlar'
diyerek bağcılara en son onu yolladı.
Mar 12:7 "Ama bağcılar birbirlerine, 'Mirasçı budur, gelin onu öldürelim, miras bizim olur'
dediler.
Mar 12:8 Böylece onu yakaladılar, öldürüp bağdan dışarı attılar.
Mar 12:9 "Bu durumda bağın sahibi ne yapacak? Gelip bağcıları yok edecek, bağı da
başkalarına verecek.
Mar 12:10 Şu Kutsal Yazı'yı okumadınız mı?'Yapıcıların reddettiği taş, İşte köşenin baş
taşı oldu. Rab'bin işidir bu, Gözümüzde harika bir iş!'"
How often do you get to write yourself into your own story? Twice? Christians view Jesus
(İsa) as, to some exent, a projection of God's person and character into the created
order. The universe is God's story, and the Creator wrote himself into the story, as a
teacher, a story teller, who now tells this story about himself.
Most of us would make our fictionalized equivalents to be folks of gigantic stature,
energetic, heroic. Jesus, as the beloved son of the landlord, takes a passive role. He is
merely the Father's emissary, who is rejected, and murdered, by the faithless tenant
farmers. Well, the point of the story is -- to expose the nefarious designs of Israel's rulers.
They were warned, beforehand, of their folly -- they would reject the Stone that would
eventually become the cornerstone of a new, and more faithful, social order.
Another incident in this chapter merits further discussion. Once again, his enemies
attempt to trap Jesus in words. (ever notice how often lawyers and others who use words
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for their livelihood can abuse that power?)
Mar 12:13 Daha sonra İsa'yı söyleyeceği sözlerle tuzağa düşürmek amacıyla
Ferisiler'den ve Hirodes yanlılarından bazılarını O'na gönderdiler.
Mar 12:14 Bunlar gelip İsa'ya, "Öğretmenimiz" dediler, "Senin dürüst biri olduğunu,
kimseyi kayırmadan, insanlar arasında ayrım yapmadan Tanrı yolunu dürüstçe öğrettiğini
biliyoruz. Sezar'a* vergi vermek Kutsal Yasa'ya uygun mu, değil mi? Verelim mi,
vermeyelim mi?"
Mar 12:15 Onların ikiyüzlülüğünü bilen İsa şöyle dedi: "Beni neden deniyorsunuz? Bana
bir dinar getirin bakayım."
Mar 12:16 Parayı getirdiler. İsa, "Bu resim, bu yazı kimin?" diye sordu. "Sezar'ın" dediler.
Mar 12:17 İsa da, "Sezar'ın hakkını Sezar'a, Tanrı'nın hakkını Tanrı'ya verin" dedi. İsa'nın
sözlerine şaşakaldılar.
Jesus calls their bluff, and asks them to show him a coin. Remember where he's sitting -in the court of the temple. The Jews of that era regarded it as idolatry to carry images of
other so-called deities into the temple. Such as, the image of Caesar, and his titles of
divinity, on Roman coins. For this reason, they did a profitable business in money
changing, converting "idolatrous" coins into specially minted "temple" coins.
But, as the staffing of the American cabinet demonstrates, "lawmakers" typically "make
laws" for other people. The Secretary of the Treasury is responsible for administering the
tax collection system of the country -- but was confirmed in his office even after having
failed to pay his own taxes for several years.
Still, we "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," even as we withhold that which is
God's. Such as the worship human leaders so often covet. Or our children.
_____________
[1] This was actually the pen name used by Paul Linebarger, a High Church Anglican
who literally "wrote the book" on Psychological Warfare. Effective propaganda, he taught
several generations of warriors, must be characterized by truth and love. The enemy
soldiers bust sense that you are being honest with him, and genuinely care for his
welfare.
You better watch out! (Mark 13)
Monday, March 02, 2009
"A young man can never imagine that twenty pounds or twenty years could be so easily
spent," said Benjamin Franklin. Today's food for thought, as the title indicates, comes
from the Olivet Discourse, again.
Mar 13:33 Dikkat edin, uyanık kalın, dua edin. Çünkü o anın ne zaman geleceğini
bilemezsiniz.
Mar 13:34 Bu, yolculuğa çıkan bir adamın durumuna benzer. Evinden ayrılırken
kölelerine yetki ve görev verir, kapıdaki nöbetçiye de uyanık kalmasını buyurur.
Mar 13:35 Siz de uyanık kalın. Çünkü ev sahibi ne zaman gelecek, akşam mı, gece yarısı
mı, horoz öttüğünde mi, sabaha doğru mu, bilemezsiniz.
Mar 13:36 Ansızın gelip sizi uykuda bulmasın!
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Mar 13:37 Size söylediklerimi herkese söylüyorum; uyanık kalın!"
Be careful / attentive, stay awake, pray. Because you can not know when the moment will
come.
In context, Jesus warned His disciples about the doom of Jerusalem. Imagine standing
on a hilltop, watching a car racing a train to a railroad crossing -- and you can see that
the race is going to end in a tie. Since life continued pretty much as usual for the next 40
years, though, the urgency of the warning diminished. Only those who were faithful
enough to remember our Lord's words were able to escape with their lives.
In a broader sense, life is full of surprises. "He who plans to repent at the 11th hour, dies
at 10:59." This can create hidden mines for the unwary. It's all too easy to "go on
autopilot," even when wisdom requires us to remain alert, and purposeful, with every
moment of every day. In the last few months, two planes went down in the state of New
York. One landed in the Hudson River, with no lives lost. The other bored into the ground
near Buffalo, with no survivors. The difference? The doomed plane was on autopilot until
the last minute. The computer on board compensated for the gradual buildup of ice on
the wings, until it could not cope any more -- then released the entire mess to human
control.
And so many wonderful opportunities come across our path at unexpected moments. My
prayer for myself, and for all those who read these lines of wit, is that we might be ready
to profit from the doors that open for us.
The last word in this chapter, in Greek, is the imperative verb γρηγορεῖτε -- be alert. It's
the source of a popular Christian name, Gregory. As I've often told my firstborn, "Son, be
alert. The world needs more lerts."
Partitions (Mark 14)
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
The book A Man Called Intrepid tells the sad story of a female agent who parachuted into
occupied France with a code book and a radio. Of course, she was soon captured and
died miserably in a prison camp. What the book does not tell you is -- the entire
espionage network was compromised. The Germans captured each agent soon after he
or she landed, and used that agent to feed poisoned information to the Allied listeners.
And the Allied listeners bought it. Even though the agents dutifully misspelled every tenth
word or so, in the prearranged alert signal. And, of course, each agent sent the
instructions as to where the next agent was to land.
The Germans kept the scam going for months, feeding just enough genuine intelligence
back to the listeners to keep them listening. When the game was up, they broadcast a
clear (uncoded) message over all channels, thanking the Allies for the pleasure of
working with them, and regretting that the delightful partnership had now come to an end.
In a hostile environment, who do you trust? Who needs to know what? How can you
minimize risks to yourself, and to those working with you? Suppose you already know
that you have a turncoat in your circle of closest associates? How can you find a safe
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place to meet for a final briefing?
Mar 14:13 O da öğrencilerinden ikisini şu sözlerle önden gönderdi: "Kente gidin, orada su
testisi taşıyan bir adam çıkacak karşınıza. Onu izleyin.
Mar 14:14 Adamın gideceği evin sahibine şöyle deyin: 'Öğretmen, öğrencilerimle birlikte
Fısıh yemeğini yiyeceğim konuk odası nerede? diye soruyor.'
Mar 14:15 Ev sahibi size üst katta döşenmiş, hazır büyük bir oda gösterecek. Orada
bizim için hazırlık yapın."
Mar 14:16 Öğrenciler yola çıkıp kente gittiler. Her şeyi, İsa'nın kendilerine söylediği gibi
buldular ve Fısıh yemeği için hazırlık yaptılar.
Mar 14:17 Akşam olunca İsa Onikiler'le* birlikte geldi.
Mar 14:18 Sofraya oturmuş yemek yerlerken İsa, "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim" dedi,
"Sizden biri, benimle yemek yiyen biri bana ihanet edecek."
Note the sequence. Jesus first, apparently, had a private conversation with a wealthy
friend. We know that a number of people followed Jesus "secretly, for fear of the Jews."
Nicodemus snuck in to talk with Jesus at night, for example, as reported in John 3.
Joseph of Arimathea appeared from out of nowhere to care of our Lord's body after His
death, providing a brand new tomb near the place of execution. This secret friend agreed
to discretely cater a passover meal in a secure location, on an upper floor. They agreed
on a recognition signal that would enable the next step.
As evening drew close, the disciples were still in the dark. This was an important
ceremonial meal, but Jesus had not yet told them where or how they would have it. Now,
Jesus picked out two (Peter was probably one of them, since so much of Mark's Gospel
is seen through his eyes), and told them to look for a man carrying a water jug. Follow
him.
After they were safely indoors, use a recognition phrase. "The Master says, ..."
Then return and bring the rest of the party to the designated place, where they would find
all things ready.
Since Jesus Himself did not know ahead of time where the event would take place, His
enemies had no way to find out, and his wealthy friend was protected.
Finally, Jesus alerted the group to His impending betrayal. Suddenly, each watched all
the others, and the traitor could not find a quiet way to slip away, until the moment when
Jesus specifically sent him out.
Mysterious naked stranger (Mark 14)
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Alfred Hitchcock, the great director, loved to play cameo roles in his own movies. Careful
watchers can spot him in Lifeboat on the back of a newspaper one of the survivors is
reading -- as "before and after" pictures in an advertisement for a weight-loss program!
Mar 14:50 O zaman öğrencilerinin hepsi O'nu bırakıp kaçtı.
Mar 14:51 İsa'nın ardından sadece keten beze sarınmış bir genç gidiyordu. Bu genç de
yakalandı.
Mar 14:52 Ama keten bezden sıyrılıp çıplak olarak kaçtı.
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A mysterious, unnamed "young man wearing a white linen robe" shows up in this account
of our Lord's arrest. Since none of the other gospels include this event, the best guess is
that the one who wrote the story was the one in the story. Mark was, after all, Peter's
nephew.
Later on, at the trial, an enigmatic exchange takes place between Jesus and his principle
accusers:
Mar 14:61 Ne var ki, İsa susmaya devam etti, hiç yanıt vermedi. Başkâhin O'na yeniden,
"Yüce Olan'ın Oğlu Mesih sen misin?" diye sordu.
Mar 14:62 İsa, "Benim" dedi. "Ve sizler, İnsanoğlu'nun Kudretli Olan'ın sağında
oturduğunu ve göğün bulutlarıyla geldiğini göreceksiniz."
To understand Biblical metaphors, read the Bible. Throughout the sacred text, when we
read of God appearing "in/with clouds," it's a reference to God's presence made manifest
by visible, and spectacular, events. Jesus was giving His accusers a "heads up" -- they
might appear to have the upper hand at the moment, but they could expect, within the
near future, to see God's response.
John Calvin once wrote that God punishes some sins openly and immediately, so that
men will not have grounds for questioning His justice. Other sins are punished in the next
life, since we do need to walk by faith, not by sight. Finally, still other sins are punished
years after they are committed. On 9/11, we got to see in one hour the thing that grieves
God's heart every day, the murder of 3,000 innocents. Nearly 50 million of our fellow
Americans were killed before they saw the light of day -- and their blood cries out to a
God who values life above "privacy." I suspect that a terrible day of reckoning lies before
us, but also have confidence that God has good things in mind for these United States
afterward.
YAHUDİLER'İN KRALI (Mark 15)
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Chris Sanford, a scholarly neighbor, pointed out how the events of the crucifixion echo,
imitate, and perhaps parody the ritual by which a Roman emperor was installed. Pilate,
the Roman governor, asks the mob about this "King of the Jews." What do they want to
do with him?
Mar 15:12 Pilatus onlara tekrar seslenerek, "Öyleyse Yahudiler'in Kralı dediğiniz adamı
ne yapayım?" diye sordu.
Mar 15:13 "O'nu çarmıha ger!" diye bağırdılar yine.
Mar 15:14 Pilatus onlara, "O ne kötülük yaptı ki?" dedi. Onlar ise daha yüksek sesle,
"O'nu çarmıha ger!" diye bağrıştılar.
Mar 15:15 Halkı memnun etmek isteyen Pilatus, onlar için Barabba'yı salıverdi. İsa'yı ise
kamçılattıktan sonra çarmıha gerilmek üzere askerlere teslim etti.
And that's what happened. As Peter explained to them a bit over 50 days later, they
rejected the Lord of life, and begged for a murderer. History has proven this choice to be
terribly short-sighted. As Napoleon later wrote,
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I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every
other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar,
Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our
genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions
of men would die for Him."
Who will roll away the stone? (Mark 16)
Friday, March 06, 2009
OK, so I can paste big chunks of text in various languages into my blog, thanks to the
good folks at e-sword.net. Perhaps, though, it's time to return to the original spirit of this
blog, and take apart a single Turkish sentence in order to savor its linguistic delights.
Mar 16:3 Aralarında, "Mezarın girişindeki taşı bizim için kim yana yuvarlayacak?" diye
konuşuyorlardı.
And, a word list:
• Aralarında -- Among themselves. ara -- directs the reader's attention to the
surroundings. lar -- the plural suffix. ında -- the "while" (at the time of) suffix.
• Mezarın girişindeki -- when we get to the tomb. Mezar -- tomb. Girmek -- to go to. To
enter.
• taşı -- rock, with direct object suffix
• bizim için -- for us. için is one of those fascinating postpositions, words placed
directly after the word they affect, even as English prepositions go ahead of such
words.
• kim -- who? Unlike other languages I could name, such as French, Turkish does not
have throwaway syllables. Here we have the central point of the conversation. Who
can, or is willing to, to do something that these speakers urgently want done?
• yana -- to the side. "yan" is a strange little word that is never, to my knowledge,
found on its own, but only in combined or inflected forms.
• yuvarlayacak -- future tense, third person singular, to roll.
• diye -- speaking (Turkish readers are invited to correct me at any point when I miss
the point!)
• konuşuyorlardı -- they were saying to one another. konuşmak -- to converse. -uyor -continuous action indicator. -lar- -- plural indicator. -dı -- past definite tense indicator.
OK, so the Turks are a likeable people, given my small sample size, and from what
others say. And Turkish is a fascinating language that snaps together predictable
suffixes, like Lego blocks of different colors, to assemble single words and pithy phrases
that carry a lot of linguistic weight. I hope this blog will encourage more readers to get to
know Turks and Türkçe.
to be continued ... Luke 1
Saturday, March 07, 2009
In one of the better Simpsons episodes, Homer suspects that he may have only 24 hours
to live. He fills the day meeting overdue obligations to family and friends, then settles
down for the night to listen to the Bible on cassette tape. The Bible as narrated by Larry
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King, fabled talk-show host, born Larry Koenig, Jewish. As the sun rise, we hear Larry
reading the last verse of the last book of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi ... "lest I
come and smite the Earth with a curse. The end. That's all their is!"
Actually, that's not all there is. In Luke Chapter 1, an angel delivers a message to a
priest, that takes up where Malachi ended. Zecharia is promised a son will ... well, let's
see how it looks in Turkish:
Luk 1:10 Buhur yakma saatinde bütün halk topluluğu dışarıda dua ediyordu.
Luk 1:11 Bu sırada, Rab'bin bir meleği buhur sunağının sağında durup Zekeriya'ya
göründü.
Luk 1:12 Zekeriya onu görünce şaşırdı, korkuya kapıldı.
Luk 1:13 Melek, "Korkma, Zekeriya" dedi, "Duan kabul edildi. Karın Elizabet sana bir oğul
doğuracak, adını Yahya koyacaksın.
Luk 1:14 Sevinip coşacaksın. Birçokları da onun doğumuna sevinecek.
Luk 1:15 O, Rab'bin gözünde büyük olacak. Hiç şarap ve içki içmeyecek; daha annesinin
rahmindeyken Kutsal Ruh'la dolacak.
Luk 1:16 İsrailoğulları'ndan birçoğunu, Tanrıları Rab'be döndürecek.
Luk 1:17 Babaların yüreklerini çocuklarına döndürmek, söz dinlemeyenleri doğru kişilerin
anlayışına yöneltmek ve Rab için hazırlanmış bir halk yetiştirmek üzere, İlyas'ın ruhu ve
gücüyle Rab'bin önünden gidecektir."
As the highlighted phrase indicates, this miraculous lad will turn the hearts of the father to
their children, and fools to the words of the wise, in order to prepare a people ready for
the Messiah.
I'm going to be away from my computer for the next few days, but look forward to
updating this blog as soon as I get back.
Have a great week!
Local Boy Breaks Bad (Luke 4)
Since I just returned from a family vacation at one of the North Carolina barrier islands,
today's portion has added poignancy. The people you most wish to hear, and appreciate,
your perspective on those things that are most important to you may be the hardest to
persuade. In fact, Jesus didn't even try.
Luk 4:23 İsa onlara şöyle dedi: "Kuşkusuz bana şu deyimi hatırlatacaksınız: 'Ey hekim,
önce kendini iyileştir! Kefarnahum'da yaptıklarını duyduk. Aynısını burada, kendi
memleketinde de yap.'"
Luk 4:24 "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim" diye devam etti İsa, "Hiçbir peygamber kendi
memleketinde kabul görmez.
Luk 4:25 Yine size gerçeği söyleyeyim, gökyüzünün üç yıl altı ay kapalı kaldığı, bütün
ülkede korkunç bir kıtlığın baş gösterdiği İlyas zamanında İsrail'de çok sayıda dul kadın
vardı.
Luk 4:26 İlyas bunlardan hiçbirine gönderilmedi; yalnız Sayda bölgesinin Sarefat
Kenti'nde bulunan dul bir kadına gönderildi.
Luk 4:27 Peygamber Elişa'nın zamanında İsrail'de çok sayıda cüzamlı* vardı. Bunlardan
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hiçbiri iyileştirilmedi; yalnız Suriyeli Naaman iyileştirildi."
Luk 4:28 Havradakiler bu sözleri duyunca öfkeden kudurdular.
Luk 4:29 Ayağa kalkıp İsa'yı kentin dışına kovdular. O'nu uçurumdan aşağı atmak için
kentin kurulduğu tepenin yamacına götürdüler.
Luk 4:30 Ama İsa onların arasından geçerek oradan uzaklaştı.
And, a few words of interest:
• Kuşkusuz -- without a doubt! Kuşku -- doubt. -suz -- without.
• bana -- to me
• şu deyimi -- this to say
• hatırlatacaksınız -- you are preparing
OK, boy. So you can impress those rubes over at Caphernaum. But we know you better.
Let's see what you can do here!
Jesus refused to play. Our Lord knew his audience, and had no interest in catering to
their whims. It is impossible to argue an unbeliever into faith, since unbelief is an ethical
matter at heart, immune to facts, immune to evidence. People refuse to believe because,
as one of Darwin's supporters frankly admitted, faith in a meaningful, created universe
puts limits on one's sexual freedom. John Milton's Satan argues that it is better to reign in
hell than to serve in heaven. A disturbing God with an agenda of His own can wreak
havoc[1] with our own plans and schemes.
_______________
[1] For my Turkish friends -- "wreak" is a very strange English verb usually combined with
an unpleasant noun, such as havoc or vengeance. It's pronounced just like "wreck," and
you will often seen the two verbs confused, even by native English speakers.
(parenthetically, English words beginning with wr- usually refer to some kind of twisting:
wrist, wrestle, wreck ...)
Gentlemen, be seated. (Luke 5)
In many cultures, teachers sit when addressing their audiences. For example, in the
synagogues of our Lord's day, everyone would stand to hear the day's reading from the
sacred scroll. Then, the teacher would sit down, and begin to apply the scripture. The
great Native American leader Sitting Bull was a "wise teacher." The buffalo bull was the
emblem of wisdom, and teachers sat when giving instruction.
Luk 5:3 İki tekneden Simun'a ait olanına binen İsa, ona kıyıdan biraz açılmasını rica etti.
Sonra oturdu, teknenin içinden halka öğretmeye devam etti.
And a few words:
• binmek -- to mount (a horse, camel, etc.); to get in (a car); to get on (a bicycle,
motorcycle, etc.); to board (a ship, train, airplane); to get on (a mobile thing such as
a seesaw, swing, etc.); (for an animal) to enter (a truck, trailer, etc.)
• inmek -- the opposite of binmek.
• oturmak -- sit, seat, reside
• tekne -- boat.
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• teknenin içinden -- from the boat's inside
• halka -- to the people
• öğretmeye devam etti -- he a teaching gave
Jesus got into the boat, then sat down to teach.
American preachers are noteworthy for lively pulpit mannerisms. After the fall of the
Soviet Union, a number of well-wishers from the States flocked to the former Soviet
republics with a message of new hope. And the local Orthodox priests began to adopt
their peripatetic[1] style of oration.
Yes, an exciting message can make it hard to keep one's seat. Still, I wonder if some of
the reverence due God's word and its proclamation is lost when preachers act like
cheerleaders.
And, I'd like to ask my Turkish readers -- do your imams sit, walk, or stand, when they
preach? Thanks!
_________
[1] from the Greek -- means "walking around."
Counterculture (Luke 6)
OK, what does it take to make you hop, skip, and jump with wild enthusiasm?
How about -- being insulted? Let's reverse our usual order, and look at a few words, first,
today:
• zıplamak -- well, my new favorite online dictionary provides these meanings: bounce,
bound, cavort, leap, gambol, etc. Definitely an action verb! And a lively one at that.
The English word "zip" has similar connotations of zesty liveliness, and provides a
convenient artificial cognate for those of us who need such memory hooks!
• coşku-- well, my new dictionary will see[1] my paper dictionary's enthusiasm, and
raise it with exuberance, vigor, ebullience, fervor, kick, ecstasy, effervescence, etc.
The Greek verb σκιρτήσατε is translated in the KJV as "leap for joy." Well, this is a
command that requires a context! Let's take a look at Luke's version of the Sermon on
the Mount:
Luk 6:22 İnsanoğlu'na bağlılığınız yüzünden İnsanlar sizden nefret ettikleri, Sizi toplum
dışı edip aşağıladıkları Ve adınızı kötüleyip sizi reddettikleri zaman Ne mutlu size!
Luk 6:23 O gün sevinin, coşkuyla zıplayın! Çünkü gökteki ödülünüz büyüktür. Nitekim
onların ataları da Peygamberlere böyle davrandılar.
One of the more evil influences on American popular culture, John Dewey, rejected
Christianity because he considered it "divisive." Like Muslims, Christians assume that the
world is divided between people who are on the road to eternal bliss, and the servants of
İblis who are heading in the other direction.
I'm reading Orhan Pamuk's book Other Colors. This great Turkish novelist feels a kindred
spirit with the Russian writers of the 19th century. In both cases, cultures on the fringe of
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Europe yearned for full inclusion. Some of the writers and thinkers got tired of the effort,
and decided to celebrate their own culture to the fullest. Dostoyevsky portrayed the
European "enlightenment" influences as demonic.
In like manner, the American "countercultures" of the late 60s embraced the rejection of
the ruling establishment as a badge of honor. In the words of American epigramist Yogi
Berra, "I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me for a member!"
In this chapter, Jesus tells his followers to disdain the approval of the ruling elites. You're
not going to get it anyhow, and they're on the wrong track. Expect the schism, rejoice in
it, and overcome by framing your responses in expansive, generous, and kindly terms.
__________
[1] OK -- a poker metaphor. One player bets a certain amount. Another agrees to equal
("see") that bet, and increase ("raise") it.
The view from the edge (Luke 7)
One communication theory suggests that people who are outside of the ruling class of a
society have a better grasp on what's actually going on. After all, they have to navigate
their own strata of society, as well as knowing how to work around "the powers that be."
In the United States, people of color often use an impenetrable, dialect English to conceal
their conversations from white supervisors in the room. As Bob Dylan sang in his
memorable portrait of degradation Like A Rolling Stone,
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you.
Those who think they run the world are being watched by those whose lives they
presume to manage. A poignant Turkish proverb, İt ürür, kervan yürür, talks about the
futility of complaining -- the dogs can bark, but the caravan will keep moving right along.
Feodor Dostoevsky sought to warn his people about the contagion of demonic notions
infiltrating his culture from envied, emulated, western Europe. In vain. The Marxism
cooked up by a German parasite in a British library plunged Russia and her neighbors
into a 70-year totalitarian nightmare. These same ideas are acting like a slow poison in
Europe. When The State becomes both Parent (provider) and Child (legitimate heir of all
accumulated wealth), the need for real parents and children is less obvious. None of the
major western European nations are replacing themselves.
Luke, author of the gospel that bears his name, the Acts of the Apostles, and (possibly)
The Epistle to the Hebrews, had that outsider's perspective. He associated closely with
Paul, and was apparently a native of Troas. It is in this city that the voice of the narration
changes from "he" or "they" to "we." Luke's gospel gives more attention than the others to
people on the fringes. To women. To the occupying Roman soldiers. Consider today's
reading:
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Luk 7:2 Orada bir yüzbaşının çok değer verdiği kölesi ölüm döşeğinde hasta yatıyordu.
Luk 7:3 İsa'yla ilgili haberleri duyan yüzbaşı, gelip kölesini iyileştirmesini rica etmek üzere
O'na Yahudiler'in bazı ileri gelenlerini gönderdi.
Luk 7:4 Bunlar İsa'nın yanına gelince içten bir yalvarışla O'na şöyle dediler: "Bu adam
senin yardımına layıktır.
Luk 7:5 Çünkü ulusumuzu seviyor. Havramızı yaptıran da kendisidir."
Luk 7:6 İsa onlarla birlikte yola çıktı. Eve yaklaştığı sırada, yüzbaşı bazı dostlarını yollayıp
O'na şu haberi gönderdi: "Ya Rab, zahmet etme; evime girmene layık değilim.
Luk 7:7 Bu yüzden yanına gelmeye de kendimi layık görmedim. Sen yeter ki bir söz
söyle, uşağım iyileşir.
Luk 7:8 Ben de buyruk altında bir görevliyim, benim de buyruğumda askerlerim var.
Birine, 'Git' derim, gider; ötekine, 'Gel' derim, gelir; köleme, 'Şunu yap' derim, yapar."
Luk 7:9 Bu sözleri duyan İsa yüzbaşıya hayran kaldı. Ardından gelen kalabalığa dönerek,
"Size şunu söyleyeyim" dedi, "İsrail'de bile böyle iman görmedim."
As Luke tells the story, the "ruler of a hundred" (yüzbaşı) sent a delegation of Jewish
elders to make his request. They told Jesus, Bu adam senin yardımına layıktır. Çünkü
ulusumuzu seviyor. Havramızı yaptıran da kendisidir. Let's look at a few of the words:
• Bu adam -- This man
• senin yardımına -- of your help
• layıktır -- worthy is.
• Çünkü ulusumuzu -- because our nation
• seviyor -- he loves.
• Havramızı -- Our synagogue
• yaptıran -- he built
• kendisidir -- at his own expense.
An occupying soldier saw how the God of Israel, the true God, vastly surpassed the
pagan idols he'd been raised in. His reverence for God showed itself in a love for the
people of Israel, an affection that was returned.
When Jesus approached this officer's home, he sent out another message: Ya Rab,
zahmet etme; evime girmene layık değilim. Let's look at the words:
• zahmet etme -- don't trouble yourself
• evime -- my house
• girmene -- to enter
• layık -- worthy
• değilim -- I am not.
Unlike so many in Israel, particularly the rulers of this nation, the Roman officer
recognized the authority of Jesus, and appealed to the chain of command. And Jesus
was surprised, and said to those around him, Size şunu söyleyeyim, İsrail'de bile böyle
iman görmedim.
Cultural transformations were hastening towards Israel -- and when the dust settled,
God's purposes would outlive Israel, and be carried forward by many like this one-time
outsider. The Jews settled into a petulant sulk that has lasted nearly 2,000 years, while
the Messiah, and the Message, they rejected was embraced eagerly by the rest of the
world.
Sometimes, the outsiders inherit, and have the last laugh.
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Reaction shots (Luke 7)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Good video journalism makes an effort to capture "reaction shots," footage of observers
to some newsworthy event or utterance. President Kennedy takes a round to the head -and suddenly, the secret service agents in the car behind are staring, aghast, at one of
their own number. An agent holding an automatic rifle that fires a small-caliber, highvelocity round that would shatter into fragments after penetrating a skull. Not the largecaliber, jacketed rounds that inflicted the other injuries on the targeted dignitaries.
Rounds with a wider diameter than the wound in the back of the president's head.
You know, we might could[1] learn a few things by re-examining reaction shots.
In today's story, the sideshow was the main event.
Luk 7:36 Ferisiler'den biri İsa'yı yemeğe çağırdı. O da Ferisi'nin evine gidip sofraya
oturdu.
Luk 7:37,38 O sırada, kentte günahkâr olarak tanınan bir kadın, İsa'nın, Ferisi'nin evinde
yemek yediğini öğrenince kaymaktaşından bir kap içinde güzel kokulu yağ getirdi. İsa'nın
arkasında, ayaklarının dibinde durup ağlayarak, gözyaşlarıyla O'nun ayaklarını ıslatmaya
başladı. Saçlarıyla ayaklarını sildi, öptü ve yağı üzerlerine sürdü.
Luk 7:39 İsa'yı evine çağırmış olan Ferisi bunu görünce kendi kendine, "Bu adam
peygamber olsaydı, kendisine dokunan bu kadının kim ve ne tür bir kadın olduğunu,
günahkâr biri olduğunu anlardı" dedi.
Luk 7:40 Bunun üzerine İsa Ferisi'ye, "Simun" dedi, "Sana bir söyleyeceğim var." O da,
"Buyur, öğretmenim" dedi.
Luk 7:41 "Tefeciye borçlu iki kişi vardı. Biri beş yüz, öbürü de elli dinar borçluydu.
Luk 7:42 Borçlarını ödeyecek güçte olmadıklarından, tefeci her ikisinin de borcunu
bağışladı. Buna göre, hangisi onu çok sever?"
Luk 7:43 Simun, "Sanırım, kendisine daha çok bağışlanan" diye yanıtladı. İsa ona,
"Doğru söyledin" dedi.
Luk 7:44 Sonra kadına bakarak Simun'a şunları söyledi: "Bu kadını görüyor musun? Ben
senin evine geldim, ayaklarım için bana su vermedin. Bu kadın ise ayaklarımı
gözyaşlarıyla ıslatıp saçlarıyla sildi.
Luk 7:45 Sen beni öpmedin, ama bu kadın eve girdiğimden beri ayaklarımı öpüp duruyor.
Luk 7:46 Sen başıma zeytinyağı sürmedin, ama bu kadın ayaklarıma güzel kokulu yağ
sürdü.
Luk 7:47 Bu nedenle sana şunu söyleyeyim, kendisinin çok olan günahları bağışlanmıştır.
Çok sevgi göstermesinin nedeni budur. Oysa kendisine az bağışlanan, az sever."
Luk 7:48 Sonra kadına, "Günahların bağışlandı" dedi.
Luk 7:49 İsa'yla birlikte sofrada oturanlar kendi aralarında, "Kim bu adam? Günahları bile
bağışlıyor!" şeklinde konuşmaya başladılar.
Luk 7:50 İsa ise kadına, "İmanın seni kurtardı, esenlikle git" dedi.
We'll skip the vocabulary lessons, today, and try to move right along.
A society reporter would note how a local prominent citizen had invited the latest novelty
act over for dinner. Sophisticated readers would chuckle over the etiquette gaffs, the faux
pas,[2] of the rustic entertainer.
Yet, the focus of Luke's narrative is on the one person who did understand what Jesus
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represented -- the opportunity for a new start in life. This is really important to some
people, to those who have endured the sneers of their neighbors, and their own shame.
To those who find in forgiveness a new lease on life, a new life.
______________
[1] "might could" juxtaposes two subjunctive words for humorous effect, for exaggeration.
It's not good standard English.
[2] Pronounced "foe paw" -- French for "false step." The French aristocracy of the 1770s
was obsessed with skill at dancing the intricate minuet. History demonstrates that their
priorities were askew!
Dikkat edin! (watch out! Luke 8)
Kids may not have been brighter a century ago, but they sure learned a lot more. At least,
this is the American experience. It's a matter of character. Maturity. The self-discipline it
takes to apply focused attention to the task at hand, despite a plethora of distractions.
Our generation has seen the explosion of "ADD" -- attention deficit disorder. There are
many theories. Flouride in the water? Or has television trained our brains to only function
in burst mode, and only as long as a jiggling shifting image can hold our attention
hostage? Or, have other factors trained us to cope with boredom by cutting lose our
mental moorings, and letting our minds wander?[1]
Yet what makes us think we have cornered the market on[2] distractability? One of the
fascinations of sacred texts is -- you can read them hundreds of times, and still see fresh
insights embedded in the familiar words.
For example, we can read the Parable of the Sower as an essay on discractability, on
ADD.
Luk 8:4, 5 Büyük bir kalabalığın toplandığı, insanların her kentten kendisine akın akın
geldiği bir sırada İsa şu benzetmeyi anlattı: "Ekincinin biri tohum ekmeye çıktı. Ektiği
tohumlardan kimi yol kenarına düştü, ayak altında çiğnenip gökteki kuşlara yem oldu.
Luk 8:6 Kimi kayalık yere düştü, filizlenince susuzluktan kuruyup gitti.
Luk 8:7 Kimi, dikenler arasına düştü. Filizlerle birlikte büyüyen dikenler filizleri boğdu.
Luk 8:8 Kimi ise iyi toprağa düştü, büyüyünce yüz kat ürün verdi." Bunları söyledikten
sonra, "İşitecek kulağı olan işitsin!" diye seslendi.
A few words:
• büyük -- big
• kalabalık -- crowd
• akın -- raid. Rush upon. Run up to. Double the word to instensify the meaning. İsa
was getting mobbed!
Bottom line: if you have ears, you had better listen! Or perhaps the Teacher was saying,
"I'm wasting my time with 75% of you out there!"
We are certainly being told to pay attention what God wants us to hear. You know, it
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would be the tragedy of a lifetime if God was to whisper the next step towards achieving
our dearest and most cherished dreams, and we missed the point. Failed to do what was
required. Distracted by the shallowness of our own thinking, the rigidity of our
preconceived notions, or the multitude of distractions swarming around us. But, there's
hope.
Luk 8:18 Bunun için, nasıl dinlediğinize dikkat edin. Kimde varsa, ona daha çok verilecek.
Ama kimde yoksa, kendisinde var sandığı bile elinden alınacak."
We can fine-tune our hearing, by careful attention to it. Once we "get it," once we get the
point of life,[3] we can get feedback loops working for us. The better we listen, the better
our lives work, and the more we heed that which our Creator intends for us to hear. The
process of reprogramming our thinking, of renewing our minds, is a life-long project. But
the payoff is wonderful in this life, and the next.
____
[1] "Don't let your mind wander. It's too small to be out on its own!"
[2] American idiom. To "corner the market" means to acquire a monopoly on some good
or service.
[3] God is God, I am not, and His purposes are the supreme reason for my life.
the power of small things (Luke 9)
OK, so I like science fiction, that epitome of juvenile boy's literature! Michael Flynn, a
Catholic novelist in this genre, imagined aliens landing in a medieval German monastery,
and the theological discussions that ensued. At one point, the wise abbot tells one of his
people, "Yes, this is a small thing. But faithfulness in small things is a great thing."
(Eifelheim)
This is wholesome advice to those of us who wrestle with grandiose notions of self. We
get tempted to look for that perfect pitch that we can slam out of the ballpark, and fail to
take advantage of the base hits that come our way.[1] Most progress, it turns out,
depends on nibbling at things around the edges. Doing something every day.
Let's look at today's scripture:
Luk 9:12 Günbatımına doğru Onikiler gelip O'na, "Halkı salıver de çevredeki köylere ve
çiftliklere gidip kendilerine barınak ve yiyecek bulsunlar. Çünkü ıssız bir yerdeyiz" dediler.
Luk 9:13 İsa, "Onlara siz yiyecek verin" dedi. "Beş ekmekle iki balıktan başka bir şeyimiz
yok" dediler. "Yoksa bunca halk için yiyecek almaya biz mi gidelim?"
Luk 9:14 Orada yaklaşık beş bin erkek vardı. İsa öğrencilerine, "Halkı yaklaşık ellişer
kişilik kümeler halinde yere oturtun" dedi.
Luk 9:15 Öğrenciler öyle yapıp herkesi yere oturttular.
Luk 9:16 İsa, beş ekmekle iki balığı aldı, gözlerini göğe kaldırarak şükretti; sonra bunları
böldü ve halka dağıtmaları için öğrencilerine verdi.
Luk 9:17 Herkes yiyip doydu. Artakalan parçalardan on iki sepet dolusu toplandı.
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Let's look at vs. 13:
• Beş ekmekle -- with the five loaves, (and)
• iki balıktan -- apart from the two fishes
• başka -- other than
• bir şeyimiz -- one thing of ours
• yok -- there is not.
Ah, I can see all of my American friends running off to learn Turkish now, and my Turkish
friends eagerly reading İncil! After all, both are so fascinating!
That which looks so little, so futile, can make all the difference in the world when God's
favor rests upon it.
Have a great day, friends!
__________
[1] I need to use baseball metaphors every now and then to demonstrate my American
heritage -- even though I hate the game, and was usually the last one chosen!
"A man has got to know his limits ... " (Luke 9)
"RJR, you are like a man who sees a freight train heading for a cliff. And you don't know
the first thing about freight trains. You just know it's going in the wrong direction, and you
are determined to jump on board and turn it around!"
A wise friend gave me this perspective decades ago, when I was determined to "reform"
an American denomination by pursuing ordination therein.
As another of Luke's lengthy chapters winds down, we see the Lord inviting people to
follow Him, and the responses of the recruits:
Luk 9:59 Bir başkasına, "Ardımdan gel" dedi. Adam ise, "İzin ver, önce gidip babamı
gömeyim" dedi.
Luk 9:60 İsa ona şöyle dedi: "Bırak ölüleri, kendi ölülerini kendileri gömsün. Sen gidip
Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ni duyur."
And, a few words:
• önce -- First
• gitmek -- to go
• babamı -- my father (direct object)
• gömek -- bury
The context makes it plain that the called one's father was still alive and kicking. The guy
was willing to follow Jesus, after making sure that his own nest was feathered. There was
some matter of business that needed attending to, first.
To which Jesus replied, "Let the dead bury their own dead, and go, preach the Kingdom
of God." Or, as my beloved mentor R. J. Rushdoony paraphrased it, "Let the dead bury
the dead. The living have work to do."
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American humorist Al Capp caricatured the campus radicals of the 60's, in his L'i'l Abner
comic strip, as Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything (S.W.I.N.E.) . It's easy
to get worked up concerning tempting targets. Sanity, however, sometimes requires us to
walk away from other people's problems, and mind our own business as well as we can.
a man of peace (Luke 10)
Round one went well. The Twelve went out, worked miracles, and preached God's
Kingdom. So Luke reports another cycle of itinerant evangelism, this time with 70
messengers. This number is, in Biblical terms, another word picture. Genesis 11 lists 70
distinct nations that developed after the dispersion at the Tower of Babel. SO our Lord is
telling us, by this second round, that His message was intended for Israel first, and then
for the whole world.
Missionary is a foul word in many societies. An agent of an alien ideology is at the door,
determined to destroy our families and our culture. During the 19th century, the American
obsession with polygamy led to the warning cry heard in many African villages: "The
destroyers of families have come." Benjamin Fortna's incredible book The Imperial
Classroom discusses how a hard-pressed Ottoman Empire somehow found the will, and
the resources, to build 10,000 modern schools almost overnight. The rulers were
threatened by restive people groups around the edges, unhappy minorities within,
commercial competition from the new global environment, and the missionary schools.
These institutions, lavishly funded from abroad, transparently sought to undermine the
Islamic faith and culture of the people.
On the one hand, Christians view God's Kingdom as a new reality, a new culture,
supernaturally lowered from the heavens. Yet so often the "new culture" we have brought
to "the benighted heathen" has been western culture that confuses our idiomatic (and
sometimes idiotic) preferences with God's eternal standards. Yes, American missionaries
helped the Hawaiian people to become literate, and mostly Christian, within a few
decades. They also insisted that the tropical ladies wear "mother hubbards," neck-toankle long-sleeved dresses.
Today's "Christian exemplars," like Baptist singer Brittany Spears, go to strip joints to
refine their stage gyrations.
Bruce Olsen refused to buy into the "witch doctor vs. Enlightened Missionary" paradigm.
The traditional healers, he saw, were "the backbone of tribal morality." During a pinkeye
epidemic in his adopted tribe, he noted how the shaman worked herself to exhaustion
seeking to help her people, calling out to heaven for healing. Olsen infected himself, then
asked the witch doctor to chant for his healing -- and anoint his eye with tetracycline. He
honored her position in the tribe, enhanced her effectiveness, and eventually saw the
entire tribe embrace the gospel in its own way.
Perhaps, this chapter suggests the best way to persuade people to give thought to the
Creator's "graphic user interface" with the created order, İsa. The One through whom we
see the Almighty's character and personality, and the One in whose name we lay hold on
the eternal order. When you want to bring the good news of salvation to a new
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community, find a "man of peace."
Luk 10:5 Hangi eve girerseniz, önce, 'Bu eve esenlik olsun!' deyin.
Luk 10:6 Orada esenliksever biri varsa, dilediğiniz esenlik onun üzerinde kalacak; yoksa,
size dönecektir.
Luk 10:7 Girdiğiniz evde kalın, size ne verirlerse onu yiyip için. Çünkü işçi ücretini hak
eder. Evden eve taşınmayın.
And, a few words:
• Hangi eve girerseniz, önce, -- Whichever house you go into, first,
• 'Bu eve esenlik olsun!' deyin -- 'This house peace be upon!' say.
Every community has influential people already in place. People who are known for their
nobility and hospitality. Win their trust, and the whole village will listen. Ignore them, and
the people will ignore you (except for a handful of malcontents, rejects, and misfits).
Bruce Olsen's tribe discarded the seven-day week as irrelevant to their Amazonian
climate. Frankly, I see no reason why other cultures would need to embrace such things
as Christmas and Easter, holidays that we confiscated from pre-existing pagan orders.
Someday, I would love to observe Ramazan with people who share my delight in İsa.
Let's hear it for chutzpah ! (Luke 11)
English, a wag once said, does not "borrow" words from other languages. Rather, English
follows other languages into dark alleys, beats them up, and forcibly takes the words it
wants. America is a nation of immigrants, and every major immigrant group has enriched
our common culture with its cuisine and its vocabulary.[1] A century ago, quite a few
Jewish folks got tired of the pogroms[2] in Russia and took steerage[3] passage to these
shores.[4]
One of the things the Jewish folks brought with them, in addition to a formidable work
ethic, was Yiddish -- an energetic German dialect written with Hebrew characters. As
Jewish folks rose to prominence in a number of fields, including entertainment, was a
number of words that have passed into vernacular English. Many words that begin with
sch- were originally Yiddish.
Then, there's today's word, chutzpah. The standard definition goes like this: "If a man is
on trial for murdering his parents, and asks the judge for leniency because he is an
orphan, that's chutzpah!"
Which brings us to today's İncil selection:
Luk 11:5-7 Sonra şöyle dedi: "Sizlerden birinin bir arkadaşı olur da gece yarısı ona gidip,
'Arkadaş, bana üç ekmek ödünç ver. Bir arkadaşım yoldan geldi, önüne koyacak bir
şeyim yok' derse, öbürü içerden, 'Beni rahatsız etme! Kapı kilitli, çocuklarım da yanımda
yatıyor. Kalkıp sana bir şey veremem' der mi hiç?
Luk 11:8 Size şunu söyleyeyim, arkadaşlık gereği kalkıp ona istediğini vermese bile,
adamın yüzsüzlüğünden ötürü kalkar, ihtiyacı neyse ona verir.
Luk 11:9 "Ben size şunu söyleyeyim: Dileyin, size verilecek; arayın, bulacaksınız; kapıyı
çalın, size açılacaktır.
Luk 11:10 Çünkü her dileyen alır, arayan bulur, kapı çalana açılır.
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Luk 11:11 "Aranızda hangi baba, ekmek isteyen oğluna taş verir? Ya da balık isterse
balık yerine yılan verir?
Luk 11:12 Ya da yumurta isterse ona akrep verir?
Luk 11:13 Sizler kötü yürekli olduğunuz halde çocuklarınıza güzel armağanlar vermeyi
biliyorsanız, gökteki Baba'nın, kendisinden dileyenlere Kutsal Ruh'u vereceği çok daha
kesin değil mi?"
And that brings us to today's Turkish word:
• yüzsüz -- chutzpah. Impudence. Shamelessness.
Grace means divine mercy to those who don't deserve it. Most of the time, we create
most of our problems for ourselves. If we could only pray for mercy when we deserved it,
we'd never pray.
As this selection shows, our Creator loves to hear from us, and to respond to us.
Sometimes, though, He expects us to show a measure of persistence. Faith. And sheer
chutzpah.
May your prayers be aggressive, bold, blessed, and answered, today!
__________
[1] Well, the folks who were already here added place names to our vocabulary.
[2] pogrom is one of the very few Russian words that has passed unchanged into
English.
[3] That's where the ship gives you a place to sit for the trip, and you bring your own food.
[4] One Jewish American poet, Emma Lazarus, wrote the poem The New Collosus that is
found on the tablet at Statue of Liberty:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
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Eye in the sky vs. the Hidden Agenda (Luke 12)
An Irish writer described a vivid childhood fear. Suppose inappropriate thoughts were
visibly displayed in a balloon over her head? Perhaps, she admitted, her fondness for
American comic books created that nightmare! The words of İsa brought this to mind:
Luk 12:1 O sırada halktan binlerce kişi birbirlerini ezercesine toplanmıştı. İsa önce kendi
öğrencilerine şunları söylemeye başladı: "Ferisiler'in mayasından -yani, ikiyüzlülüktenkaçının.
Luk 12:2 Örtülü olup da açığa çıkarılmayacak, gizli olup da bilinmeyecek hiçbir şey
yoktur.
Luk 12:3 Bunun için karanlıkta söylediğiniz her söz gün ışığında duyulacak, kapalı kapılar
ardında kulağa fısıldadıklarınız damlardan duyurulacaktır.
Luk 12:4 "Siz dostlarıma söylüyorum, bedeni öldüren, ama ondan sonra başka bir şey
yapamayanlardan korkmayın.
Luk 12:5 Kimden korkmanız gerektiğini size açıklayayım: Kişiyi öldürdükten sonra
cehenneme atma yetkisine sahip olan Tanrı'dan korkun. Evet, size söylüyorum, O'ndan
korkun.
Luk 12:6 Beş serçe iki meteliğe satılmıyor mu? Ama bunlardan bir teki bile Tanrı katında
unutulmuş değildir.
Luk 12:7 Nitekim başınızdaki bütün saçlar bile sayılıdır. Korkmayın, siz birçok serçeden
daha değerlisiniz.
Luk 12:8 "Size şunu söyleyeyim, insanların önünde beni açıkça kabul eden herkesi,
İnsanoğlu* da Tanrı'nın melekleri önünde açıkça kabul edecek.
Luk 12:9 Ama kim beni insanlar önünde inkâr ederse, kendisi de Tanrı'nın melekleri
önünde inkâr edilecek.
And, a few words:
• ikiyüzlülük -- hypocrisy. iki -- two. yüzlü -- faced. lük -- ness.
• kapmak -- to close. kapalı -- closed.
• kapı -- door. kapılar -- doors.
Even when the hypocrites are in power, the righteous need not fear. A fortuitous tornado
will open the trunk of a car in a junkyard, revealing the missing records of the Rose Law
Firm. Time Magazine may spike[1] a story that is unflattering to their fair-haired boy, but
an upstart internet journalist will make his reputation by exposing sexual harassment in
the workplace at the highest levels.
It's also bad policy to conceal good news. The Creator has broken into the world to set
things right. Nothing is the same. The powers of evil are backing away from the
fumigating disinfectant of light and, despite frequent setbacks, the world is becoming a
better place.
It might be scary to live under the benevolent gaze of a Heaven that knows everything,
including the price of sparrows, and the number of hairs on our head. However, this God
is good, loves us, and has our eternal happiness at heart. The bad guys can bluff,
bluster, and posture. Hey, they can even kill our bodies now and then. Big deal. The God
we serve has taken steps to secure eternal bliss for His own.
____________
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[1] To "spike" a story means to withhold it from publication. Old-time newspaper editors
had a spike mounted on their desks to hold papers that did not need further attention.
The Spike is also a novel (with a few steamy scenes) by Arnaud de Borchgrave that
describes the collusion between American journalists and the enemies of our country
across decades and generations.
Use Western Union (Luke 13)
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
One of the early Hollywood moguls, perhaps Samuel Meyers, had some pithy thoughts
about the primary purpose of movies: to make a profit, by providing entertainment that
people would want to buy. For example, he said, "It's better to sell four tickets than two."
In other words, make movies that grownups can bring the kids to watch. He also said, "If
you want to send a message, use Western Union."[1] A movie made as a means to
another end is not likely to do well at the box office.
The eye of faith frequently sees tokens of God's hand at work in the universe. For
example, a few weeks ago, a chartered airplane carrying two children and five
grandchildren of the nation's largest private abortion profiteer crashed into a Catholic
cemetery -- which includes a monument to the aborted children of our nation. It's
tempting to read a message into the event -- a guy who made his millions by killing other
people's children loses his own. At a place that commemorates the heinous source of the
wealth that chartered the plane. Is there a message there? And if so, will it be received?
Well, I'm not God, so I'll stay out of that loop. İsa warns us that we need to be careful
about our assumptions:
Luk 13:1 O sırada bazı kişiler gelip İsa'ya bir haber getirdiler. Pilatus'un nasıl bazı
Celileliler'i öldürüp kanlarını kendi kestikleri kurbanların kanına kattığını anlattılar.
Luk 13:2 İsa onlara şöyle karşılık verdi: "Böyle acı çeken bu Celileliler'in, bütün öbür
Celileliler'den daha günahlı olduğunu mu sanıyorsunuz?
Luk 13:3 Size hayır diyorum. Ama tövbe etmezseniz, hepiniz böyle mahvolacaksınız.
Luk 13:4 Ya da, Şiloah'taki kule üzerlerine yıkılınca ölen o on sekiz kişinin, Yeruşalim'de
yaşayan öbür insanların hepsinden daha suçlu olduğunu mu sanıyorsunuz?
Luk 13:5 Size hayır diyorum. Ama tövbe etmezseniz, hepiniz böyle mahvolacaksınız."
Luk 13:6 İsa şu benzetmeyi anlattı: "Adamın birinin bağında dikili bir incir ağacı vardı.
Adam gelip ağaçta meyve aradı, ama bulamadı.
Luk 13:7 Bağcıya, 'Bak' dedi, 'Ben üç yıldır gelip bu incir ağacında meyve arıyorum,
bulamıyorum. Onu kes. Toprağın besinini neden boş yere tüketsin?'
Luk 13:8 "Bağcı, 'Efendim' diye karşılık verdi, 'Ağacı bir yıl daha bırak, bu arada ben
çevresini kazıp gübreleyeyim.
Luk 13:9 Gelecek yıl meyve verirse, ne iyi; vermezse, onu kesersin.'"
And, a few words:
• tövbe -- repentance. tövbe etmek -- to repent. tövbe etmezseniz -- unless you (plural)
repent.
• hepiniz -- all of you.
In other words, we all have skeletons in our own closets to worry about. We are all given
a space of time on this earth to "get with the program." But sooner or later, time, and
God's patience, will run out.
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Yet the God of the İncil yearns to provide the best of everything to those who will hear His
call to repentance, and pledge their allegiance to Him:
Luk 13:34 "Ey Yeruşalim! Peygamberleri öldüren, kendisine gönderilenleri taşlayan
Yeruşalim! Tavuğun civcivlerini kanatları altına topladığı gibi ben de kaç kez senin
çocuklarını toplamak istedim, ama siz istemediniz.
Luk 13:35 Bakın, eviniz ıssız bırakılacak! Size şunu söyleyeyim: 'Rab'bin adıyla gelene
övgüler olsun!' diyeceğiniz zamana dek beni bir daha görmeyeceksiniz."
_____________
[1] Western Union was the old monopoly telegraph company.
The setup (Luke 14)
Thursday, April 02, 2009
An associate or friend invites you to a party at her house. Getting an invitation to anything
is a big deal in the USA, which is a "low-context" culture.[1] You show up at the door,
eager to spend a few hours snacking and talking -- and discover that you've walked into a
sales pitch. For kitchen products. Cosmetics. Or maybe "special" vitamins.
You're a lonely college girl. An attractive frat boy[2] suddenly notices you, and invites you
to a party. You primp, dress your best, and show up at the frat house, heart pounding,
walk in -- and notice how the other girls are all obese, unkempt, plain, or downright ugly.
Surprise! You get to star in a "pig party," a cruel joke where the frat brothers compete to
see who can bring in the ugliest date.
We read of a similar incident in Luke 14:1-6:
Luk 14:1 Bir Şabat Günü İsa Ferisiler'in ileri gelenlerinden birinin evine yemek yemeye
gitti. Herkes O'nu dikkatle gözlüyordu.
Luk 14:2 Önünde, vücudu su toplamış bir adam vardı.
Luk 14:3 İsa, Kutsal Yasa uzmanlarına ve Ferisiler'e, "Şabat Günü bir hastayı iyileştirmek
Kutsal Yasa'ya uygun mudur, değil midir?" diye sordu.
Luk 14:4 Onlar ses çıkarmadılar. İsa adamı tutup iyileştirdi, sonra eve gönderdi.
Luk 14:5 İsa onlara şöyle dedi: "Hanginiz oğlu ya da öküzü Şabat Günü kuyuya düşer de
hemen çıkarmaz?"
Luk 14:6 Onlar buna hiçbir karşılık veremediler.
A few words:
• Herkes -- All of them
• O'nu -- at him
• dikkatle -- carefully, attentively
• gözlüyordu -- stared.
In front of him stood a man with edema, visibly suffering from a disabling illness. I like the
way the Greek expresses it:
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν ὑδρωπικὸς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ.
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And LOOK! a man, who was waterlogged, before him.
It's a Sabbath day. Will this so-called teacher honor God by keeping the Sabbath? Or will
he "do work" on the Lord's day of rest? Enquiring minds wanted to know! Actually, they
already knew what to expect. After all, Jesus had a reputation as a compassionate
healer. This situation was a setup, a trap, an effort to discredit Jesus. Interestingly
enough, at this table, He turned the tables on His enemies, and went on to deride their
transparent social climbing.
_________
[1] This is a sociological term. A "high context" culture puts a lot of energy into the
connections between people. A "low context" culture values independence. You end up
with a lot of lonely high achievers!
[2] Fraternities are a fixture of most American college campuses. Those who are selected
for membership survive some kind of "hazing" ritual that usually claims several lives
every year. In exchange, you forge lifelong connections with people of influence. For
example, the 2004 US presidential election pitted two members of the secretive Yale
"Skull & Bones" society against each other.
Like a slave (Luke 15)
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Jesus apparently had too much fun hanging around with "the wrong kind of people." His
message of a new Kingdom, a new life, a new beginning, was good news indeed to those
whose old lives were nothing to write home about.[1]
His delight in unsavory friends was an ongoing challenge to the professionally righteous
people who used their ritual achievements as a platform to look down upon others
from.[2] Jesus alternated between denouncing the religious people, and reaching out to
them. In today's chapter, He describes a heaven that rejoices when something valuable
is found again. A lost sheep, and lost coin, and two lost sons. The parable of the
"prodigal" (wasteful) son presents word pictures of a Father, a dutiful older brother, and a
wild and reckless younger brother. When the spendthrift lad comes sneaking home, the
Father receives him gladly. The older brother, OTOH, resents the attention given the one
who has wasted perhaps as much as a third of the family's capital.[3] Let's eavesdrop on
this bitter conversation:
Luk 15:28, 29 "Büyük oğul öfkelendi, içeri girmek istemedi. Babası dışarı çıkıp ona
yalvardı. Ama o, babasına şöyle yanıt verdi: 'Bak, bunca yıl senin için köle gibi çalıştım,
hiçbir zaman buyruğundan çıkmadım. Ne var ki sen bana, arkadaşlarımla eğlenmem için
hiçbir zaman bir oğlak bile vermedin.
Luk 15:30 Oysa senin malını fahişelerle yiyen şu oğlun eve dönünce, onun için besili
danayı kestin.'
Luk 15:31 "Babası ona, 'Oğlum, sen her zaman yanımdasın, neyim varsa senindir' dedi.
Luk 15:32 'Ama sevinip eğlenmek gerekiyordu. Çünkü bu kardeşin ölmüştü, yaşama
döndü; kaybolmuştu, bulundu!'"
Let's take apart a few sentences:
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•
•
•
•
Bak -- behold,
bunca yıl -- how many years
senin için -- for you
köle gibi -- like a slave (gibi, like için, is one of those intriguing Turkish postpositions,
which function in approximately the same was as English prepositions. It just comes
after the word it governs, rather than before!)
• çalıştım -- I labored.
• Oğlum, sen -- My son, you
• her zaman -- all the time
• yanımdasın -- beside me were
• neyim varsa -- everything I have
• senindir -- is yours
The family is an economic unit, but far more than that. The older son viewed his father as
a stingy slavemaster, and missed a major benefit of being in a family. The "righteous"
people of our Lord's day, He seems to say, also have a distorted image of God, and lead
constipated, impoverished, and stingy lives.
May the generosity of heaven enlarge our souls today!
__________
[1] "nothing to write home about" is an American idiom that denigrates some thing, or
some action, as inconsequential, or embarrassing.
[2] English, unlike Latin, can put prepositions at the end of sentences. Imposing Latin
grammar on English prose is an exercise in snobbery, which results in the overuse of the
word which. Which sounds the same as, but must not be confused with, witch.
[3] Biblical inheritance law gives a "double portion" to the oldest son, the one who is
expected to take care of the parents in their dotage. If you have three sons, divide the
inheritance into four parts, and give two parts to the responsible son. Historically,
government "social security" programs results in decreased family sizes, since the family
unit is no longer required to take care of its own. As a surrogate "child," the government
then also becomes the surrogate heir, with estate taxes.
He says to himself (Luke 16)
Monday, April 06, 2009
Today, I'm recycling an entry I made on July 11, 2007, on my first trip through İncil.
It’s when you’re peddling uphill that you notice the flowers beside the road, and hear the
birds or frogs singing. Amazing what you can see if you just slow down.
Every time you read the New Testament for the first time again, you’ll notice things that
went past in a blur on prior readings. Sometimes, the effort of looking up new words and
phrases in your bilingual dictionary jogs loose new connotations. Or, sometimes, seeing
novel grammatical constructions several times piques your curiosity.
For example, the Turkish construction kendi kendine can be roughly translate “himself, to
himself.” This occurs four times in Luke’s gospel, only once, in Matthew’s, and not at all in
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Mark or John.
Luka 9: 39İsa'yı evine çağırmış olan Ferisi bunu görünce kendi kendine, «Bu adam
peygamber olsaydı, kendisine dokunan bu kadının kim ve ne tür bir kadın olduğunu,
günahkâr biri olduğunu anlardı» dedi.
The Pharisee who’d invited Jesus into his house says to himself, “If this man (recognize
the word adam?) was a prophet, he’d know what kind of woman was touching him.”
Luka 12: 17Adam kendi kendine, `Ne yapmalıyım? Ürünlerimi koyacak yerim yok' diye
düşünmüş.
The parable of the rich fool. “The man himself says to himself, what shall I do? I don’t
have room to store this harvest, he reflects.”
Luka 12: . 45-46Ama o köle kendi kendine, Èfendim gelmekte gecikiyor' derse ve kadın
erkek diğer hizmetkârları dövmeye, yiyip içip sarhoş olmaya başlarsa, efendisi, onun
beklemediği bir günde, ummadığı bir saatte gelecek, onu şiddetle cezalandıracak ve
imansızlarla bir tutacaktır
Matt. 24: 48-51Ama o köle kötü olur da kendi kendine, Èfendim gecikiyor' der ve
yoldaşlarını dövmeye başlarsa, sarhoşlarla birlikte yiyip içerse, efendisi, onun
beklemediği bir günde, ummadığı bir saatte gelecek, onu şiddetle cezalandıracak ve
ikiyüzlülerle bir tutacak. Orada ağlayış ve diş gıcırtısı olacaktır.
But the evil slave says to himself, “My master delays his coming,” and goes on to mistreat
his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the partiers …
Luka 16: 3«Kâhya kendi kendine, `Ne yapacağım ben?' demiş. Èfendim kâhyalığı
elimden alıyor. Toprak kazmaya gücüm yetmez, dilenmekten utanırım.
The parable of the crooked manager – one of my favorites, and most enigmatic. “The
steward says to himself, ‘What shall I do? My master is taking away my stewardship. To
dig I am not able, and to beg I am ashamed.” I'm too old to work construction, and really
don't want to go on welfare!
Luka 18: 4-5«Yargıç bir süre ilgisiz kalmış. Ama sonunda kendi kendine, `Ben her ne
kadar Tanrı'dan korkmaz, insana saygı duymazsam da, bu dul kadın beni rahatsız ettiği
için onun hakkını alacağım. Yoksa tekrar tekrar gelip beni canımdan bezdirecek' demiş.»
The parable of the cynical judge. “At last he says to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear
God or respect men, this widow will wear me out with her continuous seeking after
justices.”
Luka 18: 11Ferisi ayakta dikilip kendi kendine şöyle dua etmiş: `Tanrım, diğer insanlar
gibi soyguncu, hak yiyici ve zina edici olmadığım için, hatta şu vergi görevlisi gibi
olmadığım için sana şükrederim.
The parable of the Pharisee and the publication. “The Pharisee stood on his feet, and
spoke to himself praying thus, ‘My God, I think you that I am not as other men..’”
It’s strange, but the people who indulge in these interior monologues are the villains of
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our Lord’s little stories. The supercilious dinner host. The rich fool. The unfaithful
overseer. The crooked manager. The cynical judge. The self-congratulating, posturing
“worshiper.” So what are we to learn from this? That endless internal monologues and
self-promoting soliloquies are bad for your mental and moral health?
Or maybe Luke, with a deeper awareness of Greek culture, tuned into this aspect of our
Lord’s story telling?
Standing still is not an option (Luke 17)
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The Lord Jesus Christ lived during desperate times. The roof was about to fall in on the
society he was born into, and a palpable sense of doom infused the atmosphere. The
stress apparently drove many to insanity and/or demonic possession. A proud people
with several thousands years of continuous identity, the Jews were no longer masters of
their own house. Think of the 19th century Ottoman citizen, whose taxes disappeared
into the bowels of the Administration of Public Debt, a foreign-owned and foreignmanaged tax farming agency.
Or, think of a 21st century American whose hard-earned monies ensure that a foreignowned entity, a branch office of the Bank of England, will always make a profit. Even if
the dollar must spiral into hyperinflation.
Israel fretted under the Roman yoke, and yearned for a recycled David or Moses to lead
them against their overmasters. This did not make the political message of Jesus popular
-- get used to it, because it's going to get a whole lot worse.
But what should those who heard Him do when the fertilizer finally hit the air
conditioner?[1] His message was succinct. Run for it -- and don't look back.
Luk 17:31 O gün damda olan, evdeki eşyalarını almak için aşağı inmesin. Tarlada olan
da geri dönmesin.
Luk 17:32 Lut'un karısını hatırlayın!
Luk 17:33 Canını esirgemek isteyen onu yitirecek. Canını yitiren ise onu yaşatacaktır.
Luk 17:34 Size şunu söyleyeyim, o gece aynı yatakta olan iki kişiden biri alınacak, öbürü
bırakılacak.
Luk 17:35 Birlikte buğday öğüten iki kadından biri alınacak, öbürü bırakılacak."
• O gün -- that day
• damda olan -- on the roof / he is
• evdeki -- which is in the house
• eşyalarını -- his things (definite object)
• almak için -- in order to take (için is a postposition)
• aşağı -- below
• inmesin -- let him not go.
Remember Lot's wife!
During the middle of the last bloody century, whenever the Nazis or Communists took
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over a town, they stationed agents at the railroad stations to arrest anyone who showed
up with a heavy suitcase. Refugees who escaped with their lives did so with the clothes
on their backs. Period. You walk out of your house, as if for a brief stroll, leaving the door
unlocked. Buy a short train ticket, perhaps to the next village. Rinse and repeat.
Lot's wife failed to escape because she could not turn loose of those things that anchored
her to the doomed city of Sodom.
_______________
[1] This is a euphemism for the colorful American expression, "the shit hit the fan."
Continuous prayer (Luke 18)
A 1941 speech (see excerpt below) Winston Churchill gave to a school he'd once
attended became famous for one repetitive sentence:
Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large
or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to
force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
Persistence, the PM asserted, had power. I'm reminded of what Jesus said:
Luk 18:1, 2 İsa öğrencilerine, hiç usanmadan, her zaman dua etmeleri gerektiğini belirten
şu benzetmeyi anlattı: "Kentin birinde Tanrı'dan korkmayan, insana saygı duymayan bir
yargıç vardı.
Luk 18:3 Yine o kentte bir dul kadın vardı. Yargıca sürekli gidip, 'Davacı olduğum kişiden
hakkımı al' diyordu.
Luk 18:4, 5 "Yargıç bir süre ilgisiz kaldı. Ama sonunda kendi kendine, 'Ben her ne kadar
Tanrı'dan korkmaz, insana saygı duymazsam da, bu dul kadın beni rahatsız ettiği için
hakkını alacağım. Yoksa sürekli gelip beni canımdan bezdirecek' dedi."
Luk 18:6 Rab şöyle devam etti: "Adaletsiz yargıcın ne söylediğini duydunuz.
Luk 18:7 Tanrı da, gece gündüz kendisine yakaran seçilmişlerinin hakkını almayacak mı?
Onları çok bekletecek mi?
Luk 18:8 Size şunu söyleyeyim, onların hakkını tez alacaktır.
And, a few words:
• hiç -- never
• usanmak -- be fed up, be disgusted
• her -- all
• her zaman -- all the time, always
• dua -- prayer
• dua etmek -- to pray
• süre -- period
• süreç -- process
• sürekli -- continuous
• süreksiz -- transitory
• süreli -- periodic
• ilgi -- interest, relation, connection
• ilgisiz -- indifferent
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• ilgilenmek -- be interested
• ilgili -- interested in, connected to
• ilginç -- interesting
• bezdirmek-- to sicken, disgust, weary
The King James uses the quaint language, that "that men ought always to pray, and not
to faint." In the Greek, ἐκκακεῖν is somewhat more foreceful, bracketing the noun "bad,
evil, rotten" with a preposition meaning "issue out of" and an infinitive verb ending. I think,
perhaps, in this verse the Turkish verb is a better translation. The temptation, when our
prayers are not instantly answered, is to yield to disgust.
Let's not. Heaven is readier to bless us than we can imagine. As Paul wound up one of
his prayers,
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world
without end. Amen.
That's enough superlatives for now. Have a great day, and a wonderful eternity!
Short guy stands tall (Luke 19)
A beauty queen addressing a Baptist convention spoke of how she began reading the
New Testament for the first time. She thought someone was playing a joke on her by
moving her bookmark back, since the same stories kept coming up time after time! We
call the first three books of İncil the synoptic gospels, since they report the story of Jesus
from a very similar point of view. The gospel of Mark, the oldest, apparently was
assembled from a good many of Peter's sermon notes. Almost all of Mark, except for
perhaps six verses, can be found in either Matthew or Luke.
Luke, a meticulous historian, made an effort to consult all the existing documentation,
and to interview people with first-hand knowledge of the life, teaching, and deeds of
Jesus. He went out of his way to talk to additional sources, such as women and outcasts.
His gospel is the only one containing the story of the short tax collector:
Luk 19:1 İsa Eriha'ya girdi. Kentin içinden geçiyordu.
Luk 19:2 Orada vergi görevlilerinin başı olan, Zakkay adında zengin bir adam vardı.
Luk 19:3 İsa'nın kim olduğunu görmek istiyor, ama boyu kısa olduğu için kalabalıktan
ötürü göremiyordu.
Luk 19:4 İsa'yı görebilmek için önden koşup bir yabanıl incir ağacına tırmandı. Çünkü İsa
oradan geçecekti.
Luk 19:5 İsa oraya varınca yukarı bakıp, "Zakkay, çabuk aşağı in!" dedi. "Bugün senin
evinde kalmam gerekiyor."
Luk 19:6 Zakkay hızla aşağı indi ve sevinç içinde İsa'yı evine buyur etti.
Luk 19:7 Bunu görenlerin hepsi söylenmeye başladı: "Gidip günahkâr birine konuk oldu!"
dediler.
Luk 19:8 Zakkay ayağa kalkıp Rab'be şöyle dedi: "Ya Rab, işte malımın yarısını
yoksullara veriyorum. Bir kimseden haksızlıkla bir şey aldımsa, dört katını geri
vereceğim."
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Luk 19:9 İsa dedi ki, "Bu ev bugün kurtuluşa kavuştu. Çünkü bu adam da İbrahim'in
oğludur.
Luk 19:10 Nitekim İnsanoğlu, kaybolanı arayıp kurtarmak için geldi."
And, let's look at a few words:
• çabuk -- quickly
• aşağı -- down
• in! -- come! (second person imperative of inmek, to descend, dismount)
We have a Welsh Corgi. It's too easy for Pippin to be underfoot when he is under a foot
tall at the shoulder. Luke, though, was too good a writer to overlook this short man with a
big story.
So who's in charge, here? (Luke 20)
Friday, April 10, 2009
African politicians often come to power by castigating the cronyism, nepotism, and
favoritism of the party currently in power. After winning office, however, they are
immediately barraged by demands from their own tribe for exactly those kinds of favors.
Civil office is seen as a way to farm taxes. To enrich self and kin. There's an old term that
needs to come back into vogue: rent seeking -- the use of government power for personal
advantage.
In Chapter 20, Luke presents a series of sparring matches between Jesus and the
leaders of Israel. He stood outside the system, owed nothing to the system, and spoke
his mind freely about the system. The Soviet Union's doom was sealed in the 1970s,
when The Gulag Archipelago was printed. Pirated copies made their way back to the
nomenclatura, the bureaucrats who made the system work, mostly for themselves.
People who live on the work of others offer a number of noble-sounding reasons for their
actions.[1] Soviet bureaucrats discovered that, in the eyes of the world, they were the
destructive villains of their society, rather than the heroic builders of a new order.
Demoralization set in, along with a disgust for the status quo.
The Bible speaks of civic leadership as a ministerial responsibility. Legitimate
government does not exist to serve its own ends, but a higher cause. Let's let Jesus put
this concept into one of His vivid word pictures:
Luk 20:9 İsa sözüne devam ederek halka şu benzetmeyi anlattı: "Adamın biri bağ dikti,
bunu bağcılara kiralayıp uzun süre yolculuğa çıktı.
Luk 20:10 Mevsimi gelince, bağın ürününden payına düşeni vermeleri için bağcılara bir
köle yolladı. Ama bağcılar köleyi dövüp eli boş gönderdiler.
Luk 20:11 Bağ sahibi başka bir köle daha yolladı. Bağcılar onu da dövdüler, aşağılayıp eli
boş gönderdiler.
Luk 20:12 Adam bir üçüncüsünü yolladı, bağcılar onu da yaralayıp kovdular.
Luk 20:13 "Bağın sahibi, 'Ne yapacağım?' dedi. 'Sevgili oğlumu göndereyim. Belki onu
sayarlar.'
Luk 20:14 "Ama bağcılar onu görünce aralarında şöyle konuştular: 'Mirasçı budur; onu
öldürelim de miras bize kalsın.'
Luk 20:15 Böylece, onu bağdan dışarı atıp öldürdüler. "Bu durumda bağın sahibi onlara
ne yapacak?
Luk 20:16 Gelip o bağcıları yok edecek, bağı da başkalarına verecek." Halk bunu
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duyunca, "Tanrı korusun!" dedi.
Luk 20:17 İsa gözlerinin içine bakarak şöyle dedi: "Öyleyse Kutsal Yazılar'daki şu sözün
anlamı nedir? 'Yapıcıların reddettiği taş, İşte köşenin baş taşı oldu.'
And, a few words:
• miras -- the inheritance. Legacy.
• mirasçı -- The inheritor / heir. In Turkish, çı is the "agent ending," like -er in English.
For example, a fish is balık. A fisherman is balıkçı.
The leaders of Israel had almost reached the point where they could cast aside any
pretences of serving the greater good. One final challenge to their authority had just
appeared, one final prophet who truly threatened their credibility. Get rid of Him, and their
cozy gig would go un unimpeded. However, as Jesus warned them, and us, there are
limits to God's patience.
Have a blessed Good Friday, everyone.
__________
[1] In America, expansions of government power and reductions of family liberty are "for
the children."
Turbulent heavens (Luke 21)
Prophetic language is poetic language, using a "right brain" vocabulary of vivid images to
convey truth in unforgettable word pictures. The Olivet Discourse fits neatly into the
category of prophecy. Like the Old Testament warnings and exhortations, it draws from a
set of standardized metaphors. For example, if Isaiah or Jeremiah want to talk about
political disarray, they'll describe bizarre things happening to the heavenly bodies. Or, if
you want to go back a little further, when Joseph had his dreams about the future political
structure of his tribe, he spoke of sun, moon, and stars.
One of the most tormenting situations humanity knows is "waiting for the other shoe to
drop."[1] For example, you "read the writing on the wall,"[2] and know that you'll soon be
in the job market again. Business is slowing down, and the manager's demeanor is
preoccupied. Meanwhile, you show up, do your work, and wait.
At the time Jesus gave this prophecy, it looked as though the governing powers of Israel
were firmly ensconced. The political order in place looked stable, enduring, final. But,
appearances were deceiving. Serious instability was in the cards.[3]
Luk 21:25 "Güneşte, ayda ve yıldızlarda belirtiler görülecek. Yeryüzünde uluslar denizin
ve dalgaların uğultusundan şaşkına dönecek, dehşete düşecekler.
Luk 21:26 Dünyanın üzerine gelecek felaketleri bekleyen insanlar korkudan bayılacak.
Çünkü göksel güçler sarsılacak.
Luk 21:27 O zaman İnsanoğlu'nun* bulut içinde büyük güç ve görkemle geldiğini
görecekler.
Luk 21:28 Bu olaylar gerçekleşmeye başlayınca doğrulun ve başlarınızı kaldırın. Çünkü
kurtuluşunuz yakın demektir."
Let's look at a few phrases:
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• Çünkü -- Because
• göksel -- heavenly
• güçler -- powers
• sarsılacak -- will be shaken
• kurtuluşunuz -- your salvation
• yakın -- near
• demektir -- standing is.
Anxious bureaucrats do not portend the end of the world. Quite often, political crises are
ginned up to justify the rapacious seizures of the liberties and properties of the citizens.
An ugly German word, Reichstagbrand, refers to the time Hitler torched the German
parliament building, then blamed the communists, in order to ensure his own political
future.
Jesus assures his people that the other shoe will drop, but life will go on.
______
[1] This American metaphor dates back to the old "boarding house" days. You have a
small downstairs room. Just as you are dozing off, the renter upstairs drops one shoe on
his floor, your ceiling -- and you can't get to sleep, while "waiting for the other shoe to
drop."
[2] A reference to an incident in the Book of Daniel, when an angel's hand wrote a fiery
message on the wall of the palace, curing a licentious feast. It was bad news.
[3] This idiom refers to the practice of divination using Tarot cards.
Bread and wine (Luke 22)
On Good Friday, April 10, I had the pleasure of seeing Mel Gibson's The Passion of the
Christ for the first time. The friend I watched this movie with, a Turkish Muslim, had seen
it five years earlier. People in the audience wept, he said, to consider the pain inflicted
upon the central figure. He then explained the doctrine of Islam that Jesus was whisked
out of harm's way, and replaced by a disguised surrogate, Judas.
Christians, though, believe that Jesus was willing to suffer all of those torments on our
behalf -- which is why we love Him so much. Christians rely on eyewitness accounts of
the events. Muslims have a somewhat different perspective, reported more than 600
years later. Let's look at today's brief segment:
Luk 22:19 Sonra eline ekmek aldı, şükredip ekmeği böldü ve onlara verdi. "Bu sizin
uğrunuza feda edilen bedenimdir. Beni anmak için böyle yapın" dedi.
Luk 22:20 Aynı şekilde, yemekten sonra kâseyi alıp şöyle dedi: "Bu kâse, sizin uğrunuza
akıtılan kanımla gerçekleşen yeni antlaşmadır.
• ekmek -- bread
• şükremek -- to give thanks (to God)
• bölmek -- to break
• feda -- sacrifice, sacrificial offering
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• bedenimdir -- my body is. beden -- body + im -- my + dir-- is.
• akıtılan -- poured out
• kanımla -- my blood with
• gerçekleşen -- to establish
• yeni -- new
• antlaşmadır -- covenant is.
If we can trust this eyewitness account, as it was reported to a meticulous historian, the
passion of Jesus was a deliberate act, an integral part of his mission, and the means by
which he made all things new.
Imaginary emperor? (Luke 23)
For nearly 21 years, America had a Jewish emperor, Norton I. From 1859 to 1880,
Joshua Abraham Norton patrolled the streets of San Francisco, inspecting the conditions
of civic works, issuing regal proclamations, and dining at the finest restaurants. In those
kinder and gentler days, the entire city played along with the lunatic's fantasy. Upon his
death, 30,000 mourners came to his funeral.
Pontius Pilate was a mediocre politician whose clumsy brutality earned Caesar's
reprimands. He governed a subjugated province with a contempt which his subjects
returned. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, the pompous local bigwigs and a ragtag mob showed up at his door, demanding action. Let's take a look at what happened
next:
Luk 23:3 Pilatus İsa'ya, "Sen Yahudiler'in Kralı mısın?" diye sordu. İsa, "Söylediğin
gibidir" yanıtını verdi.
Luk 23:4 Pilatus, başkâhinlerle halka, "Bu adamda hiçbir suç görmüyorum" dedi.
Pilate says to Jesus "You / of the Jews/ the King / are?" "As you say, it is," Jesus replies.
Pilate then tells the chief priests, "This / man in / none, not a single, not one / guilty thing /
am I seeing." Just another Jewish lunatic, out of an entire crazy nation.
How little did this bored Roman bureaucrat knew. Nearly 2,000 years later, his name is
recited millions of times every day, around the world, whenever the followers of the stillliving Jesus recite the creed that defines their faith: "He suffered under Pontius Pilate."
"Let me make one thing perfectly clear..." (Luke
24)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Most people use non-word "fillers" in their speech -- err, ahh, and so on. Skilled orators
have filler phrases they can throw in to stall for time while their brain fetches the next
thing they want to say. "As I was saying ...." "As my esteemed colleague pointed out ..."
or, the one Richard Nixon used (and no one since!) "Let me make one thing perfectly
clear:" Today, we'll start by playing with the way suffixes can transform a Turkish root into
a number of other, related words.
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Luk 24:1 Kadınlar haftanın ilk günü, sabah çok erkenden, hazırlamış oldukları baharatı
alıp mezara gittiler. Luk 24:2 Taşı mezarın girişinden yuvarlanmış buldular. Luk 24:3 Ama
içeri girince Rab İsa'nın cesedini bulamadılar. Luk 24:4 Onlar bu durum karşısında şaşırıp
kalmışken, şimşek gibi parıldayan giysilere bürünmüş iki kişi yanlarında belirdi. Luk 24:5
Korkuya kapılan kadınlar başlarını yere eğdiler. Adamlar ise onlara, "Diri olanı neden
ölüler arasında arıyorsunuz?" dediler. Luk 24:6 "O burada yok, dirildi.
Now, a few words:
• belirgin -- clear, evident
• belirmek -- to appear, to become evident
• belirlemek -- determine, fix
• belirsiz -- indefinite, uncertain
• belirti -- sign, symptom
• belirtmek -- state, make clear, specify, determine
One of my favorite paintings, Salvador Dali's The Sacrament of the Last Supper,
presents a mystical vision of the resurrected Lord. A boat is being launched through his
transparent body, representing, perhaps, the Christian church, the ark that carries our
lives towards eternity. The depiction of early morning light speaks of the dawn of a new
day. It's a lovely picture. Still, it does not represent a real-time historical event, but the
artist's meditations on the meaning of the event.
The rest of this chapter abounds in concrete events. The two travelers who were joined
on the road by a mysterious stranger. The disciples in a locked room, suddenly joined by
the risen Christ, with visibly injured hands and feet. Just to demonstrate that he was not a
ghost, Jesus invited their touch, and snacked on food that happened to be handy.
Unlike ghost stories, that take place at night during times of diminished and altered
perception, the accounts of the forty days between our Lord's resurrection and his
ascension happen in broad daylight. To people who are startled, who did not expect to
see him again. Dali did get one thing right, though. Nearly 2,000 years later, this historical
event sheds light, and joy, and wonder over the lives of believers today.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: life is found in and through the resurrected Lord.
And those who have been illuminated find the experience too wonderful to keep to
themselves. Come in out of the dark -- the family is waiting for you!
Milestone
My Turkish friends inform me that it is traditional to commemorate each pilgrimage
through a holy book. To stop and give thanks that you have been permitted to live long
enough to complete that reading.
I finished my second read-through of İncil on May 20, 2008. Yesterday (April 19, 2009), I
finished my third read-through. In other words, this time through took a day less than 11
months.
Can I claim a reading knowledge of bir güzel dil (one lovely language!) yet? I guess that
depends on how honest I want to be on my resume.
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115
When I was learning Italian, Esperanto, and Afrikaans, I dove into the New Testament,
dictionary in hand, after minimal preparation. A two-tape Berlitz introduction to Afrikaans.
An excellent computer-based multimedia course in Esperanto, downloaded from this site.
Or, a handful of introductory Italian resources, as described here.
However, my first trip through İncil came only after I'd spent 18 months working my way
through most of a first-year Turkish textbook. It's a hard row to hoe[1], since there are so
few cognates between Turkish and English. A famous aphorism, attributed to Kemal
Atatürk, goes biz benzer biziriz -- we resemble ourselves. Now, it's true that turkic
languages are spoken all the way from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. This is the fifth
largest language family on earth, after English, Chinese, Spanish, and Hindi. However,
Turkish is nowhere near the Ind0-European family of languages.
I am now back to the beginning of my trek, at John's Gospel. John uses simple language
to express profound truth. John tends to use a repetitive, poetic cadence, no matter
which language you read his writings in. I carry copy of the Turkish gospel of John in my
bike bag, along with spare innertubes and a few tools. Every now and then I'll ride a 16
mile loop, with a pause at the 12 mile point for a milkshake and a page or two of
Yuhanna.
Yet, as many times as I've read this text, in as many different languages, each time
through brings fresh insights to light. I've changed, for example, and understand things
that a younger RJR.fan was unaware of.
Thanks to all of you who are keeping me company on this adventure. The best is yet to
come!
__________
[1] an agricultural idiom, for a difficult task.
The day the earth stood still (John 1)
We finally watched a video of the 1950 classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. It's a black
and white movie, with cheesy special effects, and lousy lighting. Often, as a character
walks across the screen, his shadow appears first on the left wall, then on the right. As an
American, I found it fascinating to see what a different world our parents inhabited a halfcentury ago. Men wore hats, some even when indoors, broadcasting. People took
pleasure in smoking. A mother could hand the care of her 10-year-old son over to a
stranger.
The screenwriter drew much of his inspiration from the Christian gospels. The central
character went by the name of Carpenter. He was an ambassador from a heavenly
realm, with a message of peace. He suffered unprovoked murder, then rose from the
dead to deliver his ultimatum to the world. He then returned to his off-planet home.
Yet the contrasts are even stronger. As Yuhanna (John) reports,
Joh 1:9 Dünyaya gelen, her insanı aydınlatan gerçek ışık vardı. Joh 1:10 O, dünyadaydı,
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dünya O'nun aracılığıyla var oldu, ama dünya O'nu tanımadı. Joh 1:11 Kendi yurduna
geldi, ama kendi halkı O'nu kabul etmedi. Joh 1:12 Kendisini kabul edip adına iman
edenlerin hepsine Tanrı'nın çocukları olma hakkını verdi. Joh 1:13 Onlar ne kandan, ne
beden ne de insan isteğinden doğdular; tersine, Tanrı'dan doğdular.
And, a few words:
• Kendi -- self, own. Kendisini -- to his own.
• kabul etmek -- to welcome, to receive. kabul etmedi -- did not receive.
• dün -- the world
• dünyaya -- to the world
• dünyadaydı -- he was in the world
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, but the world knew him not. He
came unto his own, and his own received him not. When Jesus arrived, it was not in a
spaceship visible around the world, but quietly, in an obscure stable. We know practically
nothing of his life before age 30, because, apparently, very little happened that was
remarkable.
However, for those with eyes to see, a new world opens up. As John carefully explains,
we become sons of the Living God in a metaphorical way, rather than by biological
activity. We inherit from God's marvelous provision. We start looking and acting like the
God who "adopts" us.
Paradoxical paradigm (John 1, cont.)
It's hard to wrap your mind around the core of the Christian message. How is it possible
that the Creator should show up within the constraints of his own creation, and suffer
indignities on that diminished stage? Older apologists used the metaphor of an author
and a novel. The author can write himself into the novel, and interact with the other
characters there, while still retaining his identity outside of the pages of the book. Virtual
worlds have adopted a Hindu term, avatar, for the representations of ourselves we can
send into those constructed, artificial environments. First person shooter games allow
you to direct an avatar through a hostile environment filled with various monsters intent
on doing you harm. Older readers may remember crobots, a shareware game that
allowed you to create an autonomous program with limited artificial intelligence, that you
could release into a battlefield to compete with other autonomous programs.
The Jesus we read of in the Bible had some kind of sense of identity with the pre-existing
Creator. While doing his business within the time-bound framework of the creation, Jesus
yet maintained connection with a God who stood outside of time. These paradoxes make
for some interesting word play! Let's consider what John the Baptist had to say:
Joh 1:29 Yahya ertesi gün İsa'nın kendisine doğru geldiğini görünce şöyle dedi: "İşte,
dünyanın günahını ortadan kaldıran Tanrı Kuzusu! Joh 1:30 Kendisi için, 'Benden sonra
biri geliyor, O benden üstündür. Çünkü O benden önce vardı' dediğim kişi işte budur. Joh
1:31 Ben O'nu tanımıyordum, ama İsrail'in O'nu tanıması için ben suyla vaftiz ederek
geldim."
And, a few words:
• Benden sonra -- after me. Actually, sonra is one of those famous Turkish
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117
postpositions. "From me, after.."
• biri geliyor -- one comes
• O benden üstündür -- he / than me / greater is
• Çünkü O benden önce vardı -- because / he / than me / before / was there
• Ben O'nu tanımıyordum -- I / he / did not know
• ama İsrail'in O'nu tanıması için -- but / to Israel / Him / to make known / in order to
• ben suyla vaftiz ederek geldim -- I / with water / to baptize / am sent
I came to make known the One I did not know. He comes after me, but he is greater than
me, because he was actually before me.
Go figure!
Standpoint theory (John 2)
"Standpoint theory" asserts that underlings tend to be more aware of what's going on
than their bosses are. People of lower status need to be able to negotiate their own social
reality, as well as that of their "betters." Bob Dylan wrote a bitter ballad, Like a Rolling
Stone, about a girl's sudden loss of status, and the new insights the process generated
for her:
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
...
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you ...
Yuhanna 2 opens up with a story about how different observers see, and say, different
things based on where they stand. The master of the feast makes a puzzled remark,
based on his ignorance of what's going on. The servants, however, knew.
Joh 2:1 Üçüncü gün Celile'nin Kana Köyü'nde bir düğün vardı. İsa'nın annesi de
oradaydı.
Joh 2:2 İsa'yla öğrencileri de düğüne çağrılmışlardı.
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Joh 2:3 Şarap tükenince annesi İsa'ya, "Şarapları kalmadı" dedi.
Joh 2:4 İsa, "Anne, benden ne istiyorsun? Benim saatim daha gelmedi" dedi.
Joh 2:5 Annesi hizmet edenlere, "Size ne derse onu yapın" dedi.
Joh 2:6 Yahudiler'in geleneksel temizliği için oraya konmuş, her biri seksenle yüz yirmi
litre alan altı taş küp vardı.
Joh 2:7 İsa hizmet edenlere, "Küpleri suyla doldurun" dedi. Küpleri ağızlarına kadar
doldurdular.
Joh 2:8 Sonra hizmet edenlere, "Şimdi biraz alıp şölen başkanına götürün" dedi. Onlar da
götürdüler.
Joh 2:9 Şölen başkanı, şaraba dönüşmüş suyu tattı. Bunun nereden geldiğini bilmiyordu,
oysa suyu küpten alan hizmetkârlar biliyorlardı. Şölen başkanı güveyi çağırıp, "Herkes
önce iyi şarabı, çok içildikten sonra da kötüsünü sunar" dedi, "Ama sen iyi şarabı şimdiye
dek saklamışsın."
Let's look at a single sentence pair here:
• Küpleri -- The vessels. küp -- vessel. Clay pot. -ler- plural ending. i -- direct object
ending
• suyla -- with water. su -- water. -la -- the "with" ending. (parenthetically, su is the only
irregular noun in Turkish, using a y as a buffer consonant, instead of the usual n.)
• doldurmak -- to fill.
• ağızlarına kadar -- up to the brim. ağız-- mouth. lar -- plural sign. ın -- possessive
sign. Turkish uses a "belt and suspenders" system for indicating possessives, with
the item that possesses and the item that is possessed each having its own ending.
a -- indirect object sign. kadar -- up to. kadar is another post-position.
This is the fun part of living one's life with Jesus. Today, as then, he has this habit of
producing unexpected results as the outcome of our routine obedience. And those
around us, and perhaps above us, look stunned and say, "Now where did THAT come
from?"
[ctrl]-z (John 3)
Nerd culture include a number of "keyboard shortcuts" that work nearly everywhere. For
example, on Windows computer, the [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Del] key combination pops up a program
manager. Once upon a time, it rebooted your computer. [1] When you highlight text, you
can use the [Ctrl]-c keystroke to copy it to a clipboard, the [Ctrl]-x keystroke to cut it, and
the [Ctrl]-v keystroke to paste the text from the clipboard into the desired location.
A widely used shortcut, the [Ctrl]-z, will "undo" the last action taken on an open file. Live
in front of a computer terminal long enough, and this shortcut will become second nature.
In real life, you say something better left unsaid, and the pinky and ring finger of your left
hand will automatically twitch. Unfortunately, life doesn't seem to have an "undo" button.
Or does it?
One of the cultural elite folks of Israel paid a nighttime visit to İsa. He may have worried
about his friends and associates finding out that he was consulting an off-brand
unauthorized source. After the initial exchange of pleasantries, the conversation got
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119
serious:
Joh 3:1, 2 Yahudiler'in Nikodim adlı bir önderi vardı. Ferisiler'den olan bu adam bir gece
İsa'ya gelerek, "Rabbî, senin Tanrı'dan gelmiş bir öğretmen olduğunu biliyoruz. Çünkü
Tanrı kendisiyle olmadıkça kimse senin yaptığın bu mucizeleri yapamaz" dedi.
Joh 3:3 İsa ona şu karşılığı verdi: "Sana doğrusunu söyleyeyim, bir kimse yeniden
doğmadıkça Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ni göremez."
Joh 3:4 Nikodim, "Yaşlanmış bir adam nasıl doğabilir? Annesinin rahmine ikinci kez girip
doğabilir mi?" diye sordu.
Joh 3:5 İsa şöyle yanıt verdi: "Sana doğrusunu söyleyeyim, bir kimse sudan ve Ruh'tan
doğmadıkça Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ne giremez.
Joh 3:6 Bedenden doğan bedendir, Ruh'tan doğan ruhtur.
Let's look at a few words and phrases:
• Sana doğrusunu söyleyeyim -- to you / straight / I am saying. When I began reading
Yuhanna in Türkçe, I noticed how frequently this phrase turned up.
• yeniden -- Again. Anew. The Greek preposition ἄνωθεν sheds additional light onthis
term, since it is more frequently translated from above.
• Bedenden doğan bedendir, Ruh'tan doğan ruhtur
• Bedenden -- from the body
• doğan -- is born
• Ruh'tan -- from the Spirit
The "new birth," the ultimate [ctrl]-z, does more than restore us to a previously saved
version of ourselves. It is not a human acheivement, but a divine intervention in our lives
that permits a global reset, a fresh start.
______
[1] In fact, the IBM engineer who invented this shortcut retired in 2008.
"You talkin' to me?" (John 4)
It's noon. You may be a bit hung over. Or, maybe you go to the well during the heat of the
day, to avoid running into any of the other people of the village. You walk up to a man
who is obviously worn out, tired, thirsty. He asks for a drink of water. And you say,
"You talkin' to me?"
This conversation is not off to a good start. A polite request is answered with a snub:
"Hey, I thought your folks didn't have anything to do with my kind of people." End of
conversation?
Then the guy grins back at you, and throws you a curve ball.[1] After the conversation is
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over, the entire village accepts your invitation to meet the mysterious stranger.
Let's look at the text:
Joh 4:6 Yakup'un kuyusu da oradaydı. İsa, yolculuktan yorulmuş olduğu için kuyunun
yanına oturmuştu. Saat on iki sularıydı.
Joh 4:7 Samiriyeli* bir kadın su çekmeye geldi. İsa ona, "Bana su ver, içeyim" dedi.
Joh 4:8 İsa'nın öğrencileri yiyecek satın almak için kente gitmişlerdi.
Joh 4:9 Samiriyeli kadın, "Sen Yahudi'sin, bense Samiriyeli bir kadınım" dedi, "Nasıl olur
da benden su istersin?" Çünkü Yahudiler'in Samiriyeliler'le ilişkileri yoktur.
Joh 4:10 İsa kadına şu yanıtı verdi: "Eğer sen Tanrı'nın armağanını ve sana, 'Bana su
ver, içeyim' diyenin kim olduğunu bilseydin, sen O'ndan dilerdin, O da sana yaşam
suyunu verirdi."
• yolculuktan -- yol is an important Turkish word, meaning road, way, path. Add -cuand you have traveler. Someone who is characterized by his relationship to the road.
Add -luk- to transform this noun into an adjective -- you have a "travelerly" situation.
Finally, add the genitive ending -tan to indicate source, root, origin. Something is
because of a travelerly situation.
• yorulmuş olduğu için -- exhausted / he was / because
• yaşam suyunu -- living water. In the Hebrew language, you never offer someone
"water" to drink, but only "running" water. Living water.
You can start a conversation by asking for help. And, if you are a skilled
conversationalist, convert initial rejection into lasting friendship.
_____
[1] American idiomatic phrase, from the game of baseball. A "curve ball" moves in an
unexpected direction.
We become like that which we behold (John 5)
If you look at the New Hampshire edition of the US quarter, it celebrates a natural
formation in a granite cliff that resembles, from certain angles, a human face. Nathaniel
Hawethorne's short story The Great Stone Face uses this landmark to craft a moving
parable about how we become what we behold. The French have a saying, that everyone
over the age of 50 is responsible for his or her own face. Avarice, lust, resentment, and
cruelty all engrave their lines upon us. So, too, do generosity, joy, and benevolence.
Jesus bore the imprint of his time spent in God's presence. This did not always sit well
with his audience:
Joh 5:16 Şabat Günü böyle şeyler yaptığı için İsa'ya zulmetmeye başladılar.
Joh 5:17 Ama İsa onlara şu karşılığı verdi: "Babam hâlâ çalışmaktadır, ben de
çalışıyorum."
Joh 5:18 İşte bu nedenle Yahudi yetkililer O'nu öldürmek için daha çok gayret ettiler.
Çünkü yalnız Şabat Günü düzenini bozmakla kalmamış, Tanrı'nın kendi Babası olduğunu
söyleyerek kendisini Tanrı'ya eşit kılmıştı.
Joh 5:19 İsa Yahudi yetkililere şöyle karşılık verdi: "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, Oğul,
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Baba'nın yaptıklarını görmedikçe kendiliğinden bir şey yapamaz. Baba ne yaparsa Oğul
da aynı şeyi yapar.
Joh 5:20 Çünkü Baba Oğul'u sever ve yaptıklarının hepsini O'na gösterir. Şaşasınız diye
O'na bunlardan daha büyük işler de gösterecektir.
Joh 5:21 Baba nasıl ölüleri diriltip onlara yaşam veriyorsa, Oğul da dilediği kimselere
yaşam verir.
Jesus spent time watching God, the Creator. He became like what he beheld. What he
saw the Father doing, he did.
I pin my hopes on the one Jesus called "Father" for the energy and creativity I need,
today, for the tasks before me.
Not a tame lion (John 6)
Friday, May 01, 2009
All of the gospels report how Jesus, moved with compassion, multiplied loaves and fishes
in order to feed thousands of people.[1] John's gospel, however, discusses the aftermath
of the miracle. Let's look at part of the ensuing discussion:
Joh 6:22 Ertesi gün, gölün karşı yakasında kalan halk, önceden orada sadece bir tek
tekne bulunduğunu, İsa'nın kendi öğrencileriyle birlikte bu tekneye binmediğini,
öğrencilerinin yalnız gittiklerini anladı.
Joh 6:23 Rab'bin şükretmesinden sonra halkın ekmek yediği yerin yakınına Taberiye'den
başka tekneler geldi.
Joh 6:24 Halk, İsa'nın ve öğrencilerinin orada olmadığını görünce teknelere binerek
Kefarnahum'a, İsa'yı aramaya gitti.
Joh 6:25 O'nu gölün karşı yakasında buldukları zaman, "Rabbî, buraya ne zaman
geldin?" diye sordular.
Joh 6:26 İsa şöyle yanıt verdi: "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, doğaüstü belirtiler
gördüğünüz için değil, ekmeklerden yiyip doyduğunuz için beni arıyorsunuz.
Joh 6:27 Geçici yiyecek için değil, sonsuz yaşam boyunca kalıcı yiyecek için çalışın.
Bunu size İnsanoğlu verecek. Çünkü Baba Tanrı O'na bu onayı vermiştir."
Joh 6:28 Onlar da şunu sordular: "Tanrı'nın istediği işleri yapmak için ne yapmalıyız?"
Joh 6:29 İsa, "Tanrı'nın işi O'nun gönderdiği kişiye iman etmenizdir" diye yanıt verdi.
Joh 6:30 Bunun üzerine, "Görüp sana iman etmemiz için nasıl bir belirti
gerçekleştireceksin? Ne yapacaksın?" dediler.
Joh 6:31 "Atalarımız çölde man* yediler. Yazılmış olduğu gibi, 'Yemeleri için onlara
gökten ekmek verdi.'"
Joh 6:32 İsa onlara dedi ki, "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, gökten ekmeği size Musa
vermedi, gökten size gerçek ekmeği Babam verir.
Joh 6:33 Çünkü Tanrı'nın ekmeği, gökten inen ve dünyaya yaşam verendir."
Joh 6:34 Onlar da, "Efendimiz, bizlere her zaman bu ekmeği ver!" dediler.
Joh 6:35 İsa, "Yaşam ekmeği Ben'im. Bana gelen asla acıkmaz, bana iman eden hiçbir
zaman susamaz" dedi.
Let's look at a few key words:
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• sonsuz -- endless. son (end) + suz (negating syllable)
• yaşam -- life
• ekmek --bread
Jesus offered those who heard and heeded him eternal life. His ongoing presence is true
sustenance, indeed. The people who heard Him, however, remembered eating their fill
the day before, in a culture where most people were somewhat hungry all the time. So,
they tried to manipulate Jesus to serve as their heavenly vending machine, churning out
specified miracles on cue.
Prayer allows us to enter the divine Presence. We'd better get used to counting that as
the primary benefit, since the answers to our prayers rarely resemble what we'd
expected. God is God, we play this game by His rules, and the rewards come in the
times, ways, and forms that comport best with His glory, and our ultimte good.
____________
[1] In the Australian horror movie The Last Wave, the protagonist confronts his father, an
Anglican pastor. "Why didn't you tell me there were mysteries?" the young man
demanded. "Son, I preach mysteries every Sunday," said the pastor. "You don't preach
them, you explain them away!" the son retorted.
A century ago, in a vain attempt to curry favor with the new deity, "science," some
allegedly Christian teachers began trying to "explain away" all the miracles of the Bible. In
this case, they offered the "hidden biscuit" theory. When the people saw the generosity of
Jesus, they were shamed into producing, and sharing, the hidden food they already had.
When the people start to whisper ... (John 7)
Monday, May 04, 2009
This chapter deals with publicity, and public perceptions. Secret journeys, and open
disclosures. The career of the Prophet from Galilee has suffered setbacks. Many of his
followers have turned their backs on him, disappointed that he refused to perform tricks
on cue, like a trained monkey. His own half-brothers mock him -- "Hey, if you really want
publicity, what are you doing here in the boondocks?[1] Take your dog and pony show[2]
to Jerusalem."
John then gives us a vivid picture of the simmering curiosity and unrest in Jerusalem at
that time:
Joh 7:11 Yahudi yetkililer O'nu bayram sırasında arıyor, "O nerede?" diye soruyorlardı.
Joh 7:12 Kalabalık arasında O'nunla ilgili bir sürü laf fısıldanıyordu. Bazıları, "İyi
adamdır", bazıları da, "Hayır, tam tersine, halkı saptırıyor" diyorlardı.
Joh 7:13 Bununla birlikte yetkililerden korktukları için, hiç kimse O'ndan açıkça söz
etmiyordu.
• yetkililer -- the authorities
• Kalabalık arasında -- The crowds / among
• laf -- word, chatter, talk, gossip, etc.
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• fısıltı -- whisper (noun)
• fısıldamak -- to whisper (verb)
• yetkililerden korktukları için -- of the authorities / their fear / because of
• O'ndan açıkça söz etmiyordu-- of Him / openly / word / they did not utter
There's a quiet buzz going on, an ominous undertone to the noise of the festive crowds.
As the old movie cliche goes, "the natives are restless tonight." They dare not speak
openly,[3] but they are talking about subjects the rulers wish would go away.
The doom of the Soviet Union was sealed in the 1970s when bootleg copies of The
Gulag Archipelago found their way back to Moscow. American children remember the
story of The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christian Anderson. Until a naive little boy
pointed out the emperor's nakedness, everyone pretended to see him clad in gorgeous
apparel. The Chinese had the expression, "the mandate of heaven" that explained the
right of the emperor to rule. Those who lost the allegiance of the people, their "face," their
public crediblilty, no longer had a divine mandate. The greek-derived word tyrant
originally meant one who ruled on the basis of brute force, rather than from a divine
mandate. A Turkish naval officer once explained to me that, in Anglo-American tradition,
armed insurrection was called "an appeal to heaven."
The authorities were worried. They imposed censorship, their version of the "fairness
doctrine." Yet they could not silence the original internet, the grapevine.[4]
_______
[1] "Boondocks" is a Tagalog word that has entered the English vernacular. It refers to an
area of uncivilized wilderness.
[2] A "dog and pony show" is a contemptuous term that denigrates a public performance
that seeks an audience.
[3] Oscar Wilde once wrote about "a love that dares not speak its name." Today, a
powerful American lobby makes our ears ring with propaganda for "a love that will not
shut up."
[4] "The grapevine" refers to informal channels of communication -- water-cooler
gossip,[5] the rumor mill, etc. One of the most famous American rock songs is Marvin
Gaye's I Heard it on the Grapevine.
[5] In the America of 50 years ago, corporations provided water coolers for employees.
Thirsty people congregated briefly there, exchanging a few words with co-workers.
Today, the water-cooler is a metaphor for socializing in the office, on company time.
Your sins / within / you will die (John 8)
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
I am honored to number Turkish people among my friends. They are heirs of a long and
fascinating culture. Those who interact with people from this country notice a winsome
courtliness and generosity. Then, we bump into the question of who Jesus is. From the
Muslim perspective, İsa is one of a series of prophets, a man to honor as the virgin-born
bearer of God's Word to the people of his day. Christians agree with much of that. Then,
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however, we go on to suggest that Jesus is more than a prophet. Let's hear what İsa has
to say about Himself:
Joh 8:19 O zaman O'na, "Baban nerede?" diye sordular. İsa şu karşılığı verdi: "Siz ne
beni tanırsınız, ne de Babam'ı. Beni tanısaydınız, Babam'ı da tanırdınız."
Joh 8:20 İsa bu sözleri tapınakta öğretirken, bağış toplanan yerde söyledi. Kimse O'nu
yakalamadı. Çünkü saati henüz gelmemişti.
Joh 8:21 İsa yine onlara, "Ben gidiyorum. Beni arayacaksınız ve günahınızın içinde
öleceksiniz. Benim gideceğim yere siz gelemezsiniz" dedi.
Joh 8:22 Yahudi yetkililer, "Yoksa kendini mi öldürecek?" dediler. "Çünkü, 'Benim
gideceğim yere siz gelemezsiniz' diyor."
Joh 8:23 İsa onlara, "Siz aşağıdansınız, ben yukarıdanım" dedi. "Siz bu dünyadansınız,
ben bu dünyadan değilim.
Joh 8:24 İşte bu nedenle size, 'Günahlarınızın içinde öleceksiniz' dedim. Benim O
olduğuma iman etmezseniz, günahlarınızın içinde öleceksiniz."
Joh 8:25 O'na, "Sen kimsin?" diye sordular. İsa, "Başlangıçtan beri size ne söyledimse,
O'yum" dedi.
And, a few words:
• Baban nerede -- Where is the Father?
• Beni tanısaydınız, Babam'ı da tanırdınız. -- me / if you recognize / my Father / also /
you know
• Ben gidiyorum. -- I / am going.
• Beni arayacaksınız ve günahınızın içinde öleceksiniz -- Me / you will seek / and /
your sins / within / you will die.
• Siz aşağıdansınız, ben yukarıdanım -- You / from below are, / I / from above am.
• Siz bu dünyadansınız, -- You / this / world are from
• ben bu dünyadan değilim. -- I / this / world from / am not.
To understand the God who Christians call "Abba, Father," you need to understand the
life, character, and teachings of Jesus. Get to know Jesus, and you get a pretty good
handle on what God is like.
When we call Jesus "the Son of God," we do not suggest that the Christian deity had
indecent relations with Mary. It's a powerful metaphor, even as the arabic term "son of a
table" describes a merchant by his place of business. Somehow, in a way we'll never fully
understand, God projected Himself, His character, His personality, into the realm of
creation.
This is important. Eternally important. My Muslim friends and I agree on one thing -- we
would each like to see the other in the next life. I yearn, by posting this blog, to help make
that happen.
Who's to blame? (John 9)
There's an old Pollock[1] joke: "How do you drive a Pollock crazy? Put him in a round
room, and tell him to sit in the corner." In an ideal world, pi would be exactly equal to
three. It is the discrepancies in life that can drive a thinking man crazy. Those things that
just don't add up.
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125
And not just people. B. F. Skinner discovered how to induce superstitions in pigeons.
After training his birds to peck at a button in order to acquire a food pellet, he started
dropping pellets in at random intervals. The pigeons would rejoice, then reflect. What
were they doing at the moment the pellet dropped in? Could they get another pellet by
repeating that action? After a while, each pigeon would be performing some random act - looking to one side, perhaps, or standing on one foot -- from time to time, in the hope of
manipulating inscrutable providence. To quote Olaf Stapledon's memorable phrase,
But their passion for order and for a systematic reality behind the disorderly appearances,
rendered their reasoning all too often biased. Upon shifty foundations they balanced
ingenious ladders to reach the stars.
Thornton Wilder's book The Bridge of San Luis Rey described one monk's effort to turn
theology into an exact science, by assigning numeric weights to the lives of a group of
people who died when a bridge collapsed.
For us humans, the hardest pill to swallow is the mystery of suffering. What caused this
disaster to happen to that person? What can I do to avoid his fate? As an American rabbi
Harold Kushner asked in a book of that title, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good
People? The Book of Job (Ayub) is, perhaps, the oldest book in the Bible. A righteous
man loses everything. Three friends show up to commiserate[2] with him -- but then start
a game of "pin the blame on the victim."
Consider the reflexive question asked by our Lord's disciples, and his completely
unexpected answer:
Joh 9:1 İsa yolda giderken doğuştan kör bir adam gördü. Joh 9:2 Öğrencileri İsa'ya,
"Rabbî, kim günah işledi de bu adam kör doğdu? Kendisi mi, yoksa annesi babası mı?"
diye sordular. Joh 9:3 İsa şu yanıtı verdi: "Ne kendisi, ne de annesi babası günah işledi.
Tanrı'nın işleri onun yaşamında görülsün diye kör doğdu. Joh 9:4 Beni gönderenin işlerini
vakit daha gündüzken yapmalıyız. Gece geliyor, o zaman kimse çalışamaz.
Jesus refused to play the "blame game," and instead used this gentleman's plight as an
opportunity to take charge and make a difference. By the end of the chapter, the blind
man saw, his parents were terrified, the religious leaders were made to look life fools,
and the one whose eyes were opened had been expelled from the religious life of Israel.
You might say he had a busy day!
__________
[1] During the first part of the 20th century, America absorbed a massive number of
immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe, including my Ukrainian grandparents. IQ
tests were invented to screen these immigrants. One way local folks deal with
newcomers is to make jokes about them. In today's humorless America, as a shameful
badge of our intimidation by internal would-be tyrants, these jokes have disappeared. So,
have another Pollock joke:
One day, the Pollocks and the Dagos decided to have a baseball game, just to settle who
could be the butt of all the future ethnic jokes.
The game got underway.
When the noon whistle blew, the Dagos knocked off for lunch.
Three innings later, the Pollocks won.
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Or, here's a real story. A Hungarian steelworker would sometimes blow his whole
paycheck buying drinks for everyone at the local tavern. His wife would make him sleep
in the barn those weekends. He showed up for work one Monday reeking, stinking to high
heaven. When his coworkers pointed that out, he scowled as said, "What kinda kitty cats
you people got in this country anyhow?" Another European had just discovered the
American skunk.
[2] As I explained to Natasha in 1992, you sympathize with someone, not to someone.
The first syllable, sym-, is from the Greek preposition meaning with, even as a symphony
is a collection of voices singing together. The Latinate equivalent of sympathize,
commisterate, begins with com -- the Latin preposition meaning with.
Sedition, Sedition! (John 10)
Saturday, May 09, 2009
A new order begins to emerge, even as the older order holds on to shreds of its power
and prestige with increasing desperation. In 1918, The Ottoman Empire faced the price of
loyal service to the losing side in someone else's war. The victorious allies began carving
up "the sick man of Europe" in accordance with secret agreements made ahead of time -the Picot-Sykes understanding, and the Treaty of Severs. British, French, Italian, and
Greek authorities got out their maps, and mapped out their capitulations,[1] the zones of
territorial and economic power they intended to exploit. Egged on by the British, the
Greeks landed an army of nearly half a million kilted soldiers[2] near Smyrna, and began
an invasion of the Anatolian heartland.
Meanwhile, back at the Sublime Porte, the degenerate occupant of the office of Sultan /
Caliph meekly assented to all of the Allied demands. He surrendered most of his nation
to foreign rule, in exchange for maintaining his own comfort, his own hereditary titles.
The next few years, however, revealed who the true leaders of the Turkish people were,
who could be trusted, who was willing to hazard their "lives, their fortunes, their sacred
honor" on behalf of the people.
Joh 10:7 Bunun için İsa yine, "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim" dedi, "Ben koyunların
kapısıyım.
Joh 10:8 Benden önce gelenlerin hepsi hırsız ve hayduttu, ama koyunlar onları
dinlemedi.
Joh 10:9 Kapı Ben'im. Bir kimse benim aracılığımla içeri girerse kurtulur. Girer, çıkar ve
otlak bulur.
Joh 10:10 Hırsız ancak çalıp öldürmek ve yok etmek için gelir. Bense insanlar yaşama,
bol yaşama sahip olsunlar diye geldim.
Joh 10:11 Ben iyi çobanım. İyi çoban koyunları uğruna canını verir.
Joh 10:12 Koyunların çobanı ve sahibi olmayan ücretli adam, kurdun geldiğini görünce
koyunları bırakıp kaçar. Kurt da onları kapar ve dağıtır.
Joh 10:13 Adam kaçar. Çünkü ücretlidir ve koyunlar için kaygı duymaz.
• Hırsız -- robber
• çalmak -- to knock, ring, or steal
• öldürmek -- to steal
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• yok etmek -- to destroy (nothing / to make)
• yaşama -- life
• bol -- rich, overflowing, lavish, abundant
• çoban -- shepherd
• koyun -- sheep [3]
• ücretli -- hireling, one who works for ücret -- wages.
• Kurt -- wolf
Of course, those who led the Turkish War of Independence were accused of sedition by
the Sultan and his coterie. Nearly a century later, however, the people remember who
was willing to speak up for, and stand up for them. You can still silence political
innovators in public debate by demanding to know -- "Do you love Ataturk?"
______
[1] When Hong Kong returned to Chinese control, banners showed up all over the
mainland proclaiming, "A century of shame has ended."
[2] An American writer drove an ambulance for the event, and described its
consequences in his short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro:
That was the day he'd first seen dead men wearing white ballet skirts and upturned shoes
with pompoms on them. The Turks had come steadily and lumpily and he had seen the
skirted men running and the officers shooting into them and running then themselves...
[3] The plural of sheep is sheep. The plural of deer is deer. Go figure!
If only ... (John 11)
A friend and co-worker of mine checked out early a few years ago. He introduced me to
the sport of century riding,[1] and helped me work through problems with my bicycle, or
the bizarre software we used to create technical manuals. Then, nearly a year after I'd
moved on from that job, we saw his face and name in the obituary column. The fact that
no one wanted to talk about the cause of death pretty well confirmed the cause of death.
He'd been depressed for a long time, laid off from his job, and apparently could not
recover his equilibrium.
People who commit suicide, according to a study I read about many years ago, often
have a recursive perspective on time. Rather than looking ahead, they obsessively loop
back to some landmark moment, usually painful, in their lives. "If only ..." is a lethal
phrase that can crash your mental and emotional programming. Yet, Jesus heard it, too.
Joh 11:32 Meryem İsa'nın bulunduğu yere vardı. O'nu görünce ayaklarına kapanarak,
"Ya Rab" dedi, "Burada olsaydın, kardeşim ölmezdi."
Joh 11:33 Meryem'in ve onunla gelen Yahudiler'in ağladığını gören İsa'nın ruhunu hüzün
kapladı, yüreği sızladı.
Joh 11:34 "Onu nereye koydunuz?" diye sordu. O'na, "Ya Rab, gel gör" dediler.
Joh 11:35 İsa ağladı.
Joh 11:36 Yahudiler, "Bakın, onu ne kadar seviyormuş!" dediler.
Joh 11:37 Ama içlerinden bazıları, "Körün gözlerini açan bu kişi, Lazar'ın ölümünü de
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önleyemez miydi?" dediler.
And, let's look at a few phrases:
• Burada olsaydın, kardeşim ölmezdi -- At here / if you had been / my brother / would
not have died. (interesting how it takes English speakers four words and four
syllables to convey a thought a Turk can package in a single three-syllable word.)
• İsa ağladı. -- Shortest verse in the Bible.
• Bakın, onu ne kadar seviyormuş! -- Behold / him / how much / he (apparently, seems
to have) loved. The syllable muş refers to things the speaker does not know firsthand. It's called the "dubitative" or "narrative" marker.
• Körün gözlerini açan bu kişi, Lazar'ın ölümünü de önleyemez miydi? -- The blind
person's / eyes / opened / this one / Lazarus's / death / but / could he not have
prevented?
It is unfair to judge past selves by present insights. We, and those we love, did the best
we could at the time with the level of maturity and insight we had at that point. In a world
fraught with ignorance, operating personalities which each have their own blind spots, we
are going to blunder, sometimes catastrophically. It is comforting to note that God grieves
with us over our losses -- but also goes on to offer miraculous redemption.
We will need to wait for the next life to see how God will resolve some of the conundrums
in our lives. Meanwhile, knowing that His character is made visible through the life,
words, and deeds of Jesus makes it easier to walk in faith. To look ahead. To avoid the
death spiral of looping[2] thinking.
________
[1] A few hundred happy people, most in sleek spandex outfits, get on bicycles and ride
for 100 km (63.n miles -- a metric century) or 100 miles (English century). Usually, some
charitable organization sponsors the ride as a fund raising event. Every 15 or 20 miles,
the riders can stop for snacks, Gator Ade, and to visit the portapotty. A "sag wagon"
follows the cyclists, offering repairs as needed, or rides to the finish line for those who "hit
the wall."
[2] "Structured programming" was a philosophy of software design that eschewed loops.
Real programmers often sneered at BASIC (Beginner's All-Purpose Simplified
Instructional Code) because it include the GO TO command, and at PASCAL, since it
made loops impossible. Grace Hopper, "The world's second programmer on the world's
first electronic computer," referred to PASCAL as "an 'elegant' language," and made it
plain that, in this context, "elegant" was a pejorative. PASCAL was designed for
academic, not for real-world, use.
Thieve's reasons (John 12)
During the early days of Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society," one of the newly-minted
apprentice messiahs was touring Appalachia. He sat at a gas station rolling the powered
windows on his expensive car up and down. A local yokel came up and asked his
business. "I'm with the war on poverty," the parasite explained. "Looks like you're
winning," the hillbilly replied.
Yes, folks, the war on poverty has been won -- by the poverty warriors -- who have
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managed to talk the rest of us into bankrolling their comfortable lives in the name of "the
poor." In the course of consuming more than 90% of all the funds allocated for "poor
relief," these geniuses have found ways to safeguard their incomes. Ways to make sure
that the poor stay poor, and raise their children with the same aspiration to suckle from
the government tit.
Thieves normally justify their confiscation of other folks' productivity with some kind of
rationale. Let's look at today's selection:
Joh 12:3 Meryem, çok değerli saf hintsümbülü yağından yarım litre kadar getirerek İsa'nın
ayaklarına sürdü ve saçlarıyla ayaklarını sildi. Ev yağın güzel kokusuyla doldu.
Joh 12:4,5 Ama öğrencilerinden biri, İsa'ya sonradan ihanet eden Yahuda İskariot, "Bu
yağ neden üç yüz dinara satılıp parası yoksullara verilmedi?" dedi.
Joh 12:6 Bunu, yoksullarla ilgilendiği için değil, hırsız olduğu için söylüyordu. Ortak para
kutusu ondaydı ve kutuya konulandan aşırıyordu.
Joh 12:7 İsa, "Kadını rahat bırak" dedi. "Bunu benim gömüleceğim gün için saklasın.
Joh 12:8 Yoksullar her zaman aranızdadır, ama ben her zaman aranızda olmayacağım."
• Ama öğrencilerinden biri -- but / from among the disciples / one
• İsa'ya sonradan ihanet eden Yahuda İskariot -- to Jesus / afterward / traitor / became
/ Judas Iscariot
• parası yoksullara verilmedi -- money / to the poor / could be given
• Yoksullar her zaman aranızdadır -- the poor / every, all / time / in the midst of,
among, you there is
• ama ben her zaman aranızda olmayacağım -- but / I / every, all / time / in the midst
of, among, you/ I will not be.
Jesus had raised Meryem's brother Lazarus from the dead in the last chapter. For this
reason, as well as out of adoration for the person of Jesus and the God revealed through
his life, teachings, and character, she poured upon his feet her most valuable posession,
a liter or so of precious oil. The thief saw resources wasted that should have been in his
keeping. Congress critters today sometimes mumble about "tax expenditures" when
discussing charitable contributions. Money given to private agencies, and churches,
represents funds that they can't handle.
Pragmatic people, secular people, people who cannot see beyond this life to the next, will
always begrudge sacrifices made by believers to honor their God. Yet, in the big picture,
as Jesus told the devil, "Man does not live by bread alone." We need to have a
transcendent meaning to our lives, a way of positioning ourselves in a larger story, or we
are no different than beasts. Or, in some cases, far worse. Consistent socialism depends
on terror and labor camps.
Yıkamazsam (John 13)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
We want to do extravagant things for the people we love. A young man purchased costly
emerald earrings for the woman he intended to marry. He was invited to have lunch with
her family. The woman met him in the parking lot, handed back the earrings, and
demanded that he sell them and apply the money to reducing his student loan debts.
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There was no point in going into the restaurant at that point.
As his father later explained, we want to do extravagant things for the people we love. A
man should seek to adorn the woman he loves, for example. Someone who repudiates
the offering is unworthy of further attention.
Let's look at today's reading:
Joh 13:3 İsa, Baba'nın her şeyi kendisine teslim ettiğini, kendisinin Tanrı'dan çıkıp
geldiğini ve Tanrı'ya döneceğini biliyordu.
Joh 13:4 Yemekten kalktı, üstlüğünü bir yana koydu, bir havlu alıp beline doladı.
Joh 13:5 Sonra bir leğene su doldurup öğrencilerin ayaklarını yıkamaya ve beline
doladığı havluyla kurulamaya başladı.
Joh 13:6 İsa, Simun Petrus'a geldi. Simun, "Ya Rab, ayaklarımı sen mi yıkayacaksın?"
dedi.
Joh 13:7 İsa ona şu yanıtı verdi: "Ne yaptığımı şimdi anlayamazsın, ama sonra
anlayacaksın."
Joh 13:8 Petrus, "Benim ayaklarımı asla yıkamayacaksın!" dedi. İsa, "Yıkamazsam
yanımda yerin olmaz" diye yanıtladı.
...
Joh 13:33 Çocuklar! Kısa bir süre daha sizinleyim. Beni arayacaksınız, ama Yahudiler'e
söylediğim gibi, şimdi size de söylüyorum, benim gideceğim yere siz gelemezsiniz.
Joh 13:34 Size yeni bir buyruk veriyorum: Birbirinizi sevin. Sizi sevdiğim gibi siz de
birbirinizi sevin.
Joh 13:35 Birbirinize sevginiz olursa, herkes bununla benim öğrencilerim olduğunuzu
anlayacaktır."
And, a few words:
• Yıkamazsam yanımda yerin olmaz -- If I do not wash / by my side / your place / you
do not have (the -maz- syllable indicates that this is a conditional verb)
• Çocuklar! Kısa bir süre daha sizinleyim -- Children! / Short / a / time / more / I am
with you.
• Size yeni bir buyruk veriyorum -- To you / new / a/ commandment / I give
• Birbirinizi sevin -- to one another of you / love
• Sizi sevdiğim gibi siz de -- To you / I have loved / as / you / even so
Most religions in the world focus on what we can do for God. The focus of Christianity is
on the God who has done wonderful things for us -- and invites us to act in like gracious
manner to those around us.
Yüreğiniz sıkılmasın (John 14)
An old English aphorism explains, "It clarifies a man's mind wondrously to know that he
shall be hanged in a fortnight." When you know your for-real deadline, you can make final
arrangements. Update your will. Make sure your next of kin know what to do. Let's look
again at the Last Supper discourse John reports to us:
Joh 14:25 "Ben daha aranızdayken size bunları söyledim.
Joh 14:26 Ama Baba'nın benim adımla göndereceği Yardımcı, Kutsal Ruh, size her şeyi
öğretecek, bütün söylediklerimi size hatırlatacak.
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Joh 14:27 Size esenlik bırakıyorum, size kendi esenliğimi veriyorum. Ben size dünyanın
verdiği gibi vermiyorum. Yüreğiniz sıkılmasın ve korkmasın.
A few words:
• Ben daha aranızdayken size bunları söyledim -- I / more / while I am with you / to
you / these things / I say.
• Ama Baba'nın benim adımla göndereceği Yardımcı -- But / your Father / my / in my
name / will send / the Helper
• Kutsal Ruh, size her şeyi öğretecek, bütün söylediklerimi size hatırlatacak. -- the
Holy / Spirit / to you / all / things / will teach / everything / I have said / to you / will
bring to remembrance.
• Size esenlik bırakıyorum, size kendi esenliğimi veriyorum. -- To you / peace / I am
leaving, / to you / my own / peace / I am giving.
• Yüreğiniz sıkılmasın ve korkmasın. -- Your (plural) hearts / let not be troubled / and /
do not be afraid.
The disciples were left a legacy of peace, and told to expect supernatural help after
Jesus departed the scene. The Holy Spirit serves, it seems, as the executor of the will,
the One who places its provisions into effect.
Folks, learn Turkish. It's the most regular natural language on earth. The components
snap together like Lego blocks in a beautifully consistent pattern. A single word can carry
a lot of freight. And, unlike Greek or Latin, the suffices are regular.
Get to know some Turkish people. It's a hospitable and courtly culture. And they know
how to cook!
Sons and servants (John 15)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
One of the most important source documents for 18th century English history is The
Journal of John Wesley. One edition of this work takes up nearly two meters of shelf
space. Mr. Wesley, you see, was careful to write down and evaluate everything that
happened to him every day. The private, encrypted version of his published journal
divided each day into 15-minute segments, assigned an activity code to each segment,
and graded his performance on each activity, using a seven-point scale ranging from
torpid to fervent.
As Mr. Wesley revised and republished his journal, it got bigger. This was the era before
copyrights, so Wesley incorporated material other writers created that he felt would be
helpful to his readers -- grammars, folk remedies, etc. He also inserted footnotes to
rectify, or clarify, comments made at earlier times in his own life.
As a young, newly-ordained Anglican pastor, Wesley traveled to the American colony of
Georgia to serve as a missionary. During an intense Atlantic storm, he panicked,
questioned his own salvation, and envied the faith of Moravian Christians on board who
met the frightening weather with hymns of praise. A few decades later, in a footnote,
Wesley said, "I had the faith of a servant, not that of a son." Today's reading clarifies the
source of that paradigm:
Joh 15:15 Artık size kul demiyorum. Çünkü kul efendisinin ne yaptığını bilmez. Size dost
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dedim. Çünkü Babam'dan bütün işittiklerimi size bildirdim.
• Artık size kul demiyorum -- From now on, as of this point / you / slaves / I do not call.
• Çünkü kul efendisinin ne yaptığını bilmez -- Because / a slave / his master / what /
does / he does not know.
• Size dost dedim -- You / friends / I have called. (note: in Turkish, there's no need to
waste plural endings. Since size is already plural, dost can be singular. We already
know we're talking about more than one!)
• Çünkü Babam'dan bütün işittiklerimi size bildirdim -- Because / from my Father /
everything / that I have heard / to you / I have made known.
Take some time to get to know the Muslims around you. You may be surprised at how
intensely they yearn to serve Allah. In fact the popular name Abdullah means -- the slave
of Allah.Yet there is something even more wonderful than being a servant. As Christians,
we believe God is eager to adopt men into his household. Hired people can help maintain
the property. Sons get to consult with the Father about how to develop it.
A quick heads-up (John 16)
The idiomatic English expression "heads-up" means warning. "Let me give you a quick
heads-up ..." means "Be alert. This could harm you." As Jesus faced his own political
execution, he warned his remaining disciples that they could expect the same kind of
intimidation, harassment, and even death.
Joh 16:1 "Bunları size, sendeleyip düşmeyesiniz diye söyledim.
Joh 16:2 Sizi havra dışı edecekler. Evet, öyle bir saat geliyor ki, sizi öldüren herkes
Tanrı'ya hizmet ettiğini sanacak.
Joh 16:3 Bunları, Baba'yı ve beni tanımadıkları için yapacaklar.
Let's dissect a few sentences:
• Bunları size, sendeleyip düşmeyesiniz diye söyledim -- These things / to you /
scandal, shame, embarrassment / that you may not fall into / therefore / I have told
you.
• Sizi havra dışı edecekler -- You / synagogue / out of / they will throw.
• Evet, öyle bir saat geliyor ki -- Yes, / thus / an / hour / will come / that
• sizi öldüren herkes Tanrı'ya hizmet ettiğini sanacak -- you / who kills / everyone / to
God / service / done / will suppose
• Bunları, Baba'yı ve beni tanımadıkları için yapacaklar -- These things / the Father /
and / me / they have not known / because / they will do.
"Listen up, folks. Hard times coming. I'm warning you now, so that you won't be shocked
when stuff happens." To be thrown out of the synagogue meant to be denied access to
the religious life they'd grown up with, the rituals, the fellowship, the sense of common
transcendent purpose they shared with their neighbors. And it gets even better! Those
who you once worshipped with, will soon add a new sacrament to their religious menu:
hounding you to death!
However, Jesus goes on to promise his followers that these trials are insignificant,
compared to the good things in store for them. They are, he assures them, like a
woman's labor pains, painful at the moment, but forgotten in the joy of bringing forth a
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133
son into the world. There are better things to come, a happy ending to the story.
Shirk bad associations ! (John 17)
Well, I'm about 25% of the way through an English translation of the Koran. After all,
since this book is venerated by more than a billion of the people I share these hours of
life with, continuing ignorance on my part is not reasonable. I imagine, like any book, it
has probably lost something in translation.[1]
Still, a message that comes through, time after time, is the heinous evil of "associating"
anything with Allah. As a dear Muslim friend explained, this sin, in Arabic shirk, also
means idolatry in general. "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."
Mohammed, a travelling merchant, got around. He also paid attention. Apparently, he
spent some time with Christians who belonged to an "adoptionist" sect. This heresy
asserts that the man Jesus of Nazareth got promoted to some kind of associate deity -and maybe, if I work at it hard enough, I can get promoted, too! Mohammed was sharp
enough to recognize this notion as the arrant nonsense that it is -- although it does mesh
with our tendency towards wishful thinking and self-deception.
But what did Jesus say about himself?
Joh 17:1 İsa bunları söyledikten sonra, gözlerini gökyüzüne kaldırıp şöyle dedi: "Baba,
saat geldi. Oğlun'u yücelt ki, Oğul da seni yüceltsin.
Joh 17:2 Çünkü sen O'na bütün insanlık üzerinde yetki verdin. Öyle ki, O'na verdiklerinin
hepsine sonsuz yaşam versin.
Joh 17:3 Sonsuz yaşam, tek gerçek Tanrı olan seni ve gönderdiğin İsa Mesih'i
tanımalarıdır.
Joh 17:4 Yapmam için bana verdiğin işi tamamlamakla seni yeryüzünde yücelttim.
Joh 17:5 Baba, dünya var olmadan önce ben senin yanındayken sahip olduğum yücelikle
şimdi beni yanında yücelt.
And, a few words:
• Sonsuz yaşam, -- (this is) endless / life. son = end, sonsuz = endless.
• tek gerçek Tanrı olan seni -- (the) only / true / God / to be / you
• ve gönderdiğin İsa Mesih'i -- and / the one who was sent / Jesus Christ
• tanımalarıdır -- that they must recognize
Christians understand that the Jesus of Nazareth actually existed before the world was
created. That He can be regarded as a self-aware extension/projection/avatar of the
Creator into the created universe. The doctrine of the Trinity asserts, paradoxically, that
God is simultaneously One and Three. The One and the Many aspects of the created
order have equal validity, equal weight. A choir singing Handel's Messiah is Trinitarian
faith in action -- the different voices sing different parts, but there is harmony, not
confusion.
As G. K. Chesterton said, if we can embrace one paradox, the whole universe falls into
place and makes sense. This is of more than theoretical interest -- true life consists of
knowing the Creator, and Jesus Christ, whom He sent. The One who came -- from
somewhere esle -- is the One who returned -- to that other place -- and the One who is
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even now waiting to greet us at the hour of our exit from this life.
Yet this One also lives among us now.
_____
[1] Another English idiom. When we say "It lost something in translation," we refer to the
noise, the static, that gets into a message as it goes from person to person. The Turks
have a neat way of dealing with this ambiguity, the -muş- (or -müş-, -mış-, -miş-) syllable
variously knows as the dubitative or narrative past tense. Tuck that syllable into your verb
to describe things you have no personal knowledge of. To translate it into English, use a
construction like "I've heard..." or "They say ... " or "Rumor has it."
Why are you picking on me? (John 18)
Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel The First Circle has several interlocking plots. A young
Jewish scientist, Roitmann, takes the risk of warning a beloved mentor to run for his life.
The call is tapped[1] and recorded. Convict scientific laborers are given a list of five
suspects, and asked to identify the caller using electronic voice analysis. They eliminate
three possibilities, so the Soviet Secret Police arrest the two remaining suspects. When
one of the convicts objects that one of the two warrants is for an innocent man, the thug
in uniform retorts contemptuously, "What? You think that he never did anything? Don't
worry, we'll sort him out." Roitmann's story end with him in a cell, suddenly realizing that
there is, after all, a difference between good and evil. He is apprehensive about the
interrogation coming up, but knows exactly why he was arrested.
His mental condition is far better than the blind terror of the other suspect, who was
arrested, and has no idea why he suddenly attracted the feared attention of the police.
The words of Jesus echo the stunned disbelief of every guy who's walking innocently
along, minding his own business, and is suddenly ordered to produce his internal
passport.
Joh 18:19 Başkâhin İsa'ya, öğrencileri ve öğretisiyle ilgili sorular sordu.
Joh 18:20 İsa onu şöyle yanıtladı: "Ben söylediklerimi dünyaya açıkça söyledim. Her
zaman bütün Yahudiler'in toplandıkları havralarda ve tapınakta öğrettim. Gizli hiçbir şey
söylemedim.
Joh 18:21 Beni neden sorguya çekiyorsun? Konuştuklarımı işitenlerden sor. Onlar ne
söylediğimi biliyorlar."
Joh 18:22 İsa bunları söyleyince, yanında duran görevlilerden biri, "Başkâhine nasıl böyle
karşılık verirsin?" diyerek O'na bir tokat attı.
Joh 18:23 İsa ona, "Eğer yanlış bir şey söyledimse, yanlışımı göster!" diye yanıtladı.
"Ama söylediklerim doğruysa, niçin bana vuruyorsun?"
And, a few words:
• Eğer yanlış bir şey söyledimse -- If / evil / some thing / I have said
• yanlışımı göster -- to my side / show (it)
• Ama söylediklerim doğruysa -- but / those things I have said / if they are straight,
correct, honest
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135
• niçin bana vuruyorsun -- why / me / do you beat?
The issue, of course, had nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of the accused.
Political considerations were in the driver's seat.[2] The formal niceties were observed.
Even though the leaders of Israel were determined to destroy this upstart, they
harangued the Roman governor from outside of his palace. Stepping into that building
would have made them ceremonially unfit to eat the passover religious meal later on that
day. It's OK to railroad an innocent man to his painful and humiliating death -- but
ceremonial rituals must be maintained.
____
[1] Another English idiom. To "tap" an phone message means to allow someone other
than the party being called to listen in on it.
[2] Yes, America has a car culture. To say that something is "in the driver's seat" is to
identify the issue or person in control of a situation.
Who's in charge, here? (John 19)
Reza Aslan, American Iranian Muslim and thoughtful writer, knows where the bodies are
buried. His book How to Win A Cosmic War has unkind things to say about 20th century
Jihadis, 11th century Crusaders, and first century Zeolots. The Zealots were a particularly
nasty and thuggish group, who felt they had carte blanche[1] to assassinate anyone they
viewed as a collaborator with the Roman occupiers.[2] The folks in power in Palestine
were determined to maintain civil order, no matter who they had to throw under the
bus[3]. The Zealots were just as passionately committed to civil disorder, since they
viewed the rulers as idols for destruction. Then, there's the guy who's trying to stay on top
of the situation, trick-riding on several wild horses, Pontius Pilate. Let's look into the trial
of Jesus again:
Joh 19:10 Pilatus, "Benimle konuşmayacak mısın?" dedi. "Seni salıvermeye de, çarmıha
germeye de yetkim olduğunu bilmiyor musun?"
Joh 19:11 İsa, "Sana gökten verilmeseydi, benim üzerimde hiçbir yetkin olmazdı" diye
karşılık verdi. "Bu nedenle beni sana teslim edenin günahı daha büyüktür."
Joh 19:12 Bunun üzerine Pilatus İsa'yı salıvermek istedi. Ama Yahudiler, "Bu adamı
salıverirsen, Sezar'ın dostu değilsin!" diye bağrıştılar. "Kral olduğunu ileri süren herkes
Sezar'a karşı gelmiş olur."
Joh 19:13 Pilatus bu sözleri işitince İsa'yı dışarı çıkardı. Taş Döşeme İbranice'de*
Gabbata denilen yerde yargı kürsüsüne oturdu.
Joh 19:14 Fısıh Bayramı'na* Hazırlık Günü'ydü. Saat on iki sularıydı. Pilatus Yahudiler'e,
"İşte, sizin Kralınız!" dedi.
Joh 19:15 Onlar, "Yok et O'nu! Yok et, çarmıha ger!" diye bağrıştılar. Pilatus, "Kralınızı mı
çarmıha gereyim?" diye sordu. Başkâhinler, "Sezar'dan başka kralımız yok!" karşılığını
verdiler.
Let's look at two sentences:
• Bu adamı salıverirsen, Sezar'ın dostu değilsin! -- This / man / if you release, / of
Caesar / a friend / you are not!
• Sezar'dan başka kralımız yok! -- than Caesar / other / our king / there is not!
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The rulers of Israel knew which side their bread was buttered on. [4] Canadians describe
their relationship with the United States as "being in bed with an elephant." Superpower
problems tend to become everyone else's problems. "If the US sneezes, the world
catches pneumonia." Rome was the power in power, and, as the rulers of Israel hastened
to remind Pilate, power trumps justice.
__________
[1] Carte blanche (French: white paper) refers to the idea that one has permission to do
anything necessary to achieve a stated goal.
[2] Our Lord's twelve disciples included one named Philip, after the fther of the Greek guy
who'd subjugated Israel several centuries earlier, and imposed Hellenic culture upon
them. Another, Simon, was a Zealot. One who was apparenty at home in the pagan
culture, and one who was its sworn enemy.
[3] American version of the Russian idiom "to throw to the wolves."
[4] Idiomatic expression -- cynical assertion that the party described knows how to further
his own interests, regardless of personal honor or other loyalties.
Behind locked doors (John 20)
Japan chased the Christian missionaries out of the country in the 17th century. The local
Christians developed a three-man cell structure that included the candidate for baptism,
his sponsor, and the baptizer. They endured for four centuries, until two America planes,
manned by Christian crews, obliterated the two major Christian strongholds in Japan,
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In seconds, our team was able to do more than the massed
political opposition of the Japanese warlords had achieved in centuries. Not one of our
prouder moments.
China chased the Christian missionaries out of the country in 1945. At that time, there
were a few tens of thousands of Chinese Christians. Against all expectations, however,
the persecuted church multiplied, quietly, under the radar, and vigorously. Some
estimates assert that more than 100 million Chinese now follow Jesus of Nazareth rather
than Karl of Marx. Christians leaders meet behind closed doors for worship, prayer, and
training. Dozens may rent an apartment, hire a cook, and spend a month indoors
absorbing intensified instruction.
After our Lord's crucifixion, his disciples had reasons for being nervous. They were still
waiting "for the other shoe to drop," for word from the One who was dead, but had risen
from the dead. They hid out behind locked doors for a week.
Joh 20:19 Haftanın o ilk günü akşam olunca, öğrencilerin Yahudi yetkililerden korkusu
nedeniyle bulundukları yerin kapıları kapalıyken İsa geldi, ortalarında durup, "Size esenlik
olsun!" dedi.
Joh 20:20 Bunu söyledikten sonra onlara ellerini ve böğrünü gösterdi. Öğrenciler Rab'bi
görünce sevindiler.
Joh 20:21 İsa yine onlara, "Size esenlik olsun!" dedi. "Baba beni gönderdiği gibi, ben de
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137
sizi gönderiyorum."
Joh 20:22 Bunu söyledikten sonra onların üzerine üfleyerek, "Kutsal Ruh'u alın!" dedi.
Joh 20:23 "Kimin günahlarını bağışlarsanız, bağışlanmış olur; kimin günahlarını
bağışlamazsanız, bağışlanmamış kalır."
Let's look at one sentence:
• Size esenlik olsun! -- To you / peace, wholeness, health / may be!
• Baba beni gönderdiği gibi, ben de sizi gönderiyorum. -- The Father / me / sent / as, /
I / also / you / am sending.
The Catholic cathedral in Nagasaki that was used as an aiming point by the American
bombing crew has been rebuilt from its ruins. Chinese rulers "look the other way" when
local Christians demonstrate ethical business practices and help their neighbors to
prosper. The frightened, hiding, demoralized disciples launched a movement that has
transformed the world.
The One who appeared among the barricaded disciples is stil the One who has the last
laugh[1] when hostile rulers run amuck.[2]
_______
[1] "He who laughs last, laughs best" is an old English proverb, about the how easily
temporary humiliation can be reversed. Or, as a more recent wit explained, "He who
laughts last, didn't get the joke."
[2] amuck / amok is one of the very few Malay words that entered the English vernacular.
It's always used with the English verb "to run."
second and third chances (John 21)
In one of the most humiliating moments of his life, Peter found himself inside the
courtyard of the temple. After violently resisting[1] the arrest of Jesus in the garden of
Gethsemane, Peter followed the mob at a discrete distance. At the courtyard, a disciple
"who was known to the High Priest"[2] spoke to the gatekeeper and secured admission
for Peter. He's inside, it's a chilly night, folks are jostling one another around a charcoal
fire -- and someone recognizes the interloper as one of the condemned man's
associates. Three times, Peter denies the association. Then, three things happened:
• The cock crows
• Jesus looks at Peter
• Peter remembers our Lord's prophecy that Peter would deny him three times.
Peter gives up whatever hare-brained schemes he'd been entertaining, flees the
premises, and weeps bitterly.
In today's reading, for some reason Peter and company have gone back to their
hometown, and their earlier occupation. Once again, they see the risen Jesus Christ on
the shore in the light of early dawn. Jesus is catering breakfast for these men who have
been working all night. After the meal, Peter and Jesus have an interesting conversation:
Joh 21:15 Yemekten sonra İsa, Simun Petrus'a, "Yuhanna oğlu Simun, beni bunlardan
daha çok seviyor musun?" diye sordu. Petrus, "Evet, ya Rab" dedi, "Seni sevdiğimi
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bilirsin." İsa ona, "Kuzularımı otlat" dedi.
Joh 21:16 İkinci kez yine ona, "Yuhanna oğlu Simun, beni seviyor musun?" diye sordu. O
da, "Evet, ya Rab, seni sevdiğimi bilirsin" dedi. İsa ona, "Koyunlarımı güt" dedi.
Joh 21:17 Üçüncü kez ona, "Yuhanna oğlu Simun, beni seviyor musun?" diye sordu.
Petrus kendisine üçüncü kez, "Beni seviyor musun?" diye sormasına üzüldü. "Ya Rab,
sen her şeyi bilirsin, seni sevdiğimi de bilirsin" dedi. İsa ona, "Koyunlarımı otlat" dedi.
• Yemekten sonra -- Than eating / after. Turkish frequently tacks the "ablative" (away
from) ending onto an infinitive verb, in this case yemek (to eat), to describe
relationships.
• beni bunlardan daha çok seviyor musun -- me / than these / more / much / loving / do
you?
• Kuzularımı otlat -- my lambs / feed
Turkish, like English, uses the same verb for love in all three questions. In the Greek,
however, the conversation goes more like this:
Peter, do you love me? ( ἀγαπᾷς με; )
Lord, you know I'm your friend. (φιλῶ σε )
Peter, do you love me?
Lord, you know I'm your friend.
Peter, are you my friend?
Lord, you know all things, you know I'm your friend.
After three denials, Peter had the opportunity to make three affirmations. Thank God for
second chances.
_____________
[1] Since Peter sliced off the servant's right ear, he was evidently a left-handed man
trying to whack off the guy's head. A few years ago, when Peter's alleged tomb in Rome
was investigated by archeologists, the skeleton they examined was that of a strongly-built
left-handed man.
[2] There is some evidence in his writings that John was of a priestly family, and was
thoroughly acquainted with the rituals and the routines of the Temple. OTOH, the only
disciple who we are told in scripture had personal dealings with the High Priest was -Judas. Who did, we know, make at least one return visit to return the blood money.
The stupidest question in the Bible. (Acts 1:6)
John Calvin said that this question had more theological errors in it than words:
Act 1:6 Elçiler bir araya geldiklerinde İsa'ya şunu sordular: "Ya Rab, İsrail'e egemenliği
şimdi mi geri vereceksin?"
A few words:
• Ya Rab -- O, Lord? [1]
• İsrail'e egemenliği -- to Israel / the kingdom (think hegemony -- both derived from
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Greek)
• şimdi -- now
• mi geri vereceksin -- question mark / restoration / you will give
Let me insert an essay I wrote some 11 years ago!
The Stupidest Question in the Bible
It is hard to imagine a death more cruel than crucifixion. In order to breathe, the victim
pulls himself up on spiked wrists, freeing his diaphram for the moment it takes to exhale,
then sags back down again until the need for oxygen overcomes the excruciating pain of
movement.
It is hard to imagine a regime more vicious than that of Rome, where the emperor fed his
pet fish the flesh of costly educated slaves, where human beings slaughtered one
another in arenas for the amusement of crowds, where madmen were adored as gods,
as saviors.
It is hard to imagine a repudiation more total than that of the mobs in Jerusalem who
begged the Romans to execute their messiah, screaming "Crucify! Crucify!"
It is hard to imagine a pledge of allegiance more clear than that of the same people
crying out "We have no king but Caeser."
It is hard to imagine a prophecy less ambiguous than the verdict Jesus delivered, saying,
"The kingdom shall be taken from you, and given to a nation that brings forth the fruits
thereof."
It is hard to imagine a question more stupid than the one a mercifully anonymous disciple
asked in Acts 1:6: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" Go figure.
Asking the King who had just been repudiated and crucified if He would, as a fitting
recompense, now make the repudiating and crucifying apostates the top dogs of the
world. Do I detect a disconnect? A lapse of sanity? Or, just the power of presuppositions
to shape our thinking despite the evidence?
It is hard to imagine a response more gracious than the one Jesus gave: "It is not for you,
O men of Galilee, to know the times and the seasons which the Father hath in His sole
disposition; but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and
ye shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of
the earth."
Only the man who was also God could turn the stupidest, most insolent question in the
Bible into words of empowerment; "Folks, what happens to people X, Y, or Z is none of
your business; but do I ever have a job for YOU!"
Consider a parallel example. In John 22, Peter asked Jesus, "What shall this man do?"
Retorted Jesus, "If I want him to hang around until I come back, what business is that of
yours? YOU follow me!" Jesus then told Peter more than he'd asked for about his own
personal future -- being bound and led to execution.
Savor the pun used by that lover of words and word play, Paul. In I Tim., Paul explained
that younger widows should not retire at church expense, because they often stopped
being busy, and became busybodies. (In my own life, I tend to be most upset about what
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others are doing when I am least faithful and diligent in my own calling!)
When we put all this together, what conclusions can we come to? Perhaps, worrying
about the future of an anti-Christian socialist state in the middle east is a waste of time.
Perhaps, worrying about imaginary conspiracies is even worse. Assuming that the devil's
people have the world by the tail provides an excuse for personal mediocrity. Fascination
with conspiracies does not, however, glorify the sovereign God, who considers nations to
be drops in the bucket, small dust on the scales.
The experience of God's people over the last three generations will provide amusement
to future generations, when they are not grieving the patrimony we wasted. In the name
of "prophecy teaching," fundamentalists gave up prophetic teaching. In 1973, while the
people at Grace, Talbot, and Dallas Theological Seminary were refining and re-drawing
their multi-colored maps of the future, and playing the latest game of "name the
antichrist," the Supreme Court of the United States legalized human sacrifice. The silence
of the Christian response was deafening -- until God used the Catholic part of His family
to prophetically denounce the abortion holocaust.
Is the Word of God a tool of divination? A sanctified ouija board? A source for speculation
about safely remote events? Or, does it have something to tell each of us about our own
personal destinies? A wise man said, "God will never whisper the meaning of your life
into another man's ear." Could the aspirations we cherish in our secret hearts point to our
predestined assignments? The spheres of action where we can hope to "do exploits?"
Suppose God's word equips us for excellence in myriad personal callings? If that is the
case, then a technical writer would learn from Leviticus to use redundant explanations, to
spell out each step each time, in order to minimize page turning. He would read Numbers
as a military commander's database, and learn how to format information for maximum
usefulness. His technical manuals would have a reference section, and a case
study/tutorial; an "Old Testament" containing the principles, and a "New Testament"
showing how they are lived out.
A geologist could learn from Genesis that geological processes are far faster than he'd
been taught. Although the great god Chaos might need billions of years to create an
ordered universe by accident, the purposeful God of the Bible could do it all in six
enumerated 24 hour days. And then, re-arrange the face of the earth with a global flood.
Given this information, the godly geologist would not be surprised by confirming events at
Mount Saint Helens.
What other vocations is God interested in? Let me put it this way: what has God called
YOU to do? Will you turn to His word for information on how to do it better? Or for
hallucinatory thrill rides through an imaginary future?
O Lord, show me how to make my life count for You!
-----------------[1] O is vocative. Use it when trying to attract the attention of the party you are speaking
to. When Winston Churchill was asked to provide the vocative case Latin noun for table
("O Table!"), he realized that he would never be an educated man! Oh is an intensifier,
providing additional emphasis to the following word. Oh, no. Too much information!
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The King and His Law (Acts 2)
We are approaching the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which commemorates the day when
God gave the ten commandments to the world -- and to us. For a chuckle, follow this link.
The King has the right to lay down the law for his subjects. His Kingdom is one where the
lives, properties, families, and reputations of His people are valued, and deemed worthy
of protection.
Several times in sacred writ, when God assumes His earthly throne, it's amid flames.
When Moses erected the tabernacle, for example, fire fell from heaven to defend the
honor of the throne. When Solomon consecrated the temple, again, heavenly fire
appeared.
As Peter told the astonished crowd on the day of Pentecost,
Act 2:32 Tanrı, İsa'yı ölümden diriltti ve biz hepimiz bunun tanıklarıyız.
Act 2:33 O, Tanrı'nın sağına yüceltilmiş, vaat edilen Kutsal Ruh'u Baba'dan almış ve
şimdi gördüğünüz ve işittiğiniz gibi, bu Ruh'u üzerimize dökmüştür.
Jesus, raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sitting enthroned. Taking up
residence among His people. Reversing the effect of the Tower of Babel, by empowering
his people to make their message clear to all those around them, despite barriers of
language or nationality.
Charles Wesley had an experience with divine regenerating grace on Pentecost Sunday,
and wrote a Pentecost Carol to commemorate the day, and his experience. Every
Methodist reader will recognize it!
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace.
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread thro' all the earth abroad,
The honors of Thy name.
Jesus the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease.
'Tis music in the sinner's ears,
'Tis life and health, and peace.
He breaks the pow'r of canceled sin,
He sets the pris'ner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His blood availed for me.
Hear him ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
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Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind behold your Savior come;
And leap, ye lame, for joy.
Here's a youtube performance.
Oh, for a thousand Turks to sing ...
One bright day in the middle of the night (Acts 3)
The Hellenistic mind writhed in misery when confronted with paradoxes. Lovers of this
kind of rationalism have a great deal of trouble with religious realities. That
"enlightenment" thinker Thomas Jefferson wrote about
... the flames in which their oracle ... consumed the poor Servetus, because he could not
find in his Euclid the proposition which has demonstrated that three are one, and one is
three ...
Yet something in us enjoys paradoxes. The world is too big, too amazing, too unruly, to
cram into the confines of our paradigms. Pi does not equal 3.0. Paradoxes often form the
heart of jokes and humor, those virtues that make life in a tragic world a delight. For
example:
One bright day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.
A deaf policeman heard the noise,
And came and caught the two dead boys.
If you don't believe this lie is true,
Then ask the blind man, he saw it too!
In Acts 3, we see a time in the life of our people when they had the leisure to walk to the
temple day after day at 3:00 for the time of formal prayer. In medieval Europe, people
would stop what they were doing and pray where they were when the bells rang. Muslims
have a "window" of time during which they find a quiet room, face Mecca, and recite the
set prayers for the hour. They do this five times a day. Somehow, though, the apostles, at
least Peter and John, don't have jobs to go to. As they walk into the temple, they heal a
beggar, and preach a sermon to the astonished onlookers.
A sermon loaded with paradoxes.
Act 3:12 Bunu gören Petrus halka şöyle seslendi: "Ey İsrailliler, buna neden şaştınız?
Neden gözlerinizi dikmiş bize bakıyorsunuz? Kendi gücümüz ya da dindarlığımızla bu
adamın yürümesini sağlamışız gibi...!
Act 3:13 İbrahim'in, İshak'ın ve Yakup'un Tanrısı, atalarımızın Tanrısı, Kulu İsa'yı yüceltti.
Siz O'nu ele verdiniz. Pilatus O'nu serbest bırakmaya karar verdiği halde, siz O'nu
Pilatus'un önünde reddettiniz.
Act 3:14 Kutsal ve adil Olan'ı reddedip bir katilin salıverilmesini istediniz.
Act 3:15 Siz Yaşam Önderi'ni öldürdünüz, ama Tanrı O'nu ölümden diriltti. Biz bunun
tanıklarıyız.
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Act 3:16 Gördüğünüz ve tanıdığınız bu adam, İsa'nın adı sayesinde, O'nun adına olan
imanla sapasağlam oldu. Hepinizin gözü önünde onu tam sağlığa kavuşturan, İsa'nın
aracılığıyla etkin olan imandır.
And, a few words:
• buna neden şaştınız? -- at this / why / you are astonished ?
• Neden gözlerinizi dikmiş bize bakıyorsunuz? -- Why / your eyes / fixed / on us / you
are staring?
• Kutsal ve adil Olan'ı reddedip bir katilin salıverilmesini istediniz. -- The holy / and /
the just / One / you betraied / a / villain / to be delivered / you wanted.
• Siz Yaşam Önderi'ni öldürdünüz, ama Tanrı O'nu ölümden diriltti. -- You / of Life / the
Lord / you killed, / but / God / Him / from the dead / raised.
If Jesus was indeed the Lord of Life, the Ambassador from heaven, then ignoring him is
the dealiest mistake any man, or nation, can make. Israel did not get away with this faux
pas. I rather doubt we will, either (speaking as a US citizen).
A state of denial (Acts 4)
Puppet rulers are not usually known for their courage or piety. The last Sultan of the
Ottoman Empire, for example, was willing to surrender most of his country to foreigners,
as long as his own palaces were untouched. The political rulers of Israel during this
period were mostly Sadducees, a people who denied such things as the resurrection of
the dead, and angels.[1] Let's look again into that ancient era, through the open window
of İncil.
Act 4:1 Kâhinler, tapınak koruyucularının komutanı ve Sadukiler, halka seslenmekte olan
Petrus'la Yuhanna'nın üzerine yürüdüler.
Act 4:2 Çünkü onların halka öğretmelerine ve İsa'yı örnek göstererek ölülerin dirileceğini
söylemelerine çok kızmışlardı.
The chapter begins with the rulers in an uproar. Verse 2 shows why:
• Çünkü onların halka öğretmelerine -- Because / they / to the people / taught
• ve İsa'yı örnek göstererek ölülerin dirileceğini söylemelerine -- and / with Jesus /
case / demonstration / from the dead / resurrection / they were telling
• çok kızmışlardı -- very / angry they are said to have been. (-mış-, you'll recall,
indicates that the action is reported, rather than personally seen.)
The resurrection had obviously happened. The rulers had earlier bribed the gaurds at the
garden tomb to say that they'd fallen asleep. Miracles were now being done in the Name
of the Resurrected One. Yet, people who know that they do not occupy their positions on
the basis of their own merits have a strong talent for denying the obvious. No one wants
to admit that he's a puppet, a quisling.[2] An affirmative-action hire.
Yet all of us inherit the efforts of those who have gone before us. All of us are prone to
self-delusion. I pray we may have mercy to live gratefully, and leave more behind us than
we took out of life.
______________
[1] That is why they were "sad, you see!"
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[2] A Mr. Quisling was the puppet ruler of Norway during that nation's time of occupation
by the Nazis. His name has become a noun
Aiming too high (Acts 4, 5)
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Nobel-prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk offered some unique insights about the great
Russian novelists of the 19th century. Their work was, he said, flavored by their sense of
exclusion. They were on the edge of Europe, but were not recognized as fully European.
Not really members of the club. As a Turk, he understood this snub very well. Turks who
are third-generation natives of Germany are still regarded as, and treated as, outsiders in
a "Christian" nation that is mostly secular, post-Christian.
The envy towards the "in-group" can drive the "outsiders" to strange extremes. Today's
entry is in two parts. We begin with a look at the communal spirit of the early Jerusalem
church:
Act 4:34,35 Aralarında yoksul olan yoktu. Çünkü toprak ya da ev sahibi olanlar bunları
satar, sattıklarının bedelini getirip elçilerin buyruğuna verirlerdi; bu da herkese ihtiyacına
göre dağıtılırdı.
Act 4:36,37 Örneğin, Kıbrıs doğumlu bir Levili olan ve elçilerin Barnaba, yani Cesaret
Verici diye adlandırdıkları Yusuf, sahip olduğu bir tarlayı sattı, parasını getirip elçilerin
buyruğuna verdi.
And, let's look at a few phrases:
• Aralarında yoksul olan yoktu -- Among them / having nothing / there was / none
• Çünkü toprak ya da ev sahibi olanlar bunları satar -- Because / fields / and / or /
houses / owning / they / those / sold
• Barnaba, yani Cesaret Verici diye adlandırdıkları Yusuf -- Barnabas / that is to say /
Courage / Giver / called / they named / Jospeh
I've lived in religious communes, and there is an undeniable thrill to sharing lives with a
handful of exuberant, dedicated, fellow believers. The Christians in Jerusalem were
facing an emergency. The city was overflowing with pilgrims who'd come for a brief stay,
then got caught up in the Messianic excitement. They stayed to learn more about this
Jesus of Nazareth who had overcome death, and now offered a Kingdom. But somebody
had to pay the bills. A few generous souls put all they had into the project, cashed out
their capital reserves, and received recognition for their generosity.
And we all yearn for recognition.
Act 5:1,2 Hananya adında bir adam, karısı Safira'nın onayıyla bir mülk sattı, paranın bir
kısmını kendine saklayarak gerisini getirip elçilerin buyruğuna verdi. Karısının da olup
bitenlerden haberi vardı.
Act 5:3 Petrus ona, "Hananya, nasıl oldu da Şeytan'a uydun, Kutsal Ruh'a yalan söyleyip
tarlanın parasının bir kısmını kendine sakladın?" dedi.
Act 5:4 "Tarla satılmadan önce sana ait değil miydi? Sen onu sattıktan sonra da parayı
dilediğin gibi kullanamaz mıydın? Neden yüreğinde böyle bir düzen kurdun? Sen
insanlara değil, Tanrı'ya yalan söylemiş oldun."
Act 5:5 Hananya bu sözleri işitince yere yıkılıp can verdi. Olanları duyan herkesi büyük
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bir korku sardı.
Act 5:6 Gençler kalkıp Hananya'nın ölüsünü kefenlediler ve dışarı taşıyıp gömdüler.
Act 5:7 Bundan yaklaşık üç saat sonra Hananya'nın karısı, olanlardan habersiz içeri girdi.
Act 5:8 Petrus, "Söyle bana, tarlayı bu fiyata mı sattınız?" diye sordu. "Evet, bu fiyata"
dedi Safira.
Act 5:9 Petrus ona şöyle dedi: "Rab'bin Ruhu'nu sınamak için nasıl oldu da sözbirliği
ettiniz? İşte, kocanı gömenlerin ayak sesleri kapıda, seni de dışarı taşıyacaklar."
Act 5:10 Kadın o anda Petrus'un ayakları dibine yıkılıp can verdi. İçeri giren gençler onu
ölmüş buldular, onu da dışarı taşıyarak kocasının yanına gömdüler.
This is a rather grim ending to a story of social climbing. When you over-sell yourself, you
live with the ever-present fear of being found out. The 1973 Italian comedy Bread and
Chocolate features a migrant worker, an Italian working in Switzerland, who dyes his hair
and learns to "pass"[1] for a native. In the end, his masquerade fails when he
spontaneously cheers for the Italian team in a soccer match. Quite often, when an
embezzler is finally caught, his first reaction is relief. The long deceit is over, and he can
be himself again.
_____________
[1] In the USA, blacks and whites have lived so long together that the racial boundaries
blur. Some black people "can pass for white." Or, in the idiomatic shorthand, they "can
pass."
It takes work .... (Acts 16)
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
I believe Muslims experience an eruption of nostalgia from time to time. A charismatic
teacher arises, and seeks to lead the faithful back to the unspoiled, pristine, original faith.
This is also a regular occurrence in American Christian culture. A faith big enough to
apply to all of life is redefined as a simple devotional hobby, something that can safely be
re-invented in every generation. After all, as the cliche goes, "God has no grandchildren."
And just look at the amazing story of the Early (Primal, primitive[1]) church, that had
thousands of converts climbing on board day after day! If only we could be like them, we
could enjoy the same kinds of miracles! The overflowing love, generosity, purity, and
power.
Well, as this chapter indicates, it takes work to keep the community working. Even these
people living within days of the Resurrection, filled afresh with God's heavenly Presence,
still acted like -- people. They still found it easiest to associate with their own, and take
care of their own.
Act 6:1 İsa'nın öğrencilerinin sayıca çoğaldığı o günlerde, Grekçe konuşan Yahudiler,
günlük yardım dağıtımında kendi dullarına gereken ilginin gösterilmediğini ileri sürerek
İbranice konuşan Yahudiler'den yakınmaya başladılar.
Act 6:2 Bunun üzerine Onikiler, bütün öğrencileri bir araya toplayıp şöyle dediler:
"Tanrı'nın sözünü yayma işini bırakıp maddi işlerle uğraşmamız doğru olmaz.
Act 6:3 Bu nedenle, kardeşler, aranızdan Ruh'la ve bilgelikle dolu, yedi saygın kişi seçin.
Onları bu iş için görevlendirelim.
Act 6:4 Biz ise kendimizi duaya ve Tanrı sözünü yaymaya adayalım."
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Act 6:5 Bu öneri bütün topluluğu hoşnut etti. Böylece, iman ve Kutsal Ruh'la dolu biri olan
İstefanos'un yanısıra Filipus, Prohoros, Nikanor, Timon, Parmenas ve Yahudiliğe dönen
Antakyalı Nikolas'ı seçip elçilerin önüne çıkardılar. Elçiler de dua edip ellerini onların
üzerine koydular.
• Tanrı'nın sözünü yayma işini bırakıp -- Of God / the Word / to spread (this is a "light"
infinitive. Sometimes, when using an infinitive as a noun, you can drop the k from the
end.) / the work / to leave (the -ip ending and its kin are placeholders that can be
used when a sentence contains a number of parallel verbs, so that you only need to
hitch the full complex apparatus to the last verb.)
• maddi işlerle uğraşmamız doğru olmaz -- physical, material / the work, the business /
in order to apply ourselves to / right, true, correct / is not
• Bu nedenle, kardeşler, aranızdan Ruh'la ve bilgelikle dolu, yedi saygın kişi seçin. -This / therefore / brothers / from among you / with the Spirit / and / with wisdom /
filled / seven / considered thus / folks / select
• Onları bu iş için görevlendirelim. -- To them / this / work / in order to / they may be
entrusted.
Already, issues arise that need specialized attention. Maintaining a community, and a
sense of community, doesn't just happen, no matter how spirit-filled and "primitive"
people are. It takes work. I attended a mosque service with a Turkish friend, and saw the
full "spectrum" of humanity present, men from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the USA. The
eloquent imam, whose English had no discernible accent, and whose singing voice is
magnificent, spoke of how important it is for the umma to keep its act together, to avoid
fitna. Muslims who toy with, indulge in, or encourage fitna by that action deny their faith,
and are not really Muslims at all. Suleyman later explained that fitna means civil strife,
unrest, insurrection. Wikipedia described fitna as the civil wars that split the Muslim
community into its Sunni and Shia factions.
When Suleyman joined our family for church the Sunday after, the theme was repeated.
It takes work to make community work. Especially if, as with our church, the community
deliberately includes people from many different backgrounds. Sometimes, the white guy
learns to clap on the off-beat. Or, the people selected to manage the church's charitable
resources on behalf of the Greek widows -- are all from that community.
_____
[1] Yes, there is an American denomination that glories in the name of Primitive Baptist
Church. As Yaakov Smirnof would say, "What a country!"
In your face! (Acts 7)
Thursday, June 04, 2009
"Never make excuses. Your friends don't need them, and your enemies won't believe
them."
Beware of marginal people who want to break into the inner circle. The Austrian politician
who comes to power in Germany. The Georgian thug who inherits the already-brutal
Russian dictatorship. This chapter continues the confrontation between Stephen, a
deacon named in the last chapter, and a synagogue of folks from the fringe (present-day
Turkey and Egypt) who wanted to curry favor with the Jewish powers in Jerusalem. When
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the representatives of this marginal community were unable to contend with the force of
Stephen's eloquence, they resorted to fraud and force. They dragged Stephen before a
hostile court by means of false testimony. These were not ignorant men -- they knew that
the penalty for bearing false witness was the same as the penalty they sought to impose
upon their victim. Since they were seeking the death penalty, they each knew that, as far
as God was concerned, they had earned the death penalty themselves. Many scholars
believe that one of the enraged false witnesses was that most famous Jew from Kilikya,
Saul of Tarsus.
Evidently, Stephen knew better than to expect justice, let alone mercy, from this high
court. Rather than defending himself, he engages the listeners' attention with several long
stories. Of Joseph, betrayed, humiliated, exiled, yet becoming the key to his nation's
survival. Of Moses, betrayed, humiliated, exiled, yet becoming the key to his nation's
survival.Then, he got to his point:
Act 7:51 "Ey dik kafalılar, yürekleri ve kulakları sünnet edilmemiş olanlar! Siz tıpkı
atalarınıza benziyorsunuz, her zaman Kutsal Ruh'a karşı direniyorsunuz.
Act 7:52,53 Atalarınız peygamberlerin hangisine zulmetmediler ki? Adil Olan'ın geleceğini
önceden bildirenleri de öldürdüler. Melekler aracılığıyla buyrulan Yasa'yı alıp da buna
uymayan sizler, şimdi de Adil Olan'a ihanet edip O'nu katlettiniz!"
And, a few words:
• Siz tıpkı atalarınıza benziyorsunuz -- You / just like, exactly like / your fathers / you
are like.
• her zaman Kutsal Ruh'a karşı direniyorsunuz -- every, all / time / the Holy / Spirit /
against / you hold out, you resist
• Atalarınız peygamberlerin hangisine zulmetmediler ki? -- Your fathers / the prophets
/ which / did they not persecute / hmmm?
When you hear a story, you tend to imagine yourself as the hero, and listen with
intensified interest. The fate of the Soviet Union was sealed when bootleg copies of The
Gulag Archipelago got back to Mother Russia, and the nomenclatura discovered that they
were the villains, rather than the heros, of the story of their history. The messengers who
bring this kind of news are rarely popular. Yet, their message takes root in some hearts,
with results that outlive the messengers.
Abraham's Other Children (Acts 8)
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Population transfers get ugly. A new line is drawn on the map, and thousands of people
who have lived in their hometowns for many generations are told they need to hie[1] to
the other side of said imaginary line. After the Balkan Wars, and the Turkish War of
Independence, hundreds of thousands of Turkish and Greek refugees hobbled past each
other, heading in opposite directions, with whatever household goods they could carry.
Literally millions of civilians died during the late 1940s as Hindu and Muslim citizens of
British India titrated into the new nations of independent India and Pakistan. This is a bit
of history that the survivors, and their descendents, still prefer not to talk about.
Many Palestinians are still angry about their forcible evictions from the homes and farms
that had been in their families for centuries. European strangers showed up with wealth
and machine guns.
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Today's chapter deals with the Samaritans. The ancient empires of the middle east,
Assyria and Babylon, frequently enforced population transfers in order to break down
local allegiances and thereby strengthen the claims of the Empire. When the Jews were
exiled from Israel, some of the lower class folks were left behind. Not worth the effort to
relocate, since they had so little in the way of wealth or skills to contribute. Their numbers
were augmented by strangers from other nations. Natural predators multiplied in the
depopulated area. The newcomers decided they'd better call upon the God of that region
for protection, and learned the rudaments of the Jewish faith. They intermarried with the
"poor white trash"[2] who were left behind. The resulting population became known as
"the Samartans."
When the Jewish exiles came "back home" after the Babylonian captivity, they had done
pretty well for themselves. They had the official favor of the Babylonian empire,
permission to take what they wanted for building materials, and considerable wealth.
They rebuilt their temple, practiced ethnic cleansing, and held the Samaritans in
contempt.
When persecution began in Israel, however, Philip escaped to Samaria, where his
message was eagerly received. At some point two of the senior apostles, Peter and
John, came up from Jerusalem to bless the newly converted Samaritans. This blessing
evidently was accompanied by signal and visible results. Let's look at the story.
Act 8:8 Ve o kentte büyük sevinç oldu.
Act 8:9 Ne var ki, kentte bir süreden beri büyücülük yapan ve Samiriye halkını şaşkına
çeviren Simun adlı biri vardı. Simun, büyük adam olduğunu iddia ediyordu.
Act 8:10 Küçük büyük, herkes onu dikkatle dinler, "Büyük Güç dedikleri Tanrı gücü işte
budur" derlerdi.
Act 8:11 Uzun zamandan beri onları büyücülüğüyle şaşkına çevirdiği için onu dikkatle
dinlerlerdi.
Act 8:12 Ama Tanrı'nın Egemenliği ve İsa Mesih adıyla ilgili Müjde'yi duyuran Filipus'un
söylediklerine inandıkları zaman, erkekler de kadınlar da vaftiz* oldular.
Act 8:13 Simun'un kendisi de inanıp vaftiz oldu. Ondan sonra sürekli olarak Filipus'un
yanında kaldı. Doğaüstü belirtileri ve yapılan büyük mucizeleri görünce şaşkına döndü.
Act 8:14 Yeruşalim'deki elçiler, Samiriye halkının, Tanrı'nın sözünü benimsediğini
duyunca Petrus'la Yuhanna'yı onlara gönderdiler.
Act 8:15 Petrus'la Yuhanna oraya varınca, Samiriyeli imanlıların Kutsal Ruh'u almaları
için dua ettiler.
Act 8:16 Çünkü Ruh daha hiçbirinin üzerine inmemişti. Rab İsa'nın adıyla vaftiz
olmuşlardı, o kadar.
Act 8:17 Petrus'la Yuhanna onların üzerine ellerini koyunca, onlar da Kutsal Ruh'u aldılar.
Act 8:18,19 Elçilerin bu el koyma hareketiyle Kutsal Ruh'un verildiğini gören Simun onlara
para teklif ederek, "Bana da bu yetkiyi verin, kimin üzerine ellerimi koysam Kutsal Ruh'u
alsın" dedi.
Act 8:20 Petrus, "Paran da yok olsun, sen de!" dedi, "Çünkü Tanrı'nın armağanını parayla
elde edebileceğini sandın.
Act 8:21 Senin bu işte bir payın, bir hakkın yok. Yüreğin, Tanrı'nın gözünde doğru
değildir.
Act 8:22 Bu kötülüğünden tövbe et ve Rab'be yalvar, yüreğindeki bu düşünce belki
bağışlanır.
Act 8:23 Senin kin dolu, kötülüğe tutsak biri olduğunu görüyorum."
Act 8:24 Simun, "Benim için Rab'be yalvarın da söylediklerinizden hiçbiri başıma
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gelmesin" diye karşılık verdi.
Let's look at a few words here:
• Ve o kentte büyük sevinç oldu -- And / that / city at / great / joy / there was
• Küçük büyük, herkes onu dikkatle dinler, -- Small / (and) large / all / to him / with care
/ listen
• "Büyük Güç dedikleri Tanrı gücü işte budur" derlerdi. -- Great / Power / is called /
God's / power / thus / this is
Simon the Sorcerer found a ready audience among the demoralized Samaritans. As his
people began defecting to the Christian movement, he tried to get ahead of the mob.[3]
And was willing to pay for the privelege of maintaining a privelged position.
Even if you win a rat race, you're still a rat.
________________
[1] Hie is a somewhat archaic word meaning to quickly relocate oneself. The only
contemporary use I know of for this word is in the Mormon hymn, based on a lovely,
modal, folk tune If You Could Hie to Kolob. Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints, or LDS) is a bizarre cult, birthed like so many others, in America. It has
been called "the American Islam," since its key figure is a "prophet" who is said to have
restored long-forgotten truths. Polygamy is part of official Mormon doctrine, and even
extends to their version of God. Kolob, you see, is where the putative deity of Mormonism
stashes his heavenly harem.
[2] "Poor white trash" is a derogative term, usually applied to Americans from the
Appalachian mountain chain.
[3] Old American joke: "Which was is the mob going? I'm supposed to be its leader!"
The mechanics of conversion (Acts 9)
Perhaps the most famous conversion story in all of history happens in this chapter. An
angry young rabbi who is trying to stamp out this new Christian sect has an encounter
that changes his life -- and ours -- forever.
Act 9:1,2 Saul ise Rab'bin öğrencilerine karşı hâlâ tehdit ve ölüm soluyordu. Başkâhine
gitti, Şam'daki havralara verilmek üzere mektuplar yazmasını istedi. Orada İsa'nın
yolunda yürüyen kadın erkek, kimi bulsa tutuklayıp Yeruşalim'e getirmek niyetindeydi.
Act 9:3 Yol alıp Şam'a yaklaştığı sırada, birdenbire gökten gelen bir ışık çevresini
aydınlattı.
Act 9:4 Yere yıkılan Saul, bir sesin kendisine, "Saul, Saul, neden bana zulmediyorsun?"
dediğini işitti.
Act 9:5 Saul, "Ey Efendim, sen kimsin?" dedi. "Ben senin zulmettiğin İsa'yım" diye yanıt
geldi.
Act 9:6 "Haydi kalk ve kente gir, ne yapman gerektiği sana bildirilecek."
A few words:
• birdenbire gökten gelen bir ışık çevresini aydınlattı. -- suddenly, in a moment / from
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heaven / coming / a / light / around / shone. (the lovely Turkish greeting Gün aydın!
wishes you a bright and shining day.)
• neden bana zulmediyorsun? -- for what reason, why / Me / are you (singular,
intimate) persecuting?
• Ey Efendim, sen kimsin? -- O / my Lord / you / are who?
• Ben senin zulmettiğin İsa'yım -- I / who you / persecute / Jesus am.
In America, we've developed an efficient, mechanized process for mass-producing
imitation conversions. A trained orator fiddles upon the raw, exposed emotions of a
largely adolescent crowd, until their reserves break down, and they comply with the
expected rituals. They "go forward" to the front of the church, recite, or are coached
through, a brief liturgy, then are baptized. A few years later they disappear from the
church, often feeling vague resentments towards those who played such "head games"[1]
with them.
Real conversions, OTOH, tend to be unique events. Although people can be instantly
gulled[2] into doing things against their better judgement[3], true transformation is a
longer-term process. Quite often, those who are most desperately and insanely
passionate about an issue have nagging doubts they are trying to shout down. We know
that Saul "consented to" the murder of Stephen. The primary witness against an executed
felon threw the first stone, then gaurded the coats of the others. The synagogue that
started the case against Stephen contained men from Kilikya -- Saul's home town. They
were frustrated because they could not win fair arguments with Stephen, and therefore
resorted to force. Imagine a highly-trained rabbi of impeccable Jewish lineage, unable to
counter the reasonings of this guy from out of town, with a Greek name.[4]
Stephen was dead, but his arguments lived on. The miraculous vision of Jesus catalyzed
events already in process. Interestingly enough, Saul (who later became Paul) seems to
have stepped into Stephen's shoes. A number of Stephen's issues (care for the poor,
eloquent public proclamation, getting stoned) became Saul's issues.
______________
[1] A bit of late 60's argot. So I'm a reformed hippy ...
[2] To gull means to deceive. The verb form of the far more common adjective gullible.
Several characters in Shakespeare's plays are introduced as "gulled gent."
[3] A technique frequently used by unscrupulous sales people in the USA is to offer some
kind of "free gift" to those who are willing to sit and listen to a sales pitch. You go, with
larceny in your heart, planning to glom onto the gift and turn a deaf ear to the pitch.
However, your own ethical compromise gives the skilled huckster the leverage he needs
to talk you into something you never intended.
[4] Στέφανον is Greek for Crown.
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A light, an angel, a pig. (Acts 10)
My wife loves detective stories. I occasionally indulge, if the story is set in an alien
culture. The late Tony Hillerman used Navajo tribal lore as the framework for his novels.
Harry Kellerman lets us see things from the Jewish perspective. The protagonist in
Someday, the Rabbi Will Leave is a conservative, nearly orthodox, scholar who applies
Talmudic reasoning to local crimes. There are not too many places where he can
comfortably dine -- strictly observant Jewish families have separate utensils for milk and
meat products. "The first time I saw a man in a restaurant cut his steak using the same
knife he'd used to butter his bread, I nearly retched,"[1] Rabbi Small said.
Paul fell to the earth, overwhelmed by a vision of blinding light. Cornelius, a Roman
officer and occupation soldier, had a vision of an angel who told him to send to Peter for
advice on how to find secure favor with God. Peter's vision, however, while dramatic, and
disturbing, took an earthier theme:
Act 10:10 Acıkınca da yemek istedi. Yemek hazırlanırken Petrus kendinden geçti.
Act 10:11 Göğün açıldığını ve büyük bir çarşafı andıran bir nesnenin dört köşesinden
sarkıtılarak yeryüzüne indirildiğini gördü.
Act 10:12 Çarşafın içinde, yeryüzünde yaşayan her türden dört ayaklı hayvanlar,
sürüngenler ve kuşlar vardı.
Act 10:13 Bir ses ona, "Kalk Petrus, kes ve ye!" dedi.
Act 10:14 "Asla olmaz, ya Rab!" dedi Petrus. "Hiçbir zaman bayağı ya da murdar*
herhangi bir şey yemedim."
Act 10:15 Ses tekrar, ikinci kez duyuldu; Petrus'a, "Tanrı'nın temiz kıldıklarına sen bayağı
deme" dedi.
Act 10:16 Bu, üç kez tekrarlandı. Sonra çarşafı andıran nesne hemen göğe alındı.
Act 10:17 Petrus şaşkınlık içindeydi.
And, a few words:
• Bir ses ona, -- A / voice / to him
• "Kalk Petrus, kes ve ye!" -- Rise / Peter / kill / and / eat. (To form the Turkish second
person singular imperative, drop the -mek /-mak from the infinitive.)
• dedi. -- it said.
• "Asla olmaz, ya Rab!" dedi Petrus. -- Never / it will not happen / but / Lord! / said /
Peter.
• "Hiçbir zaman bayağı ya da murdar herhangi bir şey yemedim." -- Not one thing / at
any time / foul / and / but / corrupt / no way / one / thing / I have never eaten.
(Turkish lets you go crazy with negatives!)
Poor Peter. How little he knew -- God was about to demand that he do something even
more repulsive than chowing down on pork chops with bacon gravy.
______________
[1] English has a rich lexicon of synonyms and euphemisms for vomiting. This may go
with having a partying subculture that glories in heavy drinking. To puke is the most
common. To hurl is somewhat dated. Kneeling before the ceramic idol and (my favorite)
talking on the big white telephone happen in the bathroom after a drinking bout that went
to excess.
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Transmission bands (Acts 11)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Information, like an infection, travels most easily within close, and closed, populations.
This chapter begins with the believers in Jerusalem taking Peter to task, for breaking
taboo, crossing the picket line, getting "too close"[1] to the folks who "aren't our kind of
people." Peter silenced the naysayers with his account of how these unexpected kindred
spirits had received an experience of God's gracious presence, with some kind of visible
evidence.
The believers in Jerusalem grudgingly bowed to the inevitable, but kept on living in their
xenophobic traditions. However, a virus that jumps species boundaries acquires a whole
new level of potency. GRID[2] does little harm to simian populations, but is lethal to
humans. Swine flu[3] is a nuisance to pigs, but occasionally fatal to us. It was when the
non-Jewish people in Antakya began to embrace the Messiah of Israel that this erstwhile
subset of Judaism became a superset thereof. And it was in Antakya that the disciples
were first called Mesihçiler -- those who pertain to the Messiah. Christians.
Act 11:17 Böylelikle Tanrı, Rab İsa Mesih'e inanmış olan bizlere verdiği armağanın
aynısını onlara verdiyse, ben kimim ki Tanrı'ya karşı koyayım?"
Act 11:18 Bunları dinledikten sonra yatıştılar. Tanrı'yı yücelterek şöyle dediler: "Demek ki
Tanrı, tövbe etme ve yaşama kavuşma fırsatını öteki uluslara da vermiştir."
Act 11:19 İstefanos'un öldürülmesiyle başlayan baskı sonucu dağılan imanlılar, Fenike,
Kıbrıs ve Antakya'ya kadar gittiler. Tanrı sözünü sadece Yahudiler'e duyuruyorlardı.
Act 11:20 Ama içlerinden Kıbrıslı ve Kireneli olan bazı adamlar Antakya'ya gidip
Grekler'le* de konuşmaya başladılar. Onlara Rab İsa'yla ilgili Müjde'yi bildirdiler.
Act 11:21 Onların arasında etkin olan Rab'bin gücü sayesinde çok sayıda kişi inanıp
Rab'be döndü.
Act 11:22 Olup bitenlerin haberi, Yeruşalim'deki kiliseye* ulaştı. Bunun üzerine imanlılar
Barnaba'yı Antakya'ya gönderdiler.
Act 11:23,24 Kutsal Ruh'la ve imanla dolu, iyi bir adam olan Barnaba, Antakya'ya varıp
Tanrı lütfunun meyvelerini görünce sevindi. Herkesi, candan ve yürekten Rab'be bağlı
kalmaya özendirdi. Sonuç olarak Rab'be daha birçok kişi kazanıldı.
Act 11:25 Sonra Barnaba, Saul'u aramak için Tarsus'a gitti. Onu bulunca da Antakya'ya
getirdi. Böylece Barnaba'yla Saul bir yıl boyunca oradaki inanlılar topluluğuyla* bir araya
gelerek büyük bir kitleyi eğittiler. Öğrencilere ilk kez Antakya'da Mesihçiler adı verildi.
And, a few words:
• Demek ki Tanrı, -- It is plain / that / God
• tövbe etme ve yaşama kavuşma -- repentance / to do / and / life / to recieve
• fırsatını öteki uluslara da vermiştir -- opportunity / to other / nations / yet / was given.
___________________
[1] A somewhat bitter aphorism from the Black community about life in the United States:
"In the North, they don't care how high you get, as long as you don't get too close. In the
South, they don't care how close you get, as long as you don't get too high."
[2] GRIDS -- "Gay-Related Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome" is almost entirely found in the
sodomite community, and evidently is "acquired" by violently perverted and repeated
"crimes against nature." Although political correctness had re-named this plague that
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153
boasts legal protection as AIDS, even that acronym indicates that this disease is
"acquired," rather than simply caught.
[3] An American idiom for an improbably event goes -- "That will happen when pigs fly."
For example, "Americans will vote a non-citizen into their highest office when pigs fly."
Well, swine flu ...
Automatic assistance (Acts 12)
A bitter aphorism in Israel during the first century held that "it is better to be Herod's pig
than Herod's son." The two words (pig and son) look almost identical in Greek. This was
not a happy family. One Herod encountered the Magi. His son confronted John the
Baptist and Jesus. The grandson, James and Peter and worms. The great-grandson, so
rumor has it, retired in disgrace to the peaceful Roman village of Pompey.
Today's chapter begins with another flare up of persecution. Herod was an Idumean set
as a puppet ruler over the Jews. He noticed how his poll numbers went up when he
arrested and executed James, and nabbed Peter in an effort to curry additional favor.
Let's let the historical record speak for itself a bit:
Act 12:5 Bu nedenle Petrus hapiste tutuldu. Ama inanlılar topluluğu onun için Tanrı'ya
hararetle dua ediyordu.
Act 12:6 Petrus, Hirodes'in kendisini yargılayacağı günden önceki gece, çift zincirle bağlı
olarak iki askerin arasında uyuyordu. Kapıda duran nöbetçiler de zindanın güvenliğini
sağlıyordu.
Act 12:7 Birdenbire Rab'bin bir meleği göründü ve hücrede bir ışık parladı. Melek,
Petrus'un böğrüne dokunup onu uyandırdı. "Çabuk, kalk!" dedi. O anda zincirler Petrus'un
bileklerinden düştü.
Act 12:8 Melek ona, "Kuşağını bağla, çarıklarını giy" dedi. Petrus da söyleneni yaptı.
"Abanı giy, beni izle" dedi melek.
Act 12:9 Petrus onu izleyerek dışarı çıktı. Ama meleğin yaptığının gerçek olduğunu
anlamıyor, bir görüm gördüğünü sanıyordu.
Act 12:10 Birinci ve ikinci nöbetçiyi geçerek kente açılan demir kapıya geldiler. Kapı,
önlerinde kendiliğinden açıldı. Dışarı çıkıp bir sokak boyunca yürüdüler, sonra melek
ansızın Petrus'un yanından ayrıldı.
Act 12:11 O zaman kendine gelen Petrus, "Rab'bin bana meleğini gönderdiğini şimdi
gerçekten anlıyorum" dedi. "O beni Hirodes'in elinden ve Yahudi halkının uğrayacağımı
umduğu bütün belalardan kurtardı."
And, a few sentences:
• Birdenbire Rab'bin bir meleği göründü ve hücrede bir ışık parladı. -- Suddenly / of the
Lord / an / angel / appeared / and / in the cell / a / light / shone forth.
• Birinci ve ikinci nöbetçiyi geçerek kente açılan demir kapıya geldiler. -- First / and
/second / watches / they pass / to the city / opening / iron / gate / was closed.
• Kapı, önlerinde kendiliğinden açıldı. -- The gate / that was before them / on its own /
opened.
• melek -- angel. The k turns into the soft g if you attach a vowel to the word.
The gate, the final obstacle, opened by itself. The Greek word translated kendiliğinden
should look familiar: αὐτομάτη . Yep -- automatic! If an angel wakes you up with good
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news, obstacles can melt away as you move forward. (So many of the barriers to our
dreams are those we erect in our own minds.)
What to do with the pet guru? (Acts 13)
This is a very rich chapter, with a lot going on. For example, we meet a mixed bag of
leaders worshiping God, and fasting. One of them had grown up in a king's family. All we
know about another, Simon, is that folks called him "the black guy." As these people are
in God's presence, perhaps leading corporate and liturgical prayer, a word comes -- turn
loose Saul and Barnabas for the task that's been on their minds for some time now.
The itinerary is fairly clear. "Barnabas, let's visit your home county first, then we'll visit
mine." After a preaching tour that takes them the length of Copper Island,[1] they are
invited to address the Roman governor of this province, a "prudent man." Let's open a
window into the past, and look into this scene:
Act 13:6 Adayı baştan başa geçerek Baf'a geldiler. Orada büyücü ve sahte peygamber
Baryeşu adında bir Yahudi'yle karşılaştılar.
Act 13:7,8 Baryeşu, Vali Sergius Pavlus'a yakın biriydi. Akıllı bir kişi olan vali, Barnaba'yla
Saul'u çağırtıp Tanrı'nın sözünü dinlemek istedi. Ne var ki Baryeşu büyücü anlamına
gelen öbür adıyla Elimas- onlara karşı koyarak valiyi iman etmekten caydırmaya çalıştı.
Act 13:9,10 Ama Kutsal Ruh'la dolan Saul, yani Pavlus, gözlerini Elimas'a dikerek, "Ey
İblis'in oğlu!" dedi. "Yüreğin her türlü hile ve sahtekârlıkla dolu; doğru olan her şeyin
düşmanısın. Rab'bin düz yollarını çarpıtmaktan vazgeçmeyecek misin?
Act 13:11 İşte şimdi Rab'bin eli sana karşı kalktı. Kör olacaksın, bir süre gün ışığını
göremeyeceksin." O anda adamın üzerine bir sis, bir karanlık çöktü. Dört dönerek,
elinden tutup kendisine yol gösterecek birilerini aramaya başladı.
Act 13:12 Olanları gören vali, Rab'le ilgili öğretiyi hayranlıkla karşıladı ve iman etti.
And, a few words are in order:
• Orada büyücü ve sahte peygamber -- At that place / a great / and / false / prophet
• Baryeşu adında -- bar Jesus (son of Jesus) / named
• bir Yahudi'yle karşılaştılar. -- a / a Jew / they encountered.
• "Ey İblis'in oğlu!" dedi. -- Hey / of Satan / the son! / he said.
• "Yüreğin her türlü hile ve sahtekârlıkla dolu; -- Your heart / all / kinds / with
wickedness / and / with deception / is filled;
• doğru olan her şeyin düşmanısın. -- straight, honest, true / that is / every / thing / you
are the enemy of.
So, how did a Jewish sorcerer end up on the staff of a Roman governor? The Romans,
you remember, had conquored and occupied Israel. Well, they'd also conquored and
occupied Greece -- then imported Greek culture and teachers into their world. Perhaps,
this governor viewed Bar-Jesus as an exemplar of Jewish piety, a living representative of
the worthy God of Israel? We have other examples of wandering Jewish wonder-workers
in that era. Jesus warned that some who had no real connection to God would still work
miracles in his name.
Apparently, Bar-Jesus regarded Saul, Barnabas, and the gospel they preached as
threats to his sinecure.
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I'm still wondering, though, how he got into that cushy position to start with. What does
this tell us about the Romans, the Jews, and the complex relationships between them?
________________
[1] One of these days, I'll spend a summer, or part thereof, teaching there.
"... and the madness of crowds.[0]" (Acts 14)
Ecclesiastical rivals can be persistent. Francis Asbury, the first American-born bishop of
the Methodist Church, complained of the Baptists, "They follow us around like ghosts."[1]
This, however, was a friendly rivalry when measured against the unremitting hostility the
Jews held towards Paul's work.
Paul and Barnabas escaped Konya, barely ahead of the mobs with pitchforks and
torches[2]. At Listra, their message was eagerly welcomed. Too eagerly. The villagers
assumed they could fit the new thaumaturges[3] into the context of their existing
paradigms. When Paul and Barnabas refused to serve as their pet deities, the mood
turned surly, then ugly.
Act 14:19 Ne var ki, Antakya ve Konya'dan gelen bazı Yahudiler, halkı kendi taraflarına
çekerek Pavlus'u taşladılar; onu ölmüş sanarak kentin dışına sürüklediler.
Act 14:20 Ama öğrenciler çevresinde toplanınca Pavlus ayağa kalkıp kente döndü. Ertesi
gün Barnaba'yla birlikte Derbe'ye gitti.
• Antakya ve Konya'dan -- Antakya and Konya from
• gelen bazı Yahudiler -- came / some / Jews
• onu ölmüş sanarak kentin dışına sürüklediler -- him / dead / supposing / the city /
outside / they dragged.
It's interesting how much of the İncil was written in present-day Turkey, happened in that
area, and involved people from there.
_____________
[0] Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a classical
catalog of human lunacy, as expressed in such fads as the Tulip Mania and the
Children's Crusade. Click the link to get your own Project Gutenberg free copy!
[1] When the American frontier opened and land-hungry millions headed west, they left
behind the Anglican, Quaker, and Presbyterian churches. The Quakers lacked ambition,
and the more formal denominations had lofty standards for their ordained ministers. The
Methodists amortized their preachers over lengthy "circuits." One circuit rider on
horseback oversaw dozens of churches. The Baptists simply lowered their standards for
ministers. Any charismatic farmer could "receive the call" to preach. And find a pulpit, if a
church recognized said call.
[2] Poetic license on my parts. Every since the silent horror movies of the 1920s, it's been
assumed that peasant mobs equip themselves with pitchforks and torches!
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[3] A fancy word that comes into the English language directly transliterated from Greek.
It means miracle workers.
"Unless you become like us ... " (Acts 15)
Friday, July 03, 2009
I just finished reading Orhan Pamuk's collection of essays Other Colors. This Nobel
Prize-winning novelist has quite a bit to say about a kindred spirit, Feodor Dostoevsky.
Like the great 19th century Russian novelist, Pamuk lives with the frustration of being a
not-quite European. This sense of rejection, Pamuk suggests, explains the angry
bitterness that permeates Notes From Underground, Crime and Punishment, and The
Demons. Pamuk's own masterpiece, My Name Is Red, mourns the loss of one's
traditional area of artistic mastery while in pursuit of those things an alien culture
celebrates.
Acts 15 begins with a conflict. Self-appointed emissaries from the Jewish heartland show
up in Antakya with the message -- "Unless you become just like us, you're worthless."
Act 15:1 Yahudiye'den gelen bazı kişiler Antakya'daki kardeşlere, "Siz Musa'nın töresi
uyarınca sünnet olmadıkça kurtulamazsınız" diye öğretiyorlardı.
Act 15:2 Pavlus'la Barnaba bu adamlarla bir hayli çekişip tartıştılar. Sonunda Pavlus'la
Barnaba'nın, başka birkaç kardeşle birlikte Yeruşalim'e gidip bu sorunu elçiler ve
ihtiyarlarla görüşmesi kararlaştırıldı.
Paul and Barnabas strenuously objected to this message that demanded cultural
conformity in addition to regeneration. God Himself can't please some people, you see. A
miracle of regeneration transforms someone's whole life, whole attitude -- and then,
"God's little helpers" feel called upon to show up with additional demands. A new believer
opens up his heart and soul to older saints, sharing of God's wonderful grace. They see
the opening and jump in with their meat axes, flailing away and telling the guy who's just
experienced the greatest miracle in the universe that he'll be "more saved" if he'll comply
with some extra-biblical cultural mandate. Quit smoking, for example.
I can understand Paul's volcanic rage towards those who belittled God's work, and God's
people from a different culture.
In the end, the joke was on the Jews. They chose their culture over their Messiah. Pulled
the roof in on themselves soon thereafter, and have obdurately resisted God's mercies
ever since. The future locus of Christianity moved to the non-Jewish nations. Some
Jewish people have, throughout history, "gotten with the program," and become
Christians. Eventually, I expect, the rest of them will "see the light."
Meanwhile, let the dead bury the dead. The living have work to do. The Gospel of the
Great King can be embraced by any nation, and will transform that nation, working from
the inside out. Aping a foreign culture is a recipe for failure.
Al ve oku
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Strange doings in Makedonia (Acts 16)
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
This chapter begins Paul in his old home territory again, traveling around present-day
Turkey. He is meeting with continuous frustration. Encountering stop signs every way he
turns. It is at this point, in Troas, near Homer's Troy, that Paul gets "the Macedonian call."
Act 16:9 O gece Pavlus bir görüm gördü. Önünde Makedonyalı bir adam durmuş, ona
yalvarıyordu: "Makedonya'ya geçip bize yardım et" diyordu.
• O gece Pavlus bir görüm gördü. -- That / night / Paul / a / vision / saw.
• Önünde Makedonyalı bir adam durmuş, ona yalvarıyordu: -- In front of him /
Macedonian-appearing / a / man / stands / to him / he implored:
• "Makedonya'ya geçip bize yardım et" diyordu. -- To Macedonia / come / to us /
assistance / be / he said.
Note, please that this supernatural leading was a last resort, not a first. Paul had already
been energetically exploring his options. Trying one thing after another. A beloved pastor
once spoke of "guidance by bloody noses." Run into one closed door after another, until
the right door finally turns out to be open. Sitting around "praying for guidance" is a recipe
for frustration, most of the time. God guides those who are already doing everything they
know they should be doing.
Today, to make up for lost time, we'll add a second sermonette. We will look at a curious
thing that happened after the apostles got to the principal city of their destination. Once
again, we encounter supernatural channels of information in action:
Act 16:16 Bir gün biz dua yerine giderken, karşımıza, falcılık ruhuna tutulmuş köle bir kız
çıktı. Bu kız, gelecekten haber vererek efendilerine bir hayli kazanç sağlıyordu.
Act 16:17 Pavlus'u ve bizleri izleyerek, "Bu adamlar yüce Tanrı'nın kullarıdır, size kurtuluş
yolunu bildiriyorlar!" diye bağırıp durdu.
Act 16:18 Ve günlerce sürdürdü bunu. Sonunda, bundan çok rahatsız olan Pavlus
arkasına dönerek ruha, "İsa Mesih'in adıyla, bu kızın içinden çıkmanı buyuruyorum" dedi.
Ruh hemen kızın içinden çıktı.
Let's look at the message of the fortune-teller:
• Bu adamlar yüce Tanrı'nın kullarıdır, size kurtuluş yolunu bildiriyorlar! -- These / men
/ the high / God's / servants are, / to you / of salvation / the road / they are making
known!
There's a cynical old saying, all publicity is good publicity. Apparently, Paul disagreed.
Something about this girl's testimony disturbed him. Perhaps, these true words were
being uttered in a mocking way that contradicted their denotative meaning. Or, maybe
she was kibbitzing in a way that was disturbing, distracting. From time to time, if you go to
informal prayer meetings, you may encounter someone who is under the spell of a
demonic spirit. That person's words might sound kosher, but something about the way
they are said is disturbing, incongruous, inappropriate, and distracting.
Python is more than a computer language. The Greek text informs us that this young
woman had a "spirit of python," a spirit of divination. In America, Edgar Cayce, "the
sleeping prophet," would go into a trance and generate verifiably factual information
concerning things he had no way of knowing. Once he had his audience hooked, he
began proclaiming reincarnation and other eastern mystical notions.
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I guess the bottom line is, friends, dial back on your lust for the supernatural. God will
make His ways known, almost always through routine means. From time to time, He will
also provide an extraordinary moment of clarity and direction. But evaluate what you
hear, how it is said, and the purpose for which is it said.
Acts 17 -- to praise and paean the unknown
Sunday, July 26, 2009
An Australian bishop once lamented, "Wherever Paul went, they had a riot. Wherever I
go, they serve me tea and cookies!" The recipe for peace in one troubled town after
another was -- put Paul on a boat and send him somewhere else!
Act 17:14 Bunun üzerine kardeşler Pavlus'u hemen deniz kıyısına yolladılar. Silas ile
Timoteos ise Veriya'da kaldılar.
Act 17:15 Pavlus'la birlikte gidenler onu Atina'ya kadar götürdüler. Sonra Pavlus'tan,
Silas'la Timoteos'un bir an önce kendisine yetişmeleri yolunda buyruk alarak geri
döndüler.
Act 17:16 Onları Atina'da bekleyen Pavlus, kenti putlarla dolu görünce yüreğinde derin bir
acı duydu.
Paul shows up in the sophisticated metropolis at the heart of Greek culture, and
immediately starts making noise. He dialogues with the local philosophers in their own
forum, quotes their own poets and writers to them, and mentions an episode out of their
own history, the incident of "the unknown god." A few centuries earlier, a plague had
visited Greece. It continued despite sacrifices and prayers made to all the known idols. In
desperation, they called upon "none of the above," the God they did not know -- and their
prayers were answered.
Those who seek, will find. Perhaps, not in the place they anticipated[1], since the creative
God delights in surprising those He loves.
________________
[1] Old joke. A man is scouring the ground under a streetlight.
"What are you looking for?"
"My car keys."
"Where did you lose them?"
"Over there, under the hedge."
"Why are you looking for them here?"
"The light's better."
Al ve oku
159
Acts 18 -- and encoouraging word
In the most notoriously wicked city of Greece, Paul shows up in the synagogue and
begins to teach. When the Jews object, he takes his show next door, to the house of a
God-fearing non-Jew, and continues teaching. Unrest simmers beneath the surface, and
Paul has reason for nervousness. At this point, he receives an encouraging word:
Act 18:9 Bir gece Rab bir görümde Pavlus'a, "Korkma" dedi, "Konuş, susma!
Act 18:10 Ben seninle birlikteyim; hiç kimse sana dokunmayacak, kötülük yapmayacak.
Çünkü bu kentte benim halkım çoktur."
Act 18:11 Pavlus, orada bir buçuk yıl kaldı ve halka sürekli Tanrı'nın sözünü öğretti.
• Bir gece Rab bir görümde Pavlus'a, -- On a night / the Lord / an appearing / to Paul
• "Korkma" dedi, "Konuş, susma! -- "Do not be afraid," / he said, / Speak, / do not be
silent." To form the 2nd person singular imperative form of a Turkish verb, just use
the stem. Remove the mak/mek. To make a negative imperative, add ma/me.
• Ben seninle birlikteyim; -- I / with you / am remaining;
• hiç kimse sana dokunmayacak, kötülük yapmayacak. -- nobody / you / will not touch
/ evil / they will not do.
• Çünkü bu kentte benim halkım çoktur. -- Because / this / city-in / my / my people / are
many.
A great fear can only be displaced by a greater God, and a greater purpose.
Acts 19 -- but who are you?
During one of the most productive (and stressful) periods of Paul's ministry, he spent two
years in Efese. Day after day, he taught in the school of a guy named Tyrannus. An early
tradition says that he rented the room cheap, in the afternoon, during the heat of the day.
During this time, God worked many miracles. People tormented by evil spirits found
peace. The sick were healed. Idolators spurned their idols, and burned their books of
wicked enchantments.
Well, whenever someone enjoys apparent success, imitators can be counted on to show
up:
Act 19:13 Çevrede dolaşıp kötü ruhları kovmakla uğraşan bazı Yahudiler de kötü ruhlara
tutsak olanları Rab İsa'nın adını anarak kurtarmaya kalkıştılar. "Pavlus'un tanıttığı İsa'nın
adıyla size emrediyoruz!" diyorlardı.
Act 19:14 Bunu yapanlar arasında Skeva adlı bir Yahudi başkâhinin yedi oğlu da vardı.
Act 19:15 Kötü ruh ise onlara şöyle karşılık verdi: "İsa'yı biliyor, Pavlus'u da tanıyorum,
ama siz kimsiniz?"
Act 19:16 İçinde kötü ruh bulunan adam onlara saldırdı, hepsini alt ederek bozguna
uğrattı. Öyle ki, o evden çıplak ve yaralı olarak kaçtılar.
Act 19:17 Bu haber, Efes'te yaşayan bütün Yahudiler'le Grekler'e ulaştı. Hepsini bir korku
aldı ve Rab İsa'nın adı büyük bir saygınlık kazandı.
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This is one of the funniest narratives in the Bible. Let's look at a few words:
• Çevrede dolaşıp kötü ruhları kovmakla uğraşan bazı Yahudiler -- The King James
Version of the Bible compresses this phrase into three words: "Vagabond Jews,
exorcists."
Around / wandering / evil / spirits / driving / out / some / Jews
• Bunu yapanlar arasında Skeva adlı bir Yahudi başkâhinin yedi oğlu da vardı. -These / doing / around there / Skeva / named / a / Jew / a high priest / seven / sons /
there were.
• "Pavlus'un tanıttığı İsa'nın adıyla size emrediyoruz!" diyorlardı. -- Paul's / teachings /
about Jesus / in that name / you / we command! / they said.
• İsa'yı biliyor, Pavlus'u da tanıyorum, ama siz kimsiniz? -- Jesus / I know well / Paul /
also / I know / but / you / WHO ARE YOU?
Apparently, wandering wonder-workers were a fixture of the Roman empire. Like today's
televangelists, they freely copied one another. I am reminded of Simon the Sorcerer, in
Acts 8, who wanted a piece of the new action.
Jesus said that dominion over evil spirits demonstrated that God's Kingdom was present,
in force. As these seven lads learned, it's not a good idea to meddle with things you don't
understand.
Acts 20 -- a famous saying of Jesus
One of the most famous things Jesus said is not recorded in any of the gospels, but in
this chapter.
Act 20:34 Siz de bilirsiniz ki, bu eller hem benim, hem de benimle birlikte olanların
gereksinmelerini karşılamak için hizmet etmiştir.
Act 20:35 Yaptığım her işte sizlere, böyle emek vererek güçsüzlere yardım etmemiz ve
Rab İsa'nın, 'Vermek, almaktan daha büyük mutluluktur' diyen sözünü unutmamamız
gerektiğini gösterdim."
Paul is having one final conversation with the leaders of the church at Efese. He reminds
them of how much effort and passion he put into teaching their people, both publicly (in
the school of Tyrannus, for example) and house to house. He urges them to stay faithful.
And, he gives them a saying of Jesus as a motivating watchword:
• Vermek -- to give
• almaktan -- to receive than
• daha -- more
• büyük -- large
• mutluluktur -- a blessing is.
I was speaking the other day with a gentleman who spent 15 years in Indonesia,
ministering to the Dayak tribespeople -- a culture that had, until recently, been defined by
its practice of head hunting. He confessed frustration over how difficult is was for the
gospel to take root among these people. As long as a professional Christian was on site,
they found it reasonable to "get with the program." Remove the outside influence,
however, and the Dayaks soon drifted back to their indolent, pagan ways.
What must be done to permanently transform a culture? That's a question of piercing
concern to believers who live in an officially post-Christian nation, such as America.
Al ve oku
161
Unofficially, and informally, we are free to practice our faith. But powerful forces, who
wish to cast off all restraints, are at work to banish God from public life.
Ominous foreshadowing -- Acts 21
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
For much of his ministry, Paul had pressed ever further towards the west. Suddenly, at
the peak of his effectiveness, of his influence, Paul reverses course and heads back
towards Jerusalem. One hypothesis holds that a split was developing that was
undermining the heart of the gospel. Jewish Christians were sneering in disdain at their
brethren from other nations, while at the same time they were being ostracized by their
fellow Jewish Jews. Passionate nationalistic movements were picking up speed in Israel,
which would soon lead them into a disastrous confrontation with Rome. Would Jewish
Christians shackle their destinies to the fate of that national Israel which had crucified and
rejected Jesus Christ? Or to their fellow Christians of other cultures, other nations?
Or would they try to do both -- claim allegiance to Jesus, while coasting along with the
easy cultural disdain towards the rest of the world?
Into this mess comes Paul, with a tangible message. The Christians of other nations see
themselves as one body with the Jewish Christians -- and have undertaken a major fundraising effort to "put their money where their mouth is." Paul was bringing a large financial
contribution with him to Israel, for the relief of the poor Jewish Christians. And he is being
forewarned -- this good deed will not go unpunished. One prophet acted out a parable:
Act 21:10 Oraya varışımızdan birkaç gün sonra Yahudiye'den Hagavos adlı bir
peygamber geldi.
Act 21:11 Bu adam bize yaklaşıp Pavlus'un kuşağını aldı, bununla kendi ellerini
ayaklarını bağlayarak dedi ki, "Kutsal Ruh şöyle diyor: 'Yahudiler, bu kuşağın sahibini
Yeruşalim'de böyle bağlayıp öteki uluslara teslim edecekler.'"
Act 21:12 Bu sözleri duyunca hem bizler hem de oralılar Yeruşalim'e gitmemesi için
Pavlus'a yalvardık.
Act 21:13 Bunun üzerine Pavlus şöyle karşılık verdi: "Ne yapıyorsunuz, ne diye ağlayıp
yüreğimi sızlatıyorsunuz? Ben Rab İsa'nın adı uğruna Yeruşalim'de yalnız bağlanmaya
değil, ölmeye de hazırım."
Act 21:14 Pavlus'u ikna edemeyince, "Rab'bin istediği olsun" diyerek sustuk.
• Kutsal Ruh şöyle diyor: -- The Holy / Spirit / thus / says:
• Yahudiler, bu kuşağın sahibini Yeruşalim'de böyle bağlayıp -- The Jews, / this / belt /
the one who owns / in Jerusalem / thus / will tie up
• öteki uluslara teslim edecekler. -- other / nations / will surrender.
Well, as it turns out, this prophet got all the details wrong. The Jews did not tie Paul up
and hand him over to the Romans. Rather, they attempted to kill him on the street -- and
the Romans saved his life from the mob. Still, he did indeed end up in Roman custody.
It's interesting to note how this gift was received in Jerusalem. The leaders gave token
appreciation, but then went on to what was really on their minds: the need to kowtow to
Jewish public opinion. Paul was invited to subsidize a costly Jewish ritual. It was while
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following this advice that he found himself in harm's way.
Same old, same old (Acts 22)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
We have a Welsh Corgi, a funny little short-legged working dog, bred to herd cattle
hundreds of times heavier than it is. To make the breed suitable for use as pets, the
breeders had to "dial back" on the herding instinct. It's still there, though. Pippin interprets
a handful of trigger words -- "Okay, now ..." or "Get ready..." or "Come on!" to indicate
that we are about to move from point A to activity B. This flips a switch in his canine brain,
transforming us from "pack," the group he belongs to, to "herd," the group he must boss
around. Bark, Bark, Bark, with passionate urgency!
Paul, on the public stairs, briefly addresses the Jewish audience in Hebrew. He is
attempting to explain to the people the experiences that brought him to this point -- his
encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, etc. It's a good story, and they listen
which interest. Until he pronounces certain "trigger words" that unleash frothing madness,
desperate and unreasoning hatred.
Act 22:17, 18 "Ben Yeruşalim'e döndükten sonra, tapınakta dua ettiğim bir sırada,
kendimden geçerek Rab'bi gördüm. Bana, 'Çabuk ol' dedi, 'Yeruşalim'den hemen ayrıl.
Çünkü benimle ilgili tanıklığını kabul etmeyecekler.' Act 22:19 "'Ya Rab' dedim, 'Benim
havradan havraya giderek sana inananları tutuklayıp dövdüğümü biliyorlar. Act 22:20
Üstelik sana tanıklık eden İstefanos'un kanı döküldüğü zaman, ben de oradaydım. Onu
öldürenlerin kaftanlarına bekçilik ederek yapılanları onayladım.' Act 22:21 "Rab bana, 'Git'
dedi, 'Seni uzaktaki uluslara göndereceğim.'" Act 22:22 Pavlus'u buraya kadar
dinleyenler, bu söz üzerine, "Böylesini yeryüzünden temizlemeli, yaşaması uygun değil!"
diye seslerini yükselttiler.
Paul recounts another vision he had of the risen Jesus. What did the Lord have to tell
him? And what did the crowd then say?
• 'Çabuk ol' dedi, 'Yeruşalim'den hemen ayrıl. Çünkü benimle ilgili tanıklığını kabul
etmeyecekler.' -- 'Hasty / be ' / he said, / From Jerusalem / now / flee. / Because /
my, mine, the 'with me' / concerning / your testimony / welcome / they will not make.
• 'Git' dedi, 'Seni uzaktaki uluslara göndereceğim.' -- 'Go' / he said, / 'You / remote / to
nations / I will send,'
• Böylesini yeryüzünden temizlemeli, yaşaması uygun değil! -- This kind of person /
from the face of the earth / it is necessary to cleanse, / to live / further / he must not!
How do we explain the seething hatred the Jewish people had towards other nations?
Their screaming demand that Paul, who treated folks of other nations as human beings
worthy of God's care, should be killed? Good question. At the time, Israel was a colony of
Rome, and maybe people really hate being used for the prestige and economic interest
of foreign powers. Did anyone ask the people of Iraq if they wanted to be "liberated?"
I have to ask myself, however. Have mental triggers been embedded in my brain, waiting
to be tripped by certain code words and symbols? What kind of reflexive allegiances and
hatreds seeth and simmer below the surface? How much power do I have over my own
attitudes and behavior? How can I increase that power, so as to not become the tool of
agents, or agencies, that do not have the good of humanity at heart?
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A repentant US Marine had harsh things to say about his own conditioning, that turned
him into a tool of corporate interests, a "gangster for Wall Street" on three continents.
Curses! (Acts 23)
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Sometimes, a religious community is a closed system, that defines itself entirely in terms
of itself. The guy who coined the term "cognitive dissonance" (Leon Festinger) also wrote
a book, When Prophecy Fails, about the power of cultic thinking. He studied a small
religious group that predicted the exact date that the world would end -- but it didn't.
Strangely enough, their commitment to the group, as measured by their zeal in making
new recruits, intensified.
Sometimes, when a zealous community has impermeable barriers between itself and the
world at large, pressure builds up as the disconnect between the group and reality
becomes ever harder to deny. In extreme cases, a single pin-prick can cause the who
system to explode. 900 people killed themselves and their children at Jonestown, for
example, when their community became unsustainable. Since then, "drinking the koolade" has become an American metaphor for dutifully doing something that is incredibly
harmful. American newspapers, for example, mostly function as wholly-owned
subsidiaries of the Democrat party. When a new proclamation comes from their Vatican
about the wonders that socialism will bring to another area of public life, these unpaid
propagandists for the salvific State dutifully check in their common sense, and their
common decency, to write as commanded. The "drink the purple kool-ade," and wonder
why their newspapers keep losing money and readers, year after year.
Quite often, before a community disintegrates, it looks for scapegoats, people it can
"Freeze. Target. Personalize."[1] The hatred heaped up upon the head of the perceived
troublemaker can cross the border into insanity.
Act 23:11 O gece Rab Pavlus'a görünüp, "Cesur ol" dedi, "Yeruşalim'de benimle ilgili
nasıl tanıklık ettinse, Roma'da da öyle tanıklık etmen gerekir."
Act 23:12 Ertesi sabah Yahudiler aralarında gizli bir anlaşma yaptılar. "Pavlus'u
öldürmeden bir şey yiyip içersek, bize lanet olsun!" diye ant içtiler.
• O gece Rab Pavlus'a görünüp -- That / night / the Lord / to Paul / appeared.
• "Cesur ol" dedi, "Yeruşalim'de benimle ilgili nasıl tanıklık ettinse, Roma'da da öyle
tanıklık etmen gerekir." -- Courageous / be / He said, /In Jerusalem / with me /
concerning / testimony / gave, /at Rome / also / thus / testimony / to give / you will
go.
• Ertesi sabah Yahudiler aralarında gizli bir anlaşma yaptılar -- The next / morning /
Jews / among the / secret / a / plot / made.
• "Pavlus'u öldürmeden bir şey yiyip içersek, -- Paul / unless he be killed / any / thing /
if we eat / or if we drink (OK, so you've figured out that the locomotive of a Turkish
verb can grow a very long train of suffixes. Well, just to make life easier, if you are
using a series of verbs with parallel construction, just add -ip to the root of all but the
last of them.)
• bize lanet olsun!" diye ant içtiler. -- upon us / a curse / let be!" / they said / an oath /
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they took.
Folks, I rather doubt that it's a good idea to pronounce a curse against oneself. Think,
however, of the seething, implacable, hatred these people felt towards the guy who
threatened to puncture their over-inflated, sealed, system.
____________________
[1] This is from Sol Olinsky's Rules for Radicals. Rather than dealing with ideas, ruin the
people who advocate ideas you disagree with. See Whitaker Chambers' incredible book
Witness for a detailed account of how that process works.
The unhappy Felix (Acts 24)
I've gotten terribly behind on this project, so will try to play catchup for a while. Maybe on
my next trek through, I'll be able to do this chapter more justice.
Paul is now in the custody of the occupying power, in the person of Felix, governor of the
province. The chapter begins when the rulers of Israel "lawyer-up." They show up at the
governor's palace, legal talent in tow, to demand that the person (and life) of Paul be
handed over to them. Paul uses the trial as an opportunity to challenge the governor with
the claims of the Gospel. A new King is on the scene, reigning from heaven, and
ultimately judging all mankind in the life to come. This makes Felix nervous:
Act 24:25 Pavlus doğruluk, özdenetim ve gelecek olan yargı gününden söz edince Feliks
korkuya kapıldı. "Şimdilik gidebilirsin" dedi, "Fırsat bulunca seni yine çağırtırım."
Act 24:26 Bir yandan da Pavlus'un kendisine rüşvet vereceğini umuyordu. Bu nedenle
onu sık sık çağırtır, onunla sohbet ederdi.
Act 24:27 İki yıl dolunca görevini Porkius Festus'a devreden Feliks, Yahudiler'in gönlünü
kazanmak amacıyla Pavlus'u hapiste bıraktı.
Let's look at the troubling words:
• doğruluk -- righteousness. doğru is a wonderful word with a wide range of
wholesome connotations, including straight, correct, true. The -luk converts this
adjective into a noun -- that which demonstrates or embodies the property of the
preceedeing word.
• özdenetim -- lovely compound word, meaning self-mastery. Self-control.
• ve -- and
• gelecek -- the future, the coming
• olan -- that is
• yargı -- of judgment
• gününden -- the day
Felix sees right away that the Jews really don't have a case. However, like so many civil
"servants," he is a venal and corrupt little man. Paul apparently is a man of substance,
with wealthy friends, so maybe a bribe might make the problems go away? In the end, to
avoid stirring up the natives, Felix does nothing. Paul stays imprisoned.
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The odd couple (Acts 25)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Well, Festus comes to power, replacing Felix, and has a bright idea. Why not hear Paul's
case -- in Jerusalem? Please everybody -- Paul gets his Roman justice, in the heart of
the Jewish nation! Paul asserts, in no uncertain terms, that the suit is groundless:
Act 25:8 Pavlus, "Ne Yahudiler'in yasasına, ne tapınağa, ne de Sezar'a* karşı hiçbir
günah işlemedim" diyerek kendini savundu.
English frowns on multiple negatives. Turkish relishes them. "Not Jewish customs, not
the temple, nor even Caesar / contrary to / not one thing / evil / I have not done."
Festus has a bee in his bonnet, though, a fixed idea. In desperation, Paul "appeals to
Caesar." A trip to Jerusalem would be a one-way ticket for him. After several years, he's
learned that there's not much hope of getting justice from these provincial magnates.
After this turning point, Paul is invited to present his case once again, before Jewish
puppet rulers Agrippa and Bernice. History calls her "Berenice of Cilicia," so we see the
Turkish connection again. Luke is a meticulous historian, and tactful. For the interesting
details, we need to visit Agrippa's friend, the Jewish turncoat / Roman officer / historian
Josephus. Bernice, you see, "got around." After several failed marriages, she moved in
with her brother, Agrippa -- who never married. Although Bernice later lived as a
common-law wife with Titus, the destroyer of Israel, people then, and today, suspect that
something incestuous was going on.
True safety (Acts 27)
We are reading a novel of the American War Between the States, The Long Roll. The
primary historical character whom the fictional characters orbit around is General Thomas
"Stonewall" Jackson. Old Stonewall displayed total calm in the midst of the hazards of the
battlefield. As a Calvinist Christian, he believed that his days were numbered by the
Almighty. Until his tasks were finished, he was immortal.
This is something Christians and Muslims can agree on. However, it takes exceptional
faith to continue asserting this in the midst of obvious peril. Consider today's inspirational
nugget:
Act 27:21 Adamlar uzun zaman yemek yiyemeyince Pavlus ortaya çıkıp şöyle dedi:
"Efendiler, beni dinleyip Girit'ten ayrılmamanız, bu zarar ve ziyana uğramamanız
gerekirdi.
Act 27:22 Şimdi size öğüdüm şu: Cesur olun! Gemi mahvolacak, ama aranızda hiçbir can
kaybı olmayacak.
Act 27:23, 34 Çünkü kendisine ait olduğum, kendisine kulluk ettiğim Tanrı'nın bir meleği
bu gece yanıma gelip dedi ki, 'Korkma Pavlus, Sezar'ın önüne çıkman gerekiyor. Dahası
Tanrı, seninle birlikte yolculuk edenlerin hepsini sana bağışlamıştır.'
Act 27:25 Bunun için efendiler, cesur olun! Tanrı'ya inanıyorum ki, her şey tıpkı bana
bildirildiği gibi olacak.
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Act 27:26 Ancak bir adada karaya oturmamız gerekiyor."
Cheer up, Paul, the angel said. You need to stand in front of Caesar. And as a bonus,
God will throw in the lives of all those who are traveling with you.
Remembering the big picture, the assignments that I sense yet need to be completed in
my life, provides a frame of reference that keeps immediate, and urgent, anxieties in
perspective.
Own hired house (Acts 28)
We now reach the last chapter of this amazing book. Some scholars believe that this,
plus Luke's Gospel, were composed as legal briefs, to provide background information for
the Roman magistrate who was hearing Paul's case.
In 1970, a friend opened the Bible at random, asking its Author to provide an encouraging
word. The "word" that emerged did indeed encourage:
Act 28:30 Pavlus tam iki yıl kendi kiraladığı evde kaldı ve ziyaretine gelen herkesi kabul
etti.
Act 28:31 Hiçbir engelle karşılaşmadan Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ni tam bir cesaretle
duyuruyor, Rab İsa Mesih'le ilgili gerçekleri öğretiyordu.
Paul dwelt tam iki yıl (a whole two years) in his own hired house. People could visit him
there, and he could preach, in the heart of Caesar's Rome, the good news of another
King.
In 1992, I read that passage again, in Greek, in Vinnitsa, Ukraine -- a shabby land filled
with lovely people. I'd love to go back there again someday, perhaps as a teacher, and
talk with people who are intrigued by the King.
Oh, well. Some people have natural charisma, an innate ability to attract and hold
attention. My son had more at six months of age than I do today. Others of us have to
work harder, and make do with credibility, and the external trappings that indicate it. Paul
had both -- and even as a prisoner under house arrest, wrote letters, received visitors,
and shaped history.
Herding cats (I Cor. 1)
I had the pleasure of listening to an erudite Egyptian imam preach. He spoke on the need
for his people to stand up for one another, protect one another, defend one another. His
English was accent-free, and when he sang excerpts from the Koran, his voice
resonated. From time to time, he mentioned fitna -- and whatever it was, fitna was
something bad, something to avoid. I got the impression he meant strife, conflict,
disagreement, schism. When I looked up the term later, I learned that fitna has a
technical, specific, meaning as well. Fitna refers to the violent disagreements over
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167
succession that happened in the generation after Mohammed's death. When the dust
settled, Sunni Muslims followed leaders who'd been selected by due process. The
Shi'ites followed leaders who had some form of physical descent from the prophet,
through his son-in-law Ali.
The Church today, as always, includes human beings who share both a variety of roots,
and a single transcendent reality that brings us together. In his first letter to the
Corinthians, Paul addresses a rather disagreeable batch of folks with a lot of problems.
First and foremost, fitna. Let's open a window on a past that is still with us:
1Co 1:12 Şunu demek istiyorum: Her biriniz, "Ben Pavlus yanlısıyım", "Ben Apollos
yanlısıyım", "Ben Kefas yanlısıyım" ya da "Ben Mesih yanlısıyım" diyormuş.
1Co 1:13 Mesih bölündü mü? Sizin için çarmıha gerilen Pavlus muydu? Pavlus'un adıyla
mı vaftiz edildiniz?
Let's look at one word, yanlısıyım. Yan- is a word that, like "gruntled," never stands alone.
It indicates something to do with the side. -lı- indicates pertaining to the side. The -sı- is
the 3rd person singular possessive. -ıyım is the first person singular, to be. Everyone is
saying, "Me, on Paul's side, I am." And so on.
Some folks claim allegiance to the blended culture Paul represents, a Jewish man with
Roman citizenship who is at home in the hellenistic world. Others like Apollos, an erudite
Greek guy who bears the name of a Greek deity. Kefas, of course, is the Aramaic name
of the man more commonly known as Peter. Some of those Paul is writing to took great
pride in their hebraic roots. And then, there were the snobs who claim to be above all
cultures, and only belong to Jesus.
And, as Paul explains, the Christian message has something to offend everyone:
1Co 1:22 Yahudiler doğaüstü belirtiler ister, Grekler'se bilgelik arar.
1Co 1:23 Ama biz çarmıha gerilmiş Mesih'i duyuruyoruz. Yahudiler bunu yüzkarası, öteki
uluslar da saçmalık sayarlar.
1Co 1:24 Oysa Mesih, çağrılmış olanlar için -ister Yahudi ister Grek olsun- Tanrı'nın gücü
ve Tanrı'nın bilgeliğidir.
Let's take apart one more word:
• doğa -- nature
• doğal -- natural
• doğaüstü -- surpassing nature; supernatural
• doğaötesi -- metaphysical
The Greek elites prided themselves on their rationality, their ability to "see through" the
myths and legends. The Hebrews still had a magical world view, a sense that life was
surrounded by mystery, and subject to intrusions from the realm of the supernatural. The
Gospel, though, preaches something discerned only by faith -- the paradox that a brutally
murdered rabbi is God's best gift to the world, the gift that opens the door to the universe.
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I've got a secret ! (I Cor. 2)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
By the way -- "herding cats" is an American idiom for managing a group of difficult
people.
Let's talk about the "Nine-dot syndrome." You've probably seen it in psychology
textbooks. Draw four straight lines that connect nine dots:
***
***
***
It can be done, but only if you extend the lines beyond the confines of the box. "Think
outside the box." Shift your perspective, have a paradigm shift. Now, let's consider the
ultimate paradigm shift. Suppose you could see your situation from God's point of view?
1Co 2:9 Yazılmış olduğu gibi, "Tanrı'nın kendisini sevenler için hazırladıklarını Hiçbir göz
görmedi, Hiçbir kulak duymadı, Hiçbir insan yüreği kavramadı."
1Co 2:10 Oysa Tanrı Ruh aracılığıyla bunları bize açıkladı. Çünkü Ruh her şeyi, Tanrı'nın
derin düşüncelerini bile araştırır.
1Co 2:11 İnsanın düşüncelerini, insanın içindeki ruhundan başka kim bilebilir? Bunun
gibi, Tanrı'nın düşüncelerini de Tanrı'nın Ruhu'ndan başkası bilemez.
1Co 2:12 Tanrı'nın bize lütfettiklerini bilelim diye, bu dünyanın ruhunu değil, Tanrı'dan
gelen Ruh'u aldık.
First of all, you can expect to be surprised, time after time. Written was just as, those
things which God has prepared for those who love Him, nobody's eyes have never seen,
nobody's ears have never heard, nobody's human understanding has ever grasped.
But God's Spirit has opened them up to us.
We know what to expect, ultimately, because God has made know to us His good
character. On the other hand, we do not know exactly how God will reveal His answers to
our prayers, since He is God and we are not. The Creator of the universe is not a cin who
does our bidding. Prayer is not a matter of placing orders with the Almighty, since we're
supposed to be taking orders from Him, not giving them. However, when we do pray (dua
etmek), we tell God about the things we need to have to complete our assignments.
Then, we expect delightful surprises.
Every day can be Christmas.
Division of labor ( I Cor. 3)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Or maybe I should entitle this post with Henry Kissinger's famous quip, "Power is an
aphrodisiac!"
You can achieve amazing things with human charisma. "Big ideas" have a power of their
own. When articulated by persuasive and attractive spokesmen, these ideas can reshape
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the destinies for large numbers of people. Hitler seduced a nation that wanted easy
answers. Marx and Lenin articulated a vision of a cosmic struggle that inspired people to
go to their deaths. Kemal Atatürk redefined a nation -- and more than eight decades after
his death, that nation pauses to remember the day, hour and minute of that passing.
Preachers need charisma. Each has his own approach, his own style. For example, we
know that Paul attracted devoted followers from all sectors of society. Apollos was a
riveting public speaker, fluent with the rhetorical skills. The church at Corinth tended to
"choose up sides," and energetically champion one or the other. Paul's remarks bring a
note of transcendence to the squabble:
1Co 3:4 Biriniz, "Ben Pavlus yanlısıyım", ötekiniz, "Ben Apollos yanlısıyım" diyorsa, öbür
insanlardan ne farkınız kalır?
1Co 3:5 Apollos kim, Pavlus kim? İman etmenize aracı olmuş hizmetkârlardır. Rab her
birimize bir görev vermiştir.
1Co 3:6 Tohumu ben ektim, Apollos suladı. Ama Tanrı büyüttü.
1Co 3:7 Önemli olan, eken ya da sulayan değil, ekileni büyüten Tanrı'dır.
1Co 3:8 Ekenle sulayanın değeri birdir. Her biri kendi emeğinin karşılığını alacaktır.
1Co 3:9 Biz Tanrı'nın emektaşlarıyız. Sizler de Tanrı'nın tarlası, Tanrı'nın binasısınız.
Paul presents himself and Apollos as men with complementary callings. But it is God who
makes things happen.
Word up:
• Tohumu ben ektim, -- Seed I sowed,
• Apollos suladı. -- Apollos watered.
• Ama Tanrı büyüttü. -- But God made it get big.
Already? / Uncanny valleys ( I Cor. 4 )
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," an old English proverb asserts. The term
"sophomore" derives from two Greek words, sophos + moros, and means, literally, "wise
fool." The adjective "sophomoric" applies to arguments that seem to have a superficial
plausibility, but no depth.
The Corinthians "knew just enough to be dangerous." (another useful idiom!) And it was
Paul's unenviable task to give them a "reality check."
1Co 4:8 Zaten tok ve zenginsiniz! Biz olmadan krallar olmuşsunuz! Keşke gerçekten
krallar olsaydınız da, biz de sizinle birlikte krallık etseydik!
1Co 4:9 Kanımca Tanrı biz elçileri, en geriden gelen ölüm hükümlüleri gibi gözler önüne
serdi. Hem melekler hem insanlar için, bütün evren için seyirlik oyun olduk.
1Co 4:10 Biz Mesih uğruna akılsızız, ama siz Mesih'te akıllısınız! Biz zayıfız, siz
güçlüsünüz! Siz saygıdeğer kişilersiniz, bizse değersiziz!
• akılsızız -- We are foolish. akıl -- mind, intellect, understanding. -sız- -- minus,
without. -ız -- we are.
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• akıllısınız -- You are wise. akıl -- mind, intellect, understanding. -lı- -- with. -sınız -you are.
The "uncanny valley" is something you encounter in animation, or linguistics. Imagine an
animated cartoon character. As the techniques of animation become more sophisticated,
it is possible to make the character look more and more realistic. This is fine, up to a
point. Then, you reach the "uncanny valley," when the cartoon is more realistic than it has
any right to be, but not yet convincing as a substitute for a real actor. Something in us
finds that disturbing. When you begin studying a new language, native speakers will
humor you, and overlook your many faux pas -- until you reach the uncanny valley. Then,
when you sound better than any foreigner has a right to, but still make verbal blunders,
those are much less forgivable.
The Corinthians knew a little about the gospel, and thought they knew it all. This is a
common error for newcomers to faith -- "Hey, I know the God of the Universe! What can
you offer me to top that?" Well, life is complicated, messy, and challenging on every front.
A mature faith is more demure in some ways, less willing to apply nostrums and cliches
to real-world dilemmas, and more likely to offer real insights to human problems. The
Corinthians had not gotten there, at this point. In fact, they hadn't even made it to the
uncanny valley.
Who's for dinner? (I Cor. 5)
This chapter develops a theme we'll read discussed at greater length in the next -- we
should treat believers and unbelievers differently. Strangely enough, we should be MORE
hospitable to those who do not share our faith!
1Co 5:10 Kuşkusuz dünyadaki ahlaksızları, açgözlüleri, soyguncuları ya da putperestleri
demek istemedim. Öyle olsaydı, dünyadan ayrılmak zorunda kalırdınız!
1Co 5:11 Ama şimdi size şunu yazıyorum: Kardeş diye bilinirken fuhuş yapan, açgözlü,
putperest, sövücü, ayyaş ya da soyguncu olanla arkadaşlık etmeyin, böyle biriyle yemek
bile yemeyin.
1Co 5:12 İnanlılar topluluğunun dışındakileri yargılamaya benim ne hakkım var? Sizin de
yargılamanız gereken kişiler topluluğun içindekiler değil mi?
A few words to look at:
• Kuşkusuz -- undoubtedly. Certainly. (Kuşku -- doubt, + suz, without)
• Kardeş -- brother
• açgözlü -- Jealous. Envious.
• putperest -- Idolater.
US Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas is an erudite man who prefers to express
his opinions in writing. His gullah accent marks him as a child of the poor, black, South
Carolina barrier islands. The gullah translation of the word envious is -- "da big eye." The
Turkish word açgözlü combines aç- (open) + göz (eye) + lü (with). A frequent element of
Turkish folk art is the bavul, a lovely ceramic charm against "the evil eye." Ayn Rand
described an element of American culture as "the age of envy" -- the hatred of the
beautiful for being beautiful, the hatred of the successful for being successful, of the rich
for being rich. Unleashed envy, a beloved mentor wrote, does to a society what an
earthquake does to a city. The industrial revolution of the West came only after a
thousand years of preaching against the sin that made capital formation impossible,
envy.
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When we fear our neighbor's envy, we achieve less. Africans with rich crops will sneak
into their fields at night and destroy part of the produce, rather than risk being envied, and
put to death for being a witch. They "enjoy" subsistance during good times, famine during
bad. Some Native American tribes had periodic "potlatches," ceremonies wherein the
richest members would publically destroy most of their wealth. American small
businessmen who are hearing themselves described as "the evil rich" are beginning to
talk about "going Galt." Retrenching. Laying people off. Delaying efforts to expand their
businesses, since the folks in power are promising confiscatory levels of taxation if they
dare cross a certain threshold.
Well, envy is just one of many sins that we simply have to tolerate in our neighbors -unless that neighbor professes to share our faith. It's a sin we dare not tolerate in
ourselves, or in our fellow believers.
An American writer scathingly and hilariously mocked the socialist impulse in his book
Eat the Rich.
Dispute resolution (I Cor. 6)
As he answered the questions asked by the Corinthians, Paul came to the issue of
lawsuits. Like contemporary America, the Roman Empire was a glory day for lawyers.
Cases tended to drag on for ridiculous lengths -- there are some lawsuits that lasted
more than 70 years. Jesus had little faith in the criminal justice system. If someone sues
you to take away your shirt, He said, throw in your coat as well, settle out of court, take a
small loss now rather than tie up your days making lawyers richer. Let's take a look at
Paul's comments:
1Co 6:1 Sizden birinin öbürüne karşı bir davası varsa kutsallar önünde değil de,
imansızlar önünde yargılanmaya cesaret eder mi?
1Co 6:2 Kutsalların dünyayı yargılayacağını bilmiyor musunuz? Madem dünyayı
yargılayacaksınız, böyle önemsiz davaları görmeye yeterli değil misiniz?
1Co 6:3 Bu yaşamla ilgili davalar bir yana, melekleri bile yargılayacağımızı bilmiyor
musunuz?
1Co 6:4 Bu yaşamla ilgili davalarınız olduğunda, inanlılar topluluğunda en önemsiz
sayılanları mı yargıç atıyorsunuz?
1Co 6:5 Sizi utandırmak için söylüyorum bunu. Kardeşler arasındaki davalarda yargıçlık
edecek kadar bilge biri yok mu aranızda?
1Co 6:6 Kardeş kardeşe karşı dava açıyor, üstelik imansızlar önünde!
1Co 6:7 Aslında birbirinizden davacı olmanız bile sizin için düpedüz yenilgidir. Haksızlığa
uğrasanız daha iyi olmaz mı? Dolandırılsanız daha iyi olmaz mı?
1Co 6:8 Bunun yerine, siz kendiniz haksızlık edip başkasını dolandırıyorsunuz. Üstelik
bunu kardeşlerinize yapıyorsunuz.
• Sizi utandırmak için söylüyorum bunu. -- To you / to shame / in order to / I am saying
/ this.
• Kardeş kardeşe karşı dava açıyor, üstelik imansızlar önünde! -- Brother / at brother /
against / lawsuit / opens, / and even to the extreme / unbelievers / before!
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Is there no one among the brothers who is wise enough to help you reach a resolution?
As this advice percolated through the Christian community, they did indeed set up their
own internal legal system, a Christian sharia, a millet that managed its own affairs. It got
to the point that even pagans asked Christian mediators for dispute resolution, since
these leaders were famed for their incorruptibility, their honesty, and their common
sense. When the first Christian emperor came to the throne, the legal system was in a
mess. Constantine the Great summoned the Christian priests, and begged a favor of
them. He asked them to put on the uniform of a Roman magistrate, and to resolve
disputes on the spot, when accosted on the street. Today, more than 1,500 years later,
when a Roman Catholic priest puts on his ceremonial vestments, that's the uniform he's
wearing. It's a reminder that, once upon a time, we did something important, and did it
right.
Hunker down and sit tight ... (I Cor. 7)
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Speaking both as an astute cosmopolitan observer who traveled through much of the
Roman empire, and as an inspired prophet of God, Paul had some advice for his readers.
He could see that both the Roman and Jewish worlds were self-destructing, and on a
collision course with each other. Social unrest was about to erupt on an unprecedented
scale. This is, he told his contemporaries, a very good time to brace yourself, protect
what you have, an not make dramatic career moves.
1Co 7:20 Herkes ne durumda çağrıldıysa, o durumda kalsın.
1Co 7:21 Köleyken mi çağrıldın, üzülme. Ama özgür olabilirsen, fırsatı kaçırma!
1Co 7:22 Çünkü Rab'bin çağrısını aldığı zaman köle olan kimse, şimdi Rab'bin
özgürüdür. Özgürken çağrılan kişi de Mesih'in kölesidir.
1Co 7:23 Bir bedel karşılığı satın alındınız, insanlara köle olmayın.
1Co 7:24 Kardeşler, herkes ne durumda çağrıldıysa, Tanrı önünde o durumda kalsın.
• üzmek -- trouble, bother, sadden, worry
• üzülmek -- to regret, be sorry, be worried
• üzülme -- do NOT regret, be sorry, or worry! (2nd person imperative)
• özgür -- free. A popular male name in Turkey.
• köle -- slave
• durum -- condition, state
• durumda -- in the condition, state
There are times when it is wise to aggressively seek to improve your status. Then, there
are times to mark time, refuse to worry, and save your resources for a better opportunity.
In the current American political climate, for example, many small businessmen are
"going Galt." They are curbing growth plans, perhaps even laying off people, and
carefully keeping their incomes under the level that trips confiscatory taxation.
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I only read it for the articles (I Cor. 8)
As you roamed the streets of Corinth in Paul's day, from time to time the fragrance of
sizzling meat would entice your nostrils. You would follow your nose, and find fresh
barbecue, at a subsidized price. Pagan worshipers would offer up various beasts to their
pet deities. The temple would then sell the meat to all comers. Hey, "The earth is the
LORD'S, and the fullness thereof!" All good things come from God -- and that steak looks
great! But ...
1Co 8:8 Yiyecek bizi Tanrı'ya yaklaştırmaz. Yemezsek bir kaybımız olmaz, yersek de bir
kazancımız olmaz.
1Co 8:9 Yalnız dikkat edin, bu özgürlüğünüz vicdanı zayıf olanların sürçmesine neden
olmasın.
1Co 8:10 Eğer zayıf vicdanlı biri, bilgili olan seni bir put tapınağında sofraya oturmuş
görürse, puta sunulan kurbanın etini yemek için cesaret almaz mı?
Suppose a neighbor who is considering the gospel sees you chowing down at the idol's
table? In that case, "this your freedom" (bu özgürlüğünüz) sends the wrong message.
Hey, maybe there ARE multiple channels to transcendence!
I would rather have dandruff than use a certain efficacious cure I read about many years
ago. The cure was recommended by Edgar Cayce, a demoniac of frightening powers
who led many unsuspecting souls to perdition. An itchy scalp is preferable to doing
anything in any way to that tool of my ultimate enemy, Satan.
From the heart (I Cor. 9)
What do you find rewarding? In the movie Chariots of Fire, the protagonist tells his sister,
"Yes, God made me for China. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His
approval."
The amazing book What Color is Your Parachute? asserts that each of us is lovingly and
carefully designed to fulfill a specific assignment. When we function in accord with our
construction, we experience joy, fruitfulness, and productivity. Apparently, just doing
one's special task, exercising one's special talent, is its own reward. Let's see how Paul
described his motivation:
1Co 9:16 Müjde'yi yayıyorum diye övünmeye hakkım yok. Çünkü bunu yapmakla
yükümlüyüm. Müjde'yi yaymazsam vay halime!
1Co 9:17 Eğer Müjde'yi gönülden yayarsam, ödülüm olur; gönülsüzce yayarsam, yalnızca
bana emanet edilen görevi yapmış olurum.
1Co 9:18 Peki, ödülüm nedir? Müjde'yi karşılıksız yaymak ve böylece Müjde'yi yaymaktan
doğan hakkımı kullanmamaktır.
• Müjde -- the Gospel
• yaymak -- to disperse, distribute, spread around
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• yaymazsam -- "if I do not spread around" -- 1st person subjunctive mood, present
tense
• gönülden -- from the heart
• gönülsüzce -- without putting one's heart into something
• ödülüm -- reward
We will end up, sooner or later, doing what we were meant to do. It makes sense to get
with the program as soon as possible, if one desires to get the most out of life.
I went to the garden party (I Cor. 10)
As I drove from a father/son camp out with my 10 year old son, we discussed the social
dynamics of the drug trade. Don't expect pushers to be unshaven old guys hanging
playgrounds, I explained to him. If you are offered an illegal drug, it will be a trusted
friend, who thinks he'd doing you a favor.
"Yes!" Greg replied. "It's like when an unbeliever invites you to a party, then tells you that
the meat was offered to idols!"
That's my boy! He got the point, and used scripture to extend it. And here's the verse:
1Co 10:27 İman etmemiş biri sizi yemeğe çağırır, siz de gitmek isterseniz, önünüze
konulan her şeyi vicdan sorunu yapmadan, sorgusuz sualsiz yiyin.
1Co 10:28 Ama biri size, "Bu kurban etidir" derse, hem bunu söyleyen için, hem de
vicdan huzuru için yemeyin.
And, a few words:
• İman -- faith, belief
• etmemiş -- not doing
• biri -- one
• sizi -- you
• yemeğe -- to eat
• çağırır -- calls, invites
• siz de -- and you
• gitmek -- to go
• isterseniz -- you should want ...
The Amish have the notion that leading a pure, chaste, and holy Christian life requires
them to withdraw completely from the world.[1] In this little case study, however, we see
normal social interactions going on between believers and unbelievers. You friend invites
you to a party. So go!
Just be alert! The world needs more lerts!
________________
[1] OK, so our family enjoys Weird Al Yankovic. You may also enjoy this satirical Amish
Paradise video.
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Table manners (I Cor. 11)
Modern businessmen hold meetings. Ancient potentates had feasts. By sitting at the
King's table, putting on the King's robes, and eating the King's food, the guests were
symbolically incorporated into, and became extensions of, the King's body. These guests
then went forth to represent His reign throughout the realm.
Manners are matters of life and death at high-stake dinners. In the Byzantine court, if a
servant dropped a dish, he'd be executed for breaking the mood, spoiling the decorum.
Now, imagine the shocking impropriety of profaning the Heavenly King's gracious feast.
1Co 11:20 Toplandığınızda Rab'bin Sofrası'na katılmak için toplanmıyorsunuz.
1Co 11:21 Her biriniz ötekini beklemeden kendi yemeğini yiyor. Kimi aç kalıyor, kimi
sarhoş oluyor.
1Co 11:22 Yiyip içmek için evleriniz yok mu? Tanrı'nın topluluğunu hor mu görüyorsunuz,
yiyeceği olmayanları utandırmak mı istiyorsunuz? Size ne diyeyim? Sizi öveyim mi? Bu
konuda övemem!
• Yiyip -- To eat. Turkish can load a great deal of information into a single verb. Well,
just to make life easier if you have several verbs in the same sentence, you only
need to give the full treatment to one of them. Just tack a -ip onto the stem of the
other verbs, to indicate that it represents the same person, tense, number, mood,
etc.
• içmek -- To drink.
• için -- In order to.
• evleriniz -- your houses
• yok mu? -- are there not?
Singing sweet harmony with Adam Smith (I Cor.
12)
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Adam Smith preached the virtues of the "division of labor." As people become more
specialized, they become more efficient. Their productivity goes up, and everyone's
available wealth increases. Karl Marx objected that, as a worker's share of the end
product shrinks, he becomes progressively more "alienated" from it. A man should, Marx
suggested, be able to go fishing in the morning, gardening around noonday, and maybe
perform brain surgery after dinner, in each case doing the complete task by himself.
In this chapter, Paul uses the human body as a metaphor for corporate life:
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1Co 12:13 İster Yahudi ister Grek, ister köle ister özgür olalım, hepimiz bir beden olmak
üzere aynı Ruh'ta vaftiz edildik ve hepimizin aynı Ruh'tan içmesi sağlandı.
1Co 12:14 İşte beden tek üyeden değil, birçok üyeden oluşur.
1Co 12:15 Ayak, "El olmadığım için bedene ait değilim" derse, bu onu bedenden ayırmaz.
1Co 12:16 Kulak, "Göz olmadığım için bedene ait değilim" derse, bu onu bedenden
ayırmaz.
1Co 12:17 Bütün beden göz olsaydı, nasıl duyardık? Bütün beden kulak olsaydı, nasıl
koklardık?
One body, many parts. Differences are not contradictions, but reasons for cooperation.
Polyphony is one of the glories of Western civilization -- the startling idea that many
voices can sing different tunes simultaneously-- and somehow, the total sound is lovelier
than any single thread therein.
Grow up! (I Cor. 13)
Monday, September 07, 2009
One of my favorite writers, the Calvinist scholar R. J. Rushdoony, wrote a book on
Biblical psychology with the intriguing title Revolt Against Maturity. The default setting for
human life, the state in which we spend most of our lives, is adulthood. Adam was
created an adult, just to drive home the point that this is the normative state. In a healthy
society, as in a healthy life, people yearn to take hold of adult life, to measure up to their
opportunities and obligations. At some point, you need to grow up. In C. S. Lewis's book
The Last Battle, one of the original four characters was not found in the moment of
consummation. Susan was, as the professor said, determined to race as quickly as
possible to the silliest time of her life, then park there for as long as possible. Normal
people grow up, marry, and raise kids who will grow, marry, and keep the story going.
Let's look at a few words from Paul:
1Co 13:11 Çocukken çocuk gibi konuşur, çocuk gibi anlar, çocuk gibi düşünürdüm.
Yetişkin biri olunca çocukça davranışları bıraktım.
• Çocukken -- during the time of childhood. Turkish uses the -ken suffix to indicate that
the event the sentence describes took place during the condition that the root of the
word describes.
• çocuk -- a child
• gibi -- as. This is a post-position. çocuk gibi means "as a child."
• konuşur -- spoke
• anlar -- understood
• düşünürdüm -- thought, pondered, meditated
• davranmak -- behave. Take action.
• davranışları -- behaviors.
• çocukça -- Childish. The -ça ending turns a noun into an adjective.
• bırakmak -- to leave. Set down. Let go. Drop. My mnemonic -- "to break off."
Growing up can be painful. Many cultures have initiation rites to definitively break off the
time of childhood, and usher boys into manhood. For example, the Boy Scouts are
modeled on African tribal initiation societies. Peter Pan was the boy who never wanted to
grow up. That's crazy stuff. I still remember a schizophrenic friend who went off his meds,
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and began reacting to life like a seven year old lad. That's scary stuff. May God give us
the grace to grow into all that He has for us.
Pentecostals rock! (I Cor. 14)
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
I just finished an intriguing book, God is Back, by two reporters on the staff of the London
Economist -- an atheist, and a Roman Catholic. The numbers they cite tell an amazing
story. A movement within the Christian family went from nearly nothing a century ago to
the growing edge today. The most vigorous propagators of the Christian faith, in
Protestant and Catholic circles, tend to be Pentecostals. These are people who, from
time to time, pray in a language that they have not learned. A language that, they say,
was supernaturally given to them by God.
It's a strange phenomenon. If you listen carefully to Pentecostals at prayer -- and some of
them are careless enough to do so over a microphone -- what you hear does not usually
sound like a foreign language. To quote the opening assertion of a textbook on
linguistics, "Different phonemes in different languages are -- different." Anyone who has
ever tried to wrap his tongue around the vowels of a different language knows what a
challenge that is. I still find it nearly impossible to hear the difference between the Turkish
u and ü, for example. The "undotted i" (ı) actually sounds a lot like the schwa, the most
common vowel in the English language, the one that doesn't have its own letter of the
alphabet.
What I usually hear is a syllable salad, as the person who is "speaking in tongues" recites
a string of English phonemes, English sound units, English syllables, in a randomized
order that makes no sense in English.
Yet I also know of one believer who was heard praying in Spanish, a language he'd never
studied. Was the miracle in the speaker, or in the hearer? When the disciples could
suddenly make their testimony clear to people from many diverse language groups,
where did the miracle happen? In the lips of the speakers, or in the ears of the hearers?
Well, anyhow. Some of the most enthusiastic and productive Christians in the world today
also pray in languages they have not studied. Sometimes, these are real and
recognizable languages. Other times, who knows? Evidently, the Pentecostals find value
in the practice. Let's hear a few words from Paul:
1Co 14:18 Dillerle hepinizden çok konuştuğum için Tanrı'ya şükrediyorum.
1Co 14:19 Ama inanlılar topluluğunda dillerle on bin söz söylemektense, başkalarını
eğitmek için zihnimden beş söz söylemeyi yeğlerim.
1Co 14:20 Kardeşler, çocuk gibi düşünmeyin. Kötülük konusunda çocuklar gibi, ama
düşünmekte yetişkinler gibi olun.
• Dillerle -- in/with tongues
• hepinizden -- more than all of you
• çok -- muchly
• konuştuğum -- I speak
• için -- for that reason (this is another post-position!)
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• Tanrı'ya -- to God
• şükrediyorum -- I give thanks.
• Kardeşler -- brothers
• çocuk gibi -- like children
• düşünmeyin -- do not reflect / meditate / think.
Paul is grateful that he can pray using an unlearned language or utterance of some kind.
Yet, when among others, he has no need to flaunt this practice. Five well-chosen
comprehensible words can do one's neighbor more good than hours of babble.
Who's in charge here, anyhow? (I Cor. 15)
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Psalm 110 is the Old Testament chapter most frequently quoted, cited, or paraphrased in
the New Testament. It speaks of a King who reigns, a King who is in some way closely
associated with the Eternal Creator.
Psa 110:1 RAB efendime: "Ben düşmanlarını ayaklarının altına serinceye dek Sağımda
otur" diyor.
Psa 110:2 RAB Siyon'dan uzatacak kudret asanı, Düşmanlarının ortasında egemenlik
sür!
Psa 110:3 Savaşacağın gün Gönüllü gidecek askerlerin. Seherin bağrından doğan çiy
gibi Kutsal giysiler içinde Sana gelecek gençlerin.
Psa 110:4 RAB ant içti, kararından dönmez: "Melkisedek düzeni uyarınca Sonsuza dek
kâhinsin sen!" dedi.
Psa 110:5 Rab senin sağındadır, Kralları ezecek öfkelendiği gün.
Psa 110:6 Ulusları yargılayacak, ortalığı cesetler dolduracak, Dünyanın dört bucağında
başları ezecek.
Psa 110:7 Yol kenarındaki dereden su içecek; Bu yüzden başını dik tutacak.
In some way, this king's reign is an extension of the Eternal Creator's actions in history.
God's people eagerly participated in the action, and the pretentious foes of God and man
are brought to heel.[1]
Paul presents this progressive subduing of evil as an ongoing, present reality, made
manifest through the proclamation of the Christian gospel -- the King has come! He is
ruling today! There is reason for rejoicing, confidence, action, and hope. I Cor. 15:241Co 15:24 Bundan sonra Mesih her yönetimi, her hükümranlığı, her gücü ortadan kaldırıp
egemenliği Baba Tanrı'ya teslim ettiği zaman son gelmiş olacak.
1Co 15:25 Çünkü Tanrı bütün düşmanlarını ayakları altına serinceye dek O'nun
egemenlik sürmesi gerekir.
1Co 15:26 Ortadan kaldırılacak son düşman ölümdür.
1Co 15:27 Çünkü, "Tanrı her şeyi Mesih'in ayakları altına sererek O'na bağımlı kıldı."
"Her şey O'na bağımlı kılındı" sözünün, her şeyi Mesih'e bağımlı kılan Tanrı'yı içermediği
açıktır.
1Co 15:28 Her şey Oğul'a bağımlı kılınınca, Oğul da her şeyi kendisine bağımlı kılan
Tanrı'ya bağımlı olacaktır. Öyle ki, Tanrı her şeyde her şey olsun.
A wise understanding of the Bible does not lead the believer to attempt to map out the
future. Rather, in knowing that God has ordained the triumph of good over evil, we can
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fulfill our obligations with optimistic faithfulness. We are not spectators at a global train
wreck, but co-laborers with a God who loves his creation, and invites us to help restore it,
and develop its potentials.
_________
[1] To "bring something to heel" is a metaphor from the training of dogs. When hearing
the command "Heel!" the well-trained dog will park himself behind his owner's left heel,
and walk in that submissive formation.
Systematic generosity (I Cor. 16)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The late US Senator Ted Kennedy enjoyed an income somewhere north of $1 million /
year, and a major interest in a family foundation worth hundreds of millions. His 2002 tax
returns, a matter of public record, indicate that he donated just a bit over $2,700 to
charity. In his letter to the pope requesting prayer, Ted could not bring himself to say
those three words so hateful, so damn near impossible, for liberal politicians: "I was
wrong."
Well, maybe he said those words to the only Judge whose opinion matters. Maybe a
century from now, we'll discover that his hidden hand bequeathed massive sums to
secret charity. Since I'm not God, I don't know.
Still, let's look at a Biblical picture of routine, normative, religious charity:
1Co 16:2 Haftanın ilk günü herkes kazancına göre bir miktar para ayırıp biriktirsin. Öyle
ki, yanınıza geldiğimde para toplamaya gerek kalmasın.
And, a few words:
• Haftanın -- of the week
• ilk -- the first
• günü -- day
• herkes -- all, each (of you)
• kazancına -- your gains
• göre -- according to
• bir miktar -- a religious offering
• para -- fiscal
• biriktirsin --separate out
Routine. Regular. On the first day of the week. Something all functioning believers are
expected to do. Personally, not by proxy. In our church, we are frequently reminded -- it's
not that God needs our money. It's just a fact that we need to build generosity into our
lives, if we are to live as we were designed to. As Martin Luther said, only Satan, and
men controlled by Satan, live only for themselves.
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Shake before using (2 Cor. 1)
Monday, September 14, 2009
During Paul's prolonged stay in Ephesus, the leading city of Anatolia, he enjoyed a period
of incredible achievement. People swiped his laundry, and saw miracles happen when
his tidy whities were laid on people suffering from illness and demonic oppression. Day
after day, he taught eager listeners in a rented room in the school of a guy named
Tyrannus. As a result of this ministry, everyone in the province of Asia (a big chunk of
present-day Turkey) heard the gospel within two years. Even the devils (the cinler)
described Paul as a force to be reckoned with.
So what did this man at the peak of his powers, his influence, his achievement, have to
say for himself? What does it feel like to be on top of the world? Let's see his own words:
2Co 1:8 Kardeşlerim, Asya İli'nde çektiğimiz sıkıntılardan habersiz kalmanızı istemiyoruz.
Dayanabileceğimizden çok ağır bir yük altındaydık. Öyle ki, yaşamaktan bile umudumuzu
kesmiştik.
2Co 1:9 Ölüme mahkûm olduğumuzu içimizde hissettik. Ama bu, kendimize değil, ölüleri
dirilten Tanrı'ya güvenmemiz için oldu.
2Co 1:10 Tanrı bizi böylesine büyük bir ölüm tehlikesinden kurtardı; daha da
kurtaracaktır. Umudumuzu O'na bağladık.
One interesting Turkish word, habersiz, combines haber (news) with the "lacking" suffix (siz). Paul did not want the folks in Corinth to remain clueless about his trials, the price he
paid for his ministry. Yes, people of good will were eager to hear his good news of the
Great King's reign. On the other hand, his Jewish countrymen were humiliated by Paul's
assertion that they had missed the biggest opportunity in history. The people of his own
culture regarded him as a renegade, and their snubs, slights, and contemptuous insults
made life miserable quite frequently.
_____________
[1] OK -- so that brings an SQL (structured query language) joke to mind:
SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0;
0 rows returned
Well, if that's obscure, have another geek joke:
There are 10 kinds of people in the world.
Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Ah, well. There's no place like 127.0.0.1
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I love a parade! ( 2 Cor. 2)
As a high-school band member a bit over four decades ago, I was the favored target of
kids with pea-shooters. When the parade went by, I was toting and tooting a sousaphone.
Wearing a fancy uniform, brass buttons gleaming from the application of Brasso and
elbow grease.[1] Playing patriotic and martial tunes. Entertaining the crowds lining both
sides of the street.
We don't seem to have as many parades any more. A scholar I love, R. J. Rushdoony,
commented on that in one of his later books. Processions, he pointed out, are religious
events. Patriotic American parades often celebrate our "civic religion," a generic,
denatured Unitarianism that recommends some kind of unspecified piety towards an
undefined deity. Gibbon spoke of the Roman religious beliefs -- "All equally true to the
citizen, equally false to the philosopher, equally useful to the magistrate."
Hegel described the State, humanity in its ultimate collective form (or so he thought), as
"God marching through history." In this chapter, Paul compares the march of history to a
Roman triumph. As the enchained captives trudged through the streets, they carried pots
of incense. Those towards the front of the parade would be released at the end. Those
toward the end, put to death. The same incense carried two different, and contrasting,
messages to those who smelled it.
2Co 2:14 Bizi her zaman Mesih'in zafer alayında yürüten, O'nu tanımanın güzel kokusunu
aracılığımızla her yerde yayan Tanrı'ya şükürler olsun!
2Co 2:15 Çünkü biz hem kurtulanlar hem de mahvolanlar arasında Tanrı için Mesih'in
güzel kokusuyuz.
2Co 2:16 Mahvolanlar için ölüme götüren ölüm kokusu, kurtulanlar içinse yaşama
götüren yaşam kokusuyuz. Böylesi bir işe kim yeterlidir?
Two words for tonight:
• ölüm -- death
• yaşam -- life
What people say about Jesus tells us quite a bit about them. Some folks find this
message about the Great King, and His astonishing triumphs, the best news possible.
Others resent the very notion of there being a god beyond themselves, one to whom they
will give account.
What do we smell like to you?[2]
________
[1] Idiomatic expression describing the most important ingredient in the cleaning process
-- human energy!
[2] When I tried to say, in Turkish, to a new friend that she was afraid of dogs, I said she
smelled like dogs ... amazing what a difference a single letter r can make between
korkmak and kokmak!
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We become like what we behold (2 Cor. 4)
We'll start today's discussion by swiping the last verse of chapter 3. After all, the divisions
into chapters and verses are frequently arbitrary, and not part of the original text.
2Co 3:18 Ve biz hepimiz peçesiz yüzle Rab'bin yüceliğini görerek yücelik üstüne yücelikle
O'na benzer olmak üzere değiştiriliyoruz. Bu da Ruh olan Rab sayesinde oluyor.
A few words:
• peçesiz -- unveiled. Combines peçe (veil) with the negating suffix -siz.
• yüzle -- with the face. Combines yüz (face) with the "with" suffix -le.
• değiştiriliyoruz -- we are transformed.
It's an astonishing claim. As Christians, we assert that we can understand the character
of God by considering the biography of Jesus. One ordinary life, so mundane that even
his brothers had no idea that there was anything special about this carpenter's son from
Nazareth.[1] Furthermore, our book teaches us that paying attention to this Jesus is good
for us:
2Co 4:6 Çünkü, "Işık karanlıktan parlayacak" diyen Tanrı, İsa Mesih'in yüzünde parlayan
kendi yüceliğini tanımamızdan doğan ışığı bize vermek için yüreklerimizi aydınlattı.
2Co 4:7 Üstün gücün bizden değil, Tanrı'dan kaynaklandığı bilinsin diye bu hazineye
toprak kaplar içinde sahibiz.
Again, a few words:
• Işık -- light
• karanlıktan -- from darkness
• parlayacak -- will shine, twinkle, sparkle
• yüreklerimizi -- our hearts
• aydınlattı -- has shone. When you wish a Turk "Gün aydın," you are wishing him a
bright, a shining, day.
Those who encounter the living Jesus Christ by faith typically experience a fresh insight
into the purposes and significance of life. Peter describes this as "the day dawns, and the
day star rises in your heart."
________________
[1] Taxation makes family formation very difficult in Italy. The typical Italian family has
fewer than two children. This means that, in another few generations, there will be far
fewer Italians. A topical joke asserts that Jesus must have been Italian -- after all, he was
30, still living at home, single, hung around with the guys, and his mother thought he was
God!
Invisible means of support (II Cor. 5)
Friday, October 02, 2009
Here's a little bit of American folklore. Once upon a time, everyone knew the difference
between a hobo, a tramp, and a bum.
• A hobo was a migrant worker, someone who road freight trains from city to city,
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following the seasons or the opportunities for short-term work. A century ago, hobos
had a distinctive culture, and an elaborate hieroglyphic language. A hobo sign on the
white picket fence let other hobos know that the resident could be approached for a
free meal, or perhaps a meal in exchange for an hour's worth of work. Another sign
warned later travelers of vicious dogs.
• A tramp was a migrant non-worker.
• A bum was a non-migrant non-worker.
Of course, as far as the police were concerned, all of these folks were "vagrants." By
definition, a vagrant has "no visible means of support." Since he doesn't have a standard
job, then he's probably doing something mendacious, underhand or illegal for his daily
bread.[1]
Still, as every person of faith knows, it is the invisible things that sustain us through the
trials of life.
2Co 5:6 Bu nedenle her zaman cesaretimiz vardır. Şunu biliyoruz ki, bu bedende
yaşadıkça Rab'den uzaktayız.
2Co 5:7 Gözle görülene değil, imana dayanarak yaşarız.
2Co 5:8 Cesaretimiz vardır diyorum ve bedenden uzakta, Rab'bin yanında olmayı
yeğleriz.
A few words:
• Gözle -- With the eye. Göz (eye) + le (with)
• görülene -- that which is seen
• değil -- not
• imana -- by faith
• yaşarız -- we live
________________
[1] More than half of the paper money in circulation in the USA consists of $100 bills.
These don't change hands as often as the smaller denominations, and are very valuable
in the underworld (criminal enterprises, such as drug dealing) and underground -- the
untaxed free / gray market. If you are fortunate enough to know a plumber who will take
cash for his work, you will probably be able to spend far less on plumbing repairs, for
example.
These are the good old days (I Cor. 6)
This title comes from the haunting chorus to Carly Simon's 1972 hit Anticipation. After the
singer reflects on the immediate pleasures anticipated, and the uncertainty of the long
run, the chorus asserts that things are really wonderful now, and will be so remembered.
Paul seemed to have something similar in mind in his exhortation to the Corninthians:
2Co 6:2 Çünkü Tanrı diyor ki, "Uygun zamanda seni duydum, Kurtuluş günü sana yardım
ettim." Uygun zaman işte şimdidir, kurtuluş günü işte şimdidir.
A few words:
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• Uygun zamanda seni duydum -- Favorable / at a time / to you / I have listened
• Uygun zaman işte şimdidir -- favorable / time / behold / this is
• kurtuluş günü işte şimdidir -- of salvation / the day / behold / this is. (The Turkish War
of Independence, the crucible that forged the identity of this modern republic, is
known to them as Kurtuluş Savaş -- the salvation war.)
Make room! (II Cor. 7)
One of the wealthiest men in America, an evangelical Christian, asked one of the wisest
men in America, a Calvinist scholar and writer, what he should do to maximize his
influence as a man of both wealth and faith. The scholar suggested that he build, and
endow, 100 high-quality Christian high schools in the United States. Get time working for
you by investing in future-oriented projects. Work for long-term results.
Unfortunately, the rich man consulted other counselors, men with other ideas. Why wait
for kids to graduate, establish themselves in their careers, and shape the culture over the
course of decades? Why, with enough money, and my nifty scheme, we could present
our message to everyone in America practically overnight!
After the rich man had expended a great deal of his wealth on these instant-result
projects, and had nothing to show for them, his family grew alarmed. They took control of
the enterprise away from the guy who'd shown such poor judgment.
I think Paul had a similar experience, of hanging on by his fingernails to a project that
was jittering and skittering in bizarre directions. The years of effort he had poured into the
church at Corinth, and the eternal destinies of its members, were all threatened by snakeoil salesmen with their nifty new schemes. Paul appeals to the personal relationship he
had with the Corinthian Christians:
2Co 7:2 Yüreklerinizde bize yer verin. Kimseye haksızlık etmedik, kimseyi yoldan
saptırmadık, kimseyi sömürmedik.
• Yüreklerinizde -- in your hearts. Yürek- (heart) + -ler- (plural sign) + -iniz- (your) + -de
(at/on/in)
• bize -- to us
• yer -- place
• verin -- give
• Kimseye -- to anyone
• haksızlık -- injustice. hak- (justice) + -sız- (without) + -lık (the quality of)
• etmedik -- we have not done
• yoldan -- the road, the way
• saptırmadık -- we have not defiled, spoiled
• sömürmedik -- we have not exploited
The appeal to personal experience can be powerful. When John Wesley was mobbed,
he would speak respectfully to the rioters, asking which of them he had personally
injured, which he had personally offended, so that he could make it right. Time after time,
he escaped unscathed.
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Poverty and wealth (II Cor. 8)
A metaphor Christians frequently use to explain who Jesus is to them is the novel.
Suppose the writer writes himself into the story? Then, those who read the story can
learn from that character within the narrative about the character of the Author. With this
in mind, consider Paul's meditation on wealth and poverty:
2Co 8:9 Rabbimiz İsa Mesih'in lütfunu bilirsiniz. O'nun yoksulluğuyla siz zengin olasınız
diye, zengin olduğu halde sizin uğrunuza yoksul oldu.
A few words:
• lütfunu -- grace, kindness
• bilirsiniz -- know. Understand.
• yoksulluğuyla --by means of his poverty
• zengin --wealth
We adore a God who became poor, who became one of us, who wrote himself into our
story, which is actually his-story (history), in order to enrich us with grace, blessings, and
eternal wealth beyond anything we could have ever imagined.
Sowing and reaping (II Cor. 9)
We return to one of the major themes of this epistle in this chapter. Paul was holding the
Corinthians upside down by the ankles, shaking vigorously, and collected the coins that
clattered out of their pockets. This was a fund-raising letter.
Here' is one of his more convincing arguments:
2Co 9:6 Şunu unutmayın: Az eken az biçer, çok eken çok biçer.
2Co 9:7 Herkes yüreğinde niyet ettiği gibi versin; isteksizce ya da zorlanmış gibi değil.
Çünkü Tanrı sevinçle vereni sever.
Tonight's words:
• Şunu unutmayın -- This / do not forget
• Az eken -- scanty, niggardly, grudgingly / to sow
• biçer -- reaps
• çok -- greatly, lavishly, abundantly
• Çünkü Tanrı -- Because God
• sevinçle -- with loving gladness. The Greek word here, ἱλαρὸν , is the root of the
English word hilarious.
• vereni -- (to) a giver
• sever -- He loves.
The most devastating thing a bright kid learns in public school is how to be lazy. How to
put forth just enough effort to stay afloat -- which is practically none at all. Take those
attitudes and habits into the real world of work, however, and your career track has way
too many gaps! In the real world, those who thrive are those who do more than the
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minimum, more than just enough to "get by." Productive people will always do well.
A rigged game (II Cor. 10)
Monday, October 05, 2009
There's no pleasing some people. Folks who wish to denigrate others, in this sad, fallen,
world, can always find grounds to do so. If no substantive grounds exist, folks will make
up imaginary standards that they themselves meet, but that you did not realize you were
falling short of.
Paul's competitors faulted his lack of urbane, smooth, sophistication. Paul was a plainspoken guy. In fact, his epistles are some of the easiest reading in the NT. Inside their
own little mutual congratulation clubs, the judaizers reigned supreme. Yet, as Paul told
them in his day, and us today, that means little:
Kendi kendilerini tavsiye eden bazılarılyla kendimizi bir tutmaya ya da karşılaştırmakla
akılsızlık ediyorlar.
A few words:
• Kendi -- self
• tavsiye -- recommendation, commendation, advice
• akılsızlık -- unwise
Those who compete for the favor of those whose self-image depends on withholding it
are in a rigged game, one they can't win. As a famous American wit said, upon being
turned down for membership in a country club, "I wouldn't want to belong to a club that
would have me for a member!"
Paul pointed to the actual results of his work -- including the Corinthian church itself, and
pointed out that, in the final analysis, it's not those who praise themselves who win at life,
but those who hear the Lord's praise, His "Well done, good and faithful servant."
O Lord, grant that we may work for your praise alone, and not give the time of day to
those who would belittle us for their own satisfaction!
A matter of image (II Cor. 11)
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Traditional oral cultures pack a great deal of wisdom into pithy sayings, short stories, brief
and memorable fables. The folk hero of the Turks, Nasrettin Hoca, was a humorist whose
very tomb is one last joke -- a strong, well-made gate, with a stout padlock -- and no
walls. The beloved Hoca, however, is remembered for his penetrating insight into
humanity and our foibles. For example:
Once, the Hoca was invited to a feast. He'd been hard at work, and didn't have time to
change out of his work clothes. The fashionable glitterati did not even deign to notice this
invited guest. So the Hoca went home, changed into his best robe, and returned. He was
welcomed to the table, and proceeded to feed the choicest delicacies to his robe. "Try
this, dear robe, it's excellent," he'd say, and slip another item up a sleeve.
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"Hoca, have you gone crazy? Why are you talking to your robe? Why are you feeding
your robe?"
"Well, why not? It's obvious that the robe was invited to this feast, not me!"
Things are not always what they seem. The friendly people knocking at your door may
intend you eternal harm. The sophisticated emissaries from an ancient religion, who only
want to help you attain a better version of your salvation, might be marketing something
else, indeed. Let's look at a few sentences:
2Co 11:13 Bu tür adamlar sahte elçiler, düzenbaz işçiler, kendilerine Mesih'in elçisi süsü
verenlerdir.
2Co 11:14 Buna şaşmamalı. Şeytan da kendisine ışık meleği süsü verir.
2Co 11:15 Ona hizmet edenlerin de kendilerine doğruluğun hizmetkârları süsü vermesi
şaşırtıcı değildir. Onların sonu yaptıklarına göre olacaktır.
2Co 11:16 Yine söylüyorum, kimse beni akılsız sanmasın. Öyle sanıyorsanız, akılsız
birini kabul eder gibi de olsa beni kabul edin ki, ben de biraz övüneyim!
2Co 11:17 Söylediklerimi Rab'bin söyleyeceği gibi değil, akılsız biri gibi, bu övüngen
tavırla söylüyorum.
• süs -- ornament, decoration
• süsü vermesi -- to pose as, to pass oneself off as[1]
• Şeytan da kendisine ışık meleği süsü verir -- Satan / even / himself / light / angel /
poses as
One way we can tell the false prophets is their overweening pride in themselves, and in
their own appearance.[2] Paul does go on to list other tests, in this chapter and the next.
Satan can appear as an angel to decieve the children of men. And his emissaries can
look like the best people. As I used to exhort my son Gregory[3], "My son, be alert. The
world needs more lerts."
______
[1] America used to be a very color-conscious society -- but a lot of "traffic" happened
among the races. Among the black community, some were not as black as their mothers.
In fact, some could even pass for white. When the Democrats who ruled rural southern
counties tried to keep their black neighbors from voting, sometimes a man who "could
pass" would find out where the registration desk was hidden. And a line of black citizens
would show up at a bank vault, for example ...
[2] a few lines from John Bunyan's allegory Pilgrim's Progress come to mind:
Faithful. Why, at first, I found myself somewhat inclinable to go with the man, for I thought
he spake very fair; but ...
Christian. And how then?
Faithful . Then it came burning hot in my mind, whatever he said, and however he
flattered, when he got me home to his house, he would sell me for a slave.
[3] Gregory is a name derived from the Greek verb that means "be watchful. Keep watch.
Be vigilant. Be alert." It's the last word in Mark 13.
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When I am weak ( II Cor. 12 )
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
In this chapter, Paul, to his own disgust, cites his diplomas and credentials. Max Weber
broke leadership down into three flavors:
• Traditional -- the village elder, the parish priest
• Bureaucratic -- the interchangeable, impersonal manager
• Charismatic -- the guy who simply looks credible. The kind of guy people want to
hang around with, and wish they could be.
Paul viewed himself as a man with a commission from the King of the universe. Paul
announced the glad tidings that the King had dropped in, surveyed his domain, and went
on his way, leaving his servants in charge. His focus was on the King. He served the
King, and wished to attach those who heard him directly to the person of the real majesty
on high. Much of Paul's charisma stemmed from his integrity, his uncompromised
allegiance to the One who had conscripted him into the noblest service in the universe,
that is, service to the One who had created the universe.
Now, he has to deal with these bureaucratic bunglers who have no visible loyalty to the
King, but are obsessed with their own positions. He thought he'd instructed the
Corinthians better about the things that really mattered, and here they were, running after
con artists with slicker sales pitches. After enumerating his credentials, his diplomas, his
certifications, and even his mystical experiences, Paul comes to the bottom line. As the
first sentence in Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life puts it, "It's not about you."
Next to his mission, and the King who'd commissioned him, Paul was insignificant. And
he appreciated the painful "reality check" that God had given him, to help him maintain
his perspective:
2Co 12:7 Aldığım vahiylerin üstünlüğüyle gururlanmayayım diye bana bedende bir diken,
beni yumruklamak için Şeytan'ın bir meleği verildi, gururlanmayayım diye.
2Co 12:8 Bundan kurtulmak için Rab'be üç kez yalvardım.
2Co 12:9 Ama O bana, "Lütfum sana yeter. Çünkü gücüm, güçsüzlükte tamamlanır" dedi.
İşte, Mesih'in gücü içimde bulunsun diye güçsüzlüklerimle sevinerek daha çok
övüneceğim.
What do you do when God doesn't answer your prayers? Ask for insight:
• Bundan -- Concerning this
• kurtulmak -- to deliver, to save.
• için -- in order to
• Rab'be -- to the Lord
• üç kez -- three times
• yalvardım -- I begged
• Lütfum -- My grace
• yeter. -- suffices
• Çünkü -- because
• gücüm -- my strength
• güçsüzlükte -- in weakness
• tamamlanır -- is made perfect
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Paradox, again! ( II Cor. 13 )
Christians have got to be crazy. On the one hand, we ascribe all kinds of honors to
Jesus, even to the extent of what our Muslims friends call shirk -- associating Him with
the Creator in nature, power, and honor. On the other hand, though, we believe that this
totally special guy expired in painful disgrace on a Roman cross. Does not compute!
There are reasons why Paul forthrightly admitted that the doctrine of the crucified Savior
was a scandal. This word derives from the Greek word σκάνδαλον, which originally
referred to the trip-lever on a trap. Think of today's idiomatic expression "third rail." Looks
harmless, but touch it, and you die!
Which brings us to today's verse:
2Co 13:4 Güçsüzlük içinde çarmıha gerildiği halde, şimdi Tanrı'nın gücüyle yaşıyor. Biz
de O'nda güçsüz olduğumuz halde, Tanrı'nın gücü sayesinde O'nunla birlikte sizin
yararınıza yaşayacağız.
A few words:
• güç -- power, strength, force, might. A computer's power supply is a güç kaynak.
• güçsüz -- powerless. Weak.
• güçsüzlük -- weakness.
• halde -- even though
• yaşımak -- to live
• birlikte -- in unity with. (bir -- one. birlik -- oneness, unity. birlikte -- in unity with.)
When Süleyman and I watched Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ together, he said
that the Turkish audience had wept to see the suffering inflicted upon Jesus in the movie.
Which explains, I replied, why Christians love Jesus as we do, since we believe He bore
that suffering on our behalf.
But God had the last word in the life of Jesus, and continues to have the last word in the
context of our often muddled, disastrous lives. No matter how bad things look, we always
have reason for hope, for joy.
Meanwhile, back in Anatolia ... (Gal. 1)
Saturday, October 10, 2009
At an early stage in his ministry, Paul started a community of believers in his own home
territory, in Anatolia. We don't know exactly why he began preaching to them. He
suggests that it was not during one of the happier periods of his life -- he was tormented
by a painful physical ailment. Yet, somehow, a church was established. People began
meeting regularly, studying the LXX [1], and discussing the implication of the life and
ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, God's revelation, and Savior.
Then, they went off the rails:
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Gal 1:6 Sizi Mesih'in lütfuyla çağıranı bırakıp değişik bir müjdeye böylesine çarçabuk
dönmenize şaşıyorum.
Gal 1:7 Gerçekte başka bir müjde yoktur. Ancak aklınızı karıştırıp Mesih'in Müjdesi'ni
çarpıtmak isteyenler vardır.
Gal 1:8 İster biz, ister gökten bir melek size bildirdiğimize ters düşen bir müjde bildirirse,
lanet olsun ona!
Mess with someone's children, and you can expect to provoke some SERIOUS wrath. In
the last decade of the 19th century, immigrant parents marched on public schools with
torches and pitchforks. Paul regarded these Galatian Christians as his spiritual children.
He had invested in them, and expected them to carry his values, his message, forward
into the future. Let's look at a few words:
• İster biz -- if we
• ister gökten bir melek -- if a from-heaven angel
• bildirdiğimize -- makes known to you
• müjde -- gospel, good news
• lanet olsun -- accursed / let him be
Gotta watch out for angels with new messages! In America, we have to deal with
Mormons, a cult founded by a guy named Joseph Smith, who claimed that an angel gave
him a newer testament, engraved on golden plates. Smith's new religion made him a rich
man, and filled his marriage bed with a harem of willing additional wives.
_____________
[1] The Septuigent, abbreviated LXX - the Roman Numerals for 70 -- was the Greek
translation of the Old Testament that the Christians quickly adopted as their own holy
book.
The Seductive Scaffolding (Gal. 2)
The power of culture is a beautiful thing, when it helps one subordinate his personal
agenda to broader purposes, such as the glory of God and the well-faring of one's
neighbor. We are all the products and the shapers of our cultures. As we make holidays
special for our children, we create oases of joy in their lives, wonderful and wonder-filled
times of the year. The Christian year includes advent and Christmas. Lent and Easter.
The Muslim year includes the Sugar Feast (Şeker Bayram) at the end of Ramazan, and
the Feast of the Sacrifice a month later.
Suppose, though, that one's culture turns malignant? Tha Nazis had a passionate love for
their own people, kultur, and traditions. A land famed for poets, musicians, precision
instruments, and chemistry, became the wellspring of terrifying darkness.
The Christian gospel began in the context of the Jewish land, people, faith, and culture.
Jesus, however, preached that the Jewish culture had become ingrown, toxic, and
reprobate to its original purpose -- to carry God's glory to the whole world. This message
did not sit too well with the cultural elites of his day, the people responsible for shaping
and defining the culture he denigrated.
Yet, even though the Jewish Christians knew that God had invited non-Jews to
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experience His grace, the cultural barriers to full inclusion remained stubborn. For
example -- Peter (Kefas) was the apostle who first took the Gospel to the Gentiles, in the
person of pious Cornelius, a Roman occupation officer. Yet, when put to the test, he
failed to be gracious. Hewas intimidated by those whose self-worth depended on
snubbing others:
Gal 2:11 Ne var ki, Kefas Antakya'ya geldiği zaman, suçlu olduğu için ona açıkça karşı
geldim.
Gal 2:12 Çünkü Yakup'un yanından bazı adamlar gelmeden önce Kefas öteki uluslardan*
olanlarla birlikte yemek yerdi. Ama o adamlar gelince sünnet yanlılarından korkarak
sünnetsizlerden* uzaklaştı, onlarla yemek yemez oldu.
Gal 2:13 Öbür Yahudiler de onun gibi ikiyüzlülük ettiler. Sonunda Barnaba bile onların
ikiyüzlülüğüne kapıldı.
Gal 2:14 Müjde gerçeğine uygun davranmadıklarını görünce hepsinin önünde Kefas'a
şöyle dedim: "Yahudi olduğun halde Yahudi gibi değil, öteki uluslardan biri gibi
yaşıyorsun, nasıl olur da ulusları Yahudi gibi yaşamaya zorlarsın?
Let's look at one word tonight:
• ikiyüzlülük -- Hypocrisy. One of those marvelous Turkish words assembled from
components you snap together like Lego blocks: iki- -- two. -yüz- -- face. -lü- -- with. lük -- condition of.
The Jewish culture had served as a scaffold, holding things together while Israel
awaiting her Messiah. Now, however, it had become a barrier, an unsightly encrustation
on the fresh new Kingdom revealed by the arrival of the King. Sadly, when push came to
shove, many of the Jewish Christians were more Jewish than Christian. In Israel's hour of
need, many rallied around the standard of Jewish culture, and left Jesus behind. They
condemned 2,000 years worth of their children to eternal perdition, rather than betray
their native culture.
The true sons of Abraham (Gal. 3)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
My mother disappeared for several days when I was 13 months old. Finally, my dad took
me to a big building where she was resting. I rushed into the room, eager to see her
again -- and saw a supplanter at her bosom. Shocked beyond words, I turned around and
stomped out of the room in tears. Much of my childhood was shaped by envy and
resentment towards this younger brother, who had the people skills I lacked. A suave,
charismatic guy who people automatically liked had stolen the spotlight that I'd
considered my birthright.
Abraham had two sons by his first marriage, one by his concubine Hagar, and one by his
wife Sarah.[1] Sibling rivalry became so intense that Isaac's mother demanded that
Hagar and Ishmael be sent packing -- in the middle of the desert.
This injustice still rankles, thousands of years later. This sense of having been unjustly
displaced. The Arabs of today trace their lineage back to wronged Ishmael. The Jews, to
the favored golden boy, Isaac.
So who, then, are, the true sons of Abraham? The Christian answer is paradoxical -none/all of the above:
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Gal 3:26 Çünkü Mesih İsa'ya iman ettiğiniz için hepiniz Tanrı'nın oğullarısınız.
Gal 3:27 Vaftizde Mesih'le birleşenlerinizin hepsi Mesih'i giyindi.
Gal 3:28 Artık ne Yahudi ne Grek, ne köle ne özgür, ne erkek ne dişi ayrımı var. Hepiniz
Mesih İsa'da birsiniz.
Gal 3:29 Eğer Mesih'e aitseniz, İbrahim'in soyundansınız, vaade göre de mirasçısınız.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, the gracious Creator's "graphic user interface" with the
universe, His ultimate "avatar," any who enter into a covenant with the Creator can, once
again, have a Father's undivided attention. We who believe in Jesus are the true
descendants of Abraham, the inheritors of His promised goodness.
__________________
[1] He had a number of children by his second wife, Keturah. By then, he'd already
distributed the bulk of his estate, but he gave each of these additional sons a present and
sent them packing when they came of age.
Peter Pan syndrome (Gal. 4)
Abdullah is a popular name among Muslims, a confession that one is "a slave of Allah." In
the order of the universe, there is only room for one God -- and it ain't me. I can dig it.
On the other hand, slaves tend to lack ambition. They have a set of clearly-defined
chores to complete. In exchange, they receive room, board, clothing. During the
American Great Depression, the federal government employed a number of destitute
English majors as oral historians. They went around collecting slave narratives, the
verbal memoirs of the aging African Americans who remembered life before the War
Between the States. 80% or more of them considered life on the plantation as the
happiest and most secure period of their lives.
Christians assert that God has adopted them as sons, as heirs. A son pays more
attention to what is going on, since he anticipates having a stake in the success of the
family estate. A dutiful son will stay mentally engaged, seeking to grow in his ability to
understand and manage the resources coming his way. A slave just follows orders.
Paul talks about the contrasting perceptions of duty experienced by sons and slaves:
Gal 4:6 Oğullar olduğunuz için Tanrı öz Oğlu'nun "Abba! Baba!" diye seslenen Ruhu'nu
yüreklerinize gönderdi.
Gal 4:7 Bu nedenle artık köle değil, oğullarsınız. Oğullar olduğunuz için de Tanrı sizi aynı
zamanda mirasçı yaptı.
...
Gal 4:9 Şimdiyse Tanrı'yı tanıdınız, daha doğrusu Tanrı tarafından tanındınız. Öyleyse
nasıl oluyor da bu değersiz, etkisiz ilkelere dönüyorsunuz? Yeniden onların kölesi mi
olmak istiyorsunuz?
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We have a touch of God's presence on our lives that assures us of His paternal interest
in our lives. Yet, sons need to grow up. It's so much easier to regress, to slip back into
the childish irresponsibility of simply doing chores and following orders. In America, we
speak of the "Peter Pan Syndrome," named for the literary character who refused to grow
up.
Not good. Christians view life as an ongoing struggle to responsibly use the precious
assets of life, time, and opportunity. But it's a good fight.
If you do what you like ... (Gal. 5)
If you do what you like, then, at the end of the day, you won't like what you did. Goofing
off, cutting corners, procrastinating, are the easiest things in the world. But let those
habits take root, and becoming a productive man or woman becomes a progressively
more difficult task. Habits shape (and warp) character.
Gal 5:17 Çünkü benlik Ruh'a, Ruh da benliğe aykırı olanı arzular. Bunlar birbirine
karşıttır; sonuç olarak, istediğinizi yapamıyorsunuz.
Your time management is the sum of every little decision you make during the day.
Those who can deny themselves, can achieve. Those who choose, time after time, to
indulge themselves, fail to profit from the abundant opportunities dropped in their path.
(This message is easier to preach than it is to act on, BTW!)
Who's laughing, now? (Gal. 6)
Athanasius, one of my favorite church fathers, wrote a lively devotional and theological
work On the Incarnation. In a memorable metaphor, he explained that Jesus had, by His
death, burial, and resurrection, deprived death of its power to terrify. Instead, death was
like a captive enemy, shackled on a public street, to be mocked by all who pass by.
Some things are properly mocked. Satan, for example, has no sense of humor. Rush
Limbaugh is an entertainer, who brings the lunacies of the left to light, in a humorous and
cheerful way.
Then, there is Paul's agricultural admonition, concerning things that are not to be
mocked:
Gal 6:7 Aldanmayın, Tanrı alaya alınmaz. İnsan ne ekerse onu biçer.
Gal 6:8 Kendi benliğine eken, benlikten ölüm biçecektir. Ruh'a eken, Ruh'tan sonsuz
yaşam biçecektir.
Imagine a farmer who sows a field of turnips, then expects to harvest corn. He can
fertilize that field, irrigate it, talk to his neighbors about how much he's looking forward to
cooking corn on the cob -- but the seed germinating in the ground is turning into turnips.
What the farmer wishes for doesn't count -- it's what he's sown!
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We reap what we sow.
We reap after we sow.
We reap more than we sow.
Jesus said that, unless we understand the parable of the sower, seed, and ground, we'll
remain ignorant of His Kingdom.
Those were the good old days ! (Eph. 1)
Ephesians is one of the most exuberant of Paul's epistles. Penned from a Roman prison,
this letter celebrates the overwhelming goodness of God that the people at Ephesus had
come to know through Paul's ministry. It was a Ephesus that Paul spent two years,
settled in one place, teaching routinely in the same place day after day. His lessons were
avidly attended, and students fanned out throughout Anatolia to share the good news of
this Kingdom Paul described, and demonstrated. His laundry wasn't safe -- folks swiped
his "tidy whities" as aids to prayer. The impact of his message threatened the town's
major industry, the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. At
least, some of the peripheral industries around this temple felt threatened, and provoked
a riot. At this point, we learn that several of the regional governors, the asiarchs,
considered Paul a personal friend.
Well, that was all a while ago. Yet, people who experienced extraordinary events together
have a bond that transcends decades. There are reasons why older soldiers seek out
each others' company. Why school reunions commemorate and try to recreate the
incandescent few years some of the people enjoyed. Some of this gratitude for shared
grace shines through Paul's initial statements:
Eph 1:3 Bizi Mesih'te her ruhsal kutsamayla göksel yerlerde kutsamış olan Rabbimiz İsa
Mesih'in Babası Tanrı'ya övgüler olsun.
Eph 1:4 O kendi önünde sevgide kutsal ve kusursuz olmamız için dünyanın kuruluşundan
önce bizi Mesih'te seçti.
Eph 1:5 Kendi isteği ve iyi amacı uyarınca İsa Mesih aracılığıyla kendisine oğullar olalım
diye bizi önceden belirledi.
Eph 1:6 Öyle ki, sevgili Oğlu'nda bize bağışladığı yüce lütfu övülsün.
I've highlighted the first person plural (we, us, our) references.
God of their fathers ( Eph. 2 )
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Max I. Dimont was such a good writer that you could almost overlook his unbelief in God.
His book The Jews, God, and History describes the successful inroads that Judaism
made in the Roman Empire. Preserving and deepening their cultural identity through the
Babylonian Captivity and the following diaspora [1] equipped them with traditions and
organizations that allowed them to remain themselves wherever they roamed. Get ten
Jewish men together, a minyan, and you could have formal synagogue worship services.
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Else, you could have an informal "place of prayer."
The Jewish religion looked pretty good to sophisticated Greeks and Romans who'd grown
weary of overlooking, explaining away, or burlesequing the lewd, obscene, antics of their
deities. At least the God of the Jews didn't rape betrothed virgins, or demand that
worshipers sacrifice their children.[2] By the time the first century AD rolled around,
Dimont wrote, approximately one out of every seven subjects of the Roman Empire were
attending synagogue services. Some were proselytes. Others, who were squeamish
about elective surgery, were "God-fearers." If you were not a full-scale Jew, your prayers
began "O God of their faithers."[3] When you went to Jerusalem to worship the God of
Israel, you did so from the Court of the Gentiles -- if you could find a place to pray in the
midst of a livestock auction, commercial emporium, and banking establishment.
SO we had this dispersion of smug insiders, surrounded by wanna-bees. Then we had
Paul showing up to upset the status quo, by asserting that the old distinctions were now
obsolete:
Eph 2:11 Bunun için, öteki uluslardan doğan sizler bir zamanlar ne olduğunuzu
anımsayın: Bedende elle yapılmış sünnete sahip olup "sünnetli" diye anılanların
"sünnetsiz" dedikleri sizler,
Eph 2:12 o zaman Mesihsiz, İsrail'de vatandaşlıktan yoksun, vaade dayanan
antlaşmalara yabancı, dünyada umutsuz ve tanrısızdınız.
Eph 2:13 Ama bir zamanlar uzak olan sizler, şimdi Mesih İsa'da Mesih'in kanı sayesinde
yakın kılındınız.
Eph 2:14-16 Çünkü Mesih'in kendisi barışımızdır. Kutsal Yasa'yı, buyrukları ve
kurallarıyla birlikte etkisiz kılarak iki topluluğu birleştirdi, aradaki engel duvarını, yani
düşmanlığı kendi bedeninde yıktı. Amacı bu iki topluluktan kendisinde yeni bir insan
yaratarak esenliği sağlamak, düşmanlığı çarmıhta öldürmek ve çarmıh aracılığıyla bir
bedende iki topluluğu Tanrı'yla barıştırmaktı.
Eph 2:17 O gelip hem uzakta olan sizlere hem de yakındakilere esenliği müjdeledi.
Eph 2:18 O'nun aracılığıyla hepimiz tek Ruh'ta Baba'nın huzuruna çıkabiliriz.
Eph 2:19 Böylece artık yabancı ve garip değil, kutsallarla birlikte yurttaş ve Tanrı'nın ev
halkısınız.
OK, time for a few words:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
o zaman -- at that time
Mesihsiz -- without the Messiah
İsrail'de vatandaşlıktan yoksun -- of Israel / a citizen / you were not
artık -- now
yabancı -- foreigner. Alien.
garip -- stranger
kutsallarla -- with the saints (kutsal - holy. -lar- plural. The saints. -la with)
birlikte -- united, at one with (bir - one. -lik- pertaining of the characteristics of. -te
with, on, at)
• yurttaş -- household. A yurt, you'll recall, is a round tent.
• Tanrı'nın ev -- God's house
• halkısınız -- you are people
In Jesus, and through His ongoing work, God makes us one. It's sad that there exists a
strain of belief in many American Christians that we should distinguish between those
whom God has made one, and imagine that unbelieving Jews have a special status of
some kind with God.
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_____________
[1] A scattering, as in when you broadcast seed. Spore = seed. This term refers to ethnic
groups that preserve their identities without benefit of homeland. The first, primary,
reference is to the wandering Jews who drifted around the world as cultural aliens for
nearly 2,000 years. To refer to other groups with a similar experience, you need to add
an adjective: the overseas Chinese disaspora, for example.
[2] This is a G-rated blog, so decency precludes discussion of how the earth mother
Cybele was worshipped!
[3] "Oh" is a generic exclamation. "O" is "vocative." You use O to invoke one of higher
status, such as God, or the king.
Unthinkable! ( Eph. 3 )
On the basis of their shared experiences of both adversity and glory, Paul could pray with
exuberant enthusiasm for the Ephesians:
Eph 3:14-15 Bunun için, yerde ve gökte her ailenin adını kendisinden aldığı Baba'nın
önünde diz çökerim.
Eph 3:16-19 Baba'nın kendi yüceliğinin zenginliği uyarınca Ruhu'yla sizi iç varlığınızda
kudretle güçlendirmesini ve Mesih'in iman yoluyla yüreklerinizde yaşamasını dilerim. Öyle
ki, Tanrı'nın bütün doluluğuyla dolmanız için, sevgide köklenmiş ve temellenmiş olarak
bütün kutsallarla birlikte Mesih'in sevgisinin ne denli geniş ve uzun, yüksek ve derin
olduğunu anlamaya, bilgiyi çok aşan bu sevgiyi kavramaya gücünüz yetsin.
Eph 3:20 Tanrı, bizde etkin olan kudretiyle, dilediğimiz ya da düşündüğümüz her şeyden
çok daha fazlasını yapabilecek güçtedir.
Eph 3:21 Kilisede ve Mesih İsa'da bütün kuşaklar boyunca sonsuzlara dek O'na yücelik
olsun! Amin.
• Bunun için -- for this reason, therefore
• yerde ve gökte -- on earth and in heaven
• her ailenin adını kendisinden aldığı Baba'nın -- every / family / name / its own /
receives / of the Father
• dilediğimiz ya da düşündüğümüz -- what we can know, even in fact what we can
imagine
• her şeyden -- everything than
• çok daha fazlasını -- much more, to excess
• yapabilecek -- He is able to do (in the future, the time to come).
• güçtedir -- by His power
An old story comes to mind. A man packed his suitcase with cheese and crackers, then
booked passage on a cruise liner. Day after day, he passed the other folks relishing fancy
dining in the fancy dining room, went to his little stateroom, and washed down dry
crackers and rancid cheese with water from the sink. Finally, on the last day, he decided
to treat himself to one meal in that dining room. He asked the steward how much it would
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cost him -- and discovered that the price of all the meals was included in the price of the
ticket he'd purchased.
The structure of the universe is patriarchical, in the Christian view. We see ourselves as
heirs of heaven's wealth, rich in all that matters most, surrounded with resources
(relationships, time, energy, ability, vision) lavished upon us by a generous heavenly
Father. Oh, that we would simply take the time to rejoice in, and make use of, what God
has already given us!
When we approach our Creator in prayer, we can expect His answers to exceed our
wildest hopes -- but in ways we could not imagine. After all, He is God, and we are not.
Sin and anger ( Eph. 4 )
Sometimes, a chapter just has too much content. Too much insight. Too much going on.
So, maybe the best thing to do is pick one sentence, and give it some thought.
Eph 4:26 Öfkelenin, ama günah işlemeyin. Öfkenizin üzerine güneş batmasın.
And, a few words:
• Öfkelenin -- Be angry
• ama -- but
• günah -- evil
• işlemeyin -- do not do.
• Öfkenizin -- Your anger
• üzerine -- upon
• güneş -- the sun
• batmasın -- do not permit to set.
Anger is a legitimate human emotion. Jesus saw the Gentiles who'd come to worship the
God of Israel being crowded out of their permitted place of prayer by mercenary
mercantile establishments. He went ballistic, kicked over the tables of the
moneychangers, made, and applied a whip. Yet, angry people can also be irrational, if
they let their anger master them.
This verse contains advice that will make a marriage happier. Make sure that conflicts are
resolved before you call it a night.
Gotta be bright ! (Eph. 5)
One of the things I admire about my Muslim friends is their conviction that every moment
of their lives is lived under the all-seeing gaze of heaven. A man who takes that insight to
heart lives far more soberly than the careless idler. Paul plays with the concepts of light,
time, and accountability in this chapter of Ephesians:
Eph 5:14 Çünkü görünen her şey ışıktır. Bunun için şöyle deniyor: "Uyan, ey uyuyan!
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Ölümden diril! Mesih sana ışık saçacak."
Eph 5:15 Öyleyse nasıl yaşadığınıza çok dikkat edin. Bilgelikten yoksun olanlar gibi değil,
bilgeler gibi yaşayın.
Eph 5:16 Fırsatı değerlendirin. Çünkü yaşadığımız günler kötüdür.
Eph 5:17 Bunun için akılsız olmayın, Rab'bin isteğinin ne olduğunu anlayın.
Eph 5:18 Şarapla sarhoş olmayın, bu sizi sefahate götürür. Bunun yerine Ruh'la dolun:
Eph 5:19 Birbirinize mezmurlar, ilahiler, ruhsal ezgiler söyleyin; yürekten Rab'be ezgiler,
mezmurlar okuyun;
And, a few words:
• Çünkü -- because, therefore
• görünen her şey ışıktır -- that which makes visible / every thing / is light
• Uyan, ey uyuyan! Ölümden diril! Mesih sana ışık saçacak -- Wake up / O / you
sleeper! / From the dead / arise! / Christ (Messiah) / to you / light / will sow. (uymak -to sleep. uyumak -- to wake up.)
• Öyleyse nasıl yaşadığınıza çok dikkat edin. -- For this reason / how / you are living /
very / careful / be.
• Fırsatı değerlendirin. -- Opportunity / buy up.
Some religions view time as something to passively endure, while you wait for something
better to come along. Different Christian groups also have different perspectives on time.
Latin American cultures are famed for having institutionalized procrastination with the
defining word Manana. (Literally, "tomorrow." In practice, "not today.") Then, there are
some middle-eastern cultures that use Insh'allah the same way. The American Calvinists,
however, lived by the clock and calendar. They viewed every moment as an irreplaceable
asset, that had to be used or forever lost. These Yankees had trouble dealing with the
more laid-back culture of the Cajuns, a Catholic, French-speaking society absorbed by
the Louisiana Purchase.
Preaching to slaves (Eph. 6)
During the 19th century, the Methodists perfected the art of "camp meetings." Thousands
of people would gather to sing, pray, and listen to preaching. Mass hysteria occasionally
gripped the crowd, and some susceptible souls would even go into convulsions. Some
ladies would "jerk" so intensely that the ends of their long braids would crack like whips.
Yet people would also testify to a sense of release from their sins, from degrading habits
and addictions.
Now, what do you preach when some of the slaveowners bring their slaves along? This
was not at all unusual. Many churches built during that era had seperate seating
accomodations for the slaves, in balconies in the rear of the meeting room. Well, one
noteworthy evangelist used the following text, to explain, first of all, the duties of slaves:
Eph 6:5 Ey köleler, dünyadaki efendilerinizin sözünü Mesih'in sözünü dinler gibi saygı ve
korkuyla, saf yürekle dinleyin.
Eph 6:6 Bunu, yalnız insanları hoşnut etmek isteyenler gibi göze hoş görünmek için
yapmayın. Mesih'in kulları olarak Tanrı'nın isteğini candan yerine getirin.
Eph 6:7 İnsanlara değil, Rab'be hizmet eder gibi gönülden hizmet edin.
Eph 6:8 Çünkü ister köle ister özgür olsun, herkesin yaptığı her iyiliğin karşılığını Rab'den
alacağını biliyorsunuz.
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Then, once he had the crowd nodding in agreement, he'd preach even more forcefully on
the duties of slave owners:
Eph 6:9 Ey efendiler, siz de kölelerinize aynı biçimde davranın. Artık onları tehdit
etmeyin. Onların da sizin de Efendiniz'in göklerde olduğunu ve insanlar arasında ayrım
yapmadığını biliyorsunuz. Ultimately, our work has significance because it is a means of
worshipping God by serving our neighbor. Communist societies, founded on a denial of
God, found it impossible to motivate the workers to do more than the bare minimum. A
Russian saying went, "They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work." Without the
excellencies of a transcendent God as a standard of comparison, folks "worked to the
contract," made a show of doing their duties, but in a slip-shod, half-hearted way. During
a two-week visit to Ukraine, I saw a nation full of mediocrity. Charming people, and I hope
I can work among them some day, maybe teach for a summer now and then. But, if you
have no ethic of what Soltzenitsn referred to as "quality, the soul of technology," you end
up with Chernobyl.
Reality tends to assert itself over ideology.
New territory (Phil. 1)
Life goes into overdrive when you find yourself in a new situation. I enjoy working with
grad students from other nations, since they have a wide-eyed enthusiasm for their
experiences in our country. It is a peak moment in their lives. Paul, whose life had orbited
between Tarsus and Jerusalem, found his initial foray into Europe to be a similar
landmark experience. As you can read in Acts 16, in Philippi he encountered a formidable
business lady at a "place of prayer."[1] A demon-possessed fortune-teller. Roman officers
with whips. Prison. An earthquake. A family's conversion. And the opportunity to humiliate
Roman magistrates. Definitely a memorable visit!
Paul's initial convert, Lydia, was a business lady in the import/export textile trade. In his
later missionary journeys, this church provided financial support to Paul's ministry.
Someone was accustomed to transferring funds between jurisdictions. Let's read Paul's
feelings towards this church, written from jail:
Php 1:3 Sizi hatırladıkça Tanrım'a şükrediyorum.
Php 1:4,5 İlk günden şimdiye dek Müjde'nin yayılmasındaki işbirliğinizden dolayı her
duamda hepiniz için her zaman sevinçle dilekte bulunuyorum.
Php 1:6 Sizde iyi bir işe başlamış olan Tanrı'nın bunu Mesih İsa'nın gününe dek
bitireceğine güvenim var.
Php 1:7 Hepiniz için böyle düşünmekte haklıyım. Her an yüreğimdesiniz. İster zincire
vurulmuş, ister Müjde'yi savunup doğrulamakta olayım, hepiniz benimle birlikte Tanrı'nın
lütfuna ortaksınız.
• İlk -- The first
• günden -- day from
• şimdiye dek -- to now / even
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• Her -- Every
• an -- moment
• yüreğimdesiniz. -- you all are on my heart. A lovely compound word! yürek: heart. im- : my. -de- : on. -siniz: you (plural) are.
-------------------------[1] When ten Jewish men could be gathered for a minyan, formal worship took place.
Else, informal prayers were offered at a "place of prayer."
Zero upward mobility ( Phil. 2 )
Christians are comforted by their belief that their Creator, the author of the universe and
their lives, wrote Himself in the story. We see in the life of Jesus a revelation of God's
character, mercy, and justice. A central and joyous paradox of our faith is its focus in One
who had everything, but gave it all up, to make us insanely rich, beyond our wildest
dreams, in all that is eternally important.
Php 2:5 Mesih İsa'daki düşünce sizde de olsun.
Php 2:6 Mesih, Tanrı özüne sahip olduğu halde, Tanrı'ya eşitliği sımsıkı sarılacak bir hak
saymadı.
Php 2:7,8 Ama kul özünü alıp insan benzeyişinde doğarak ululuğunu bir yana bıraktı.
İnsan biçimine bürünmüş olarak ölüme, çarmıh üzerinde ölüme bile boyun eğip kendini
alçalttı.
Php 2:9 Bunun için de Tanrı O'nu pek çok yükseltti ve O'na her adın üstünde olan adı
bağışladı.
Php 2:10,11 Öyle ki, İsa'nın adı anıldığında gökteki, yerdeki ve yer altındakilerin hepsi diz
çöksün ve her dil, Baba Tanrı'nın yüceltilmesi için İsa Mesih'in Rab olduğunu açıkça
söylesin.
You would think that the Almighty would have "zero upward mobility." Nothing could
conceivably add to His glory and honor. Yet, strangely enough, it is what God did in and
through Jesus that humanity has come to bow before their Creator on the widest possible
scale. Even the heavenly beings, and those "under the earth," whoever they are, had
their eyes more fully opened to the majesty and goodness of our God.
A Muslim friend and I watched Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ together. When
the movie was screened in Turkey, he said, viewers wept aloud to see the pain inflicted
upon Jesus. Yet, since Christians believe that Jesus bore that pain on our behalf, our
love for Him is great.
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Watch out for dogs! ( Phil. 3 )
Paul refused to be muzzled by political correctness. Consider his warning to the
Philippian church:
Php 3:2 Kötülük yapan o adamlardan, o köpeklerden sakının; o sünnet bağnazlarından
sakının! Let's examine a few words:
• Kötülük yapan -- evil doing
• o adamlardan -- of the men
• o köpeklerden -- of the dogs
• sakının -- beware!
Paul had strong reasons for these warnings. For example, he himself had once been one
of those dogs, those evil-doers, those fanatical Jews who hated the Christian gospel and
forcefully resisted it. But, that was then, and this is now:
Php 3:13, 14 Kardeşler, kendimi bunu kazanmış saymıyorum. Ancak şunu yapıyorum:
Geride kalan her şeyi unutup ileride olanlara uzanarak, Tanrı'nın Mesih İsa aracılığıyla
yaptığı göksel çağrıda öngörülen ödülü kazanmak için hedefe doğru koşuyorum.
An insight in a shower ( Phil. 4 )
During a day of trials, I stepped into the shower crying out to my God, "How am I to serve
you?" A two-word answer popped into my mind -- "With joy!" and a verse from the Law of
Moses, Deut. 28:54 -- those who refuse to serve God with joy for the abundance of
everything are welcome to try serving other masters in the paucity of everything. (I
paraphrase, here)
Paul had a similar admonition for the Philippians:
Php 4:4 Rab'de her zaman sevinin; yine söylüyorum, sevinin! Let's enjoy the words!
• Rab'de -- in the Lord
• her -- all, every
• zaman -- time
• sevinin -- rejoice! (imperative mood)
And there is a reason why a note of exuberant joy should surround our lives:
Php 4:13 Beni güçlendirenin aracılığıyla her şeyi yapabilirim.
The words!
• Beni -- to me
• güçlendirenin -- the One who makes strong
• aracılığıyla -- by means of
• her şeyi -- every things, all things
• yapabilirim -- I am able to do.
These words are as true today as they were when Paul wrote them. We are like folks
who worry about pennies, when incredible wealth in in our hands. This is definitely a
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perspective that can help job seekers in uncertain times.
Collossians
I hope to do justice to this dynamic little book on my next trek through Incil. One thing that
impressed me this time, though -- the newsletter network that Paul participated in was his
generation's equivalent of our LinkedIn. This new social network has been called
"FaceBook for grownups," and is a remarkable way to connect to people and places
you've worked with in ages past. Paul wrote to the church at Collossae from prision. He
had never been their personally, but he knew people who knew people, and was known
to be a reliable source of inspired, and inspiring, advice.
Salonika 1 -- a happening place
Winston Churchill, that maker of memorable phrases, described the tragedy of the
Balkans thus: "a place that produces more history than can be consumed locally."
Salonika has always been a happening place, to use the old hippy phrase. It's at the
grinding edge of multiple cultures. In the late 19th century, Kemal Atatürk, the founder of
modern Turkey, began his military education there.
I'm still working on a dissertation that examines Atatürk's Nutuk (Six Day Speech). It's a
persuasive document, that uses all three of the primary colors of discourse Aristotle
analyzed so tediously in his handbook on Rhetoric . There is logos, the appeal to
rationality. There is pathos, the appeal to the emotions. Most convincing, however, is
ethos -- the attraction of the speaker's character. Atatürk strode through history as a
larger-than-life figure, who earned the right to shape his nation's destiny by his heroic
deeds. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, is said to travel with a "realitydistortion sphere." When he turns it on, those around him find themselve fascinated by
his compelling vision. Atatürk apparently had the same effect on those around him. To
this day, traffic stops once a year as a grateful nation remembers the month, day, hour,
and minute of his death.
As Paul begins to address the new Christians in Salonika, he appeals to ethos:
1Th 1:5 Çünkü yaydığımız Müjde size yalnız sözle değil, kudretle, Kutsal Ruh'la ve büyük
güvenle ulaştı. Nitekim aranızdayken sizin yararınıza nasıl yaşadığımızı bilirsiniz. Let's
look at a few words:
• yalnız sözle değil -- not only / with words / not
• kudretle -- but with power
• Kutsal Ruh'la -- and with the Holy Spirit
• ve büyük güvenle -- and / great / assurance, confidence with
• Nitekim -- because
• aranızdayken -- while we were among
• sizin yararınıza -- you / next to we were
• nasıl yaşadığımızı bilirsiniz. -- how / our lives (were lived) / you know.
Paul had just been thoroughly beaten at his last place of ministry, Philippi. Yet his
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courage in proclaiming his good news in Salonika had raised up an energetic
congregation that also became examples to the surrounding cities. Heros beget heros.
Nobility inspires nobility. Modern Turkey is largely the shadow of one man's life. The
Christian message owes much to the life and work and heroism of Paul.
Salonika 2 -- a new citizenship
Americans tend to be tone-deaf to the communitarian aspects of human life. Our cultural
icon is the cowboy, riding alone, making up his own rules as he goes along. A High
Plains Drifter , disconnected from family, from faith, from the larger universe of
relationships. Other cultures, high-context cultures, create conflicts few Americans face.
For example, Dietrich Boenhoffer was excecuted towards the end of WW II for
participating in a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. He lamented, "I am the citizen of a
totalitarian country, and the subject of a totalitarian God." In his book The Cost of
Discipleship, Boenhoffer wrote, "When Jesus bids a man 'Come and follow Me,' he bids
him 'Come and die.'"
When worlds collide. What do you do when your girlfriend from back home shows up on
campus, and encounters your local girlfriend? How do you resolve the tug of competing
and irreconcilable allegiances?
This is an old issue. People who catch crabs dump them in a basket without a lid. If one
crab tries to escape, you see, the others pull it back down into the community. In certain
inner-city American neighborhoods, a studious student is reviled and ostracized for
"acting white." For aspiring to do more, to "be better" than, his peers.
This form of group loyalty can be extremely toxic. Suppose your community, like Hitler's
Germany, is on a collision course with an unpleasant destiny? Suppose your Soviet
future depends upon your willingness to join the Young Pioneers, wearing the red scarf
and proclaiming your atheism?
Let's look at how Paul encouraged the new believers in Salonika, who were facing
exactly this issue:
1Th 2:14 Çünkü kardeşler, siz Tanrı'nın Yahudiye'de bulunan ve Mesih İsa'ya bağlı olan
kiliselerini örnek aldınız. Onların Yahudiler'den çektiği sıkıntıların aynısını siz de kendi
yurttaşlarınızdan çektiniz.
1Th 2:15-16 Rab İsa'yı ve peygamberleri öldüren, bize de zulmeden Yahudiler'dir. Öteki
uluslardan olanlarla konuşmamızı ve böylece onların kurtulmasını engellemekle Tanrı'nın
hoşnutsuzluğuna yol açıyor ve bütün insanlara karşı geliyorlar. Böylece durmadan
günahlarına günah katıyorlar. Sonunda Tanrı'nın gazabına uğradılar.
Talk about toxic! That old Antolian sage Aesop told the story of The Manger Dog. This
foul brute lay down in the ox's manger, resting on straw it could not eat, and keeping the
hungry ox from its dinner. The Jewish people not only discarded God's King, but worked
overtime to keep the other nations from enjoying that which they disdained.
Yet, even as Israel, and the Roman Empire, careened on their courses towards oblivion,
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a "third race," neither Jewish nor Gentile, although composed of folks from both
communities, was quietly rising up. Some of the crabs were getting away from a date with
the pot of boiling water. Even today, people are coming to shelter under the aegis of the
Eternal King, Jesus, giving up their entire world, and finding a new home, a new family, a
new community.
Salonika 3 -- happy discoveries
The observant man notices failures around him as he goes through life. Some are petty.
Some are catastrophic. A high school friend, one hears, "is doing 25 years to life,[0] for
an incident involving a bank and a gun." An old mentor and excellent teacher was
discovered to have forged his doctorate. Another friend, a brilliant and insightful guy, had
a life that somehow never acquired enough momentum for liftoff into successful
adulthood. He dies of multiple brain tumors, and his last few years are comforted by a
new-found Catholic faith, and recourse to "the bottle."[1]
Then, from time to time, you learn that someone who'd made a spectacular train wreck of
his life has overcome the setback and made remarkable progress in life. It is refreshing to
find out "the rest of the story" decades later, and discover that it has a happy ending.
Paul tended to live in a compressed time frame. Note the exuberant joy:
1Th 3:5 Bu nedenle ben de daha fazla dayanamadım; acaba Ayartıcı bir yolunu bulup sizi
ayarttı mı, emeğimiz boşa mı gitti diye iman durumunuzu öğrenmek için Timoteos'u
gönderdim.
1Th 3:6 Ama yanınızdan henüz dönen Timoteos, imanınıza, sevginize ilişkin bize güzel
haberler getirdi. Bizi her zaman iyi anılarla hatırladığınızı, sizi görmeyi özlediğimiz kadar
sizin de bizi özlediğinizi söyledi.
His old friends were turning out all right. They were on the right track. All was well with his
soul.
_______________
[0] "Doing time" is a euphemism for serving a prison sentence.
[1] When Americans speak of "the bottle," rather than of its contents, they frequently use
the container as a euphemism for alcoholic beverages.
Salonika 4 -- "Now I lay me down to sleep."
A long time ago, folks used to teach their children little rhyming prayers, such as this one,
to be said at bedtime:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
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I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Hmmm ... I guess folks used to live more closely with death in those days. It would not
cross my mind to comfort my children's souls by reminding them of their mortality every
night!
Still, let's look at the words of comfort Paul gave the folks at Salonika:
1Th 4:14 İsa'nın ölüp dirildiğine inanıyoruz. Aynı şekilde Tanrı, İsa'ya bağlı olarak
gözlerini yaşama kapamış olanları da O'nunla birlikte geri getirecektir.
We believe that Jesus rose from the dead. In the same way, we expect our God to
resurrect those who gözlerini yaşama kapamış -- a lovely Turkish idiom that means their
eyes / upon life / have closed.
Salonike 5 -- the mushroom committe
The English idiomatic phrase "in the dark" means "out of the loop." During the Reagan
administration, the catch phrase was "plausible deniability." A famous congressional
committee once complained of being treated like mushrooms -- "We're being kept in the
dark, and covered with bullshit."[1]
The story is different for believers, though, and the ending is ultimately happy, no matter
how it turns out in the short term:
1Th 5:4 Ama kardeşler, siz karanlıkta değilsiniz ki, o gün sizi hırsız gibi yakalasın.
1Th 5:5 Hepiniz ışık çocukları, gündüz çocuklarısınız. Geceye ya da karanlığa ait değiliz.
1Th 5:6 Öyleyse başkaları gibi uyumayalım, ayık ve uyanık olalım.
1Th 5:7 Çünkü uyuyanlar gece uyur, sarhoş olanlar da gece sarhoş olurlar.
1Th 5:8 Gündüze ait olan bizlerse, iman ve sevgi zırhını kuşanıp başımıza miğfer olarak
kurtuluş umudunu giyerek ayık duralım.
1Th 5:9 Çünkü Tanrı bizi gazaba uğrayalım diye değil, Rabbimiz İsa Mesih aracılığıyla
kurtuluşa kavuşalım diye belirledi.
1Th 5:10 Mesih bizler için öldü; öyle ki, ister uyanık ister uykuda olalım, O'nunla birlikte
yaşayalım.
A few words!
• Ama kardeşler, siz karanlıkta değilsiniz -- But / brothers, / you / of the darkness / you
are not
• Hepiniz ışık çocukları, gündüz çocuklarısınız -- Every one of you / light / are the
children / of the day / you are the children.
You've got to be bright to be the lgiht of the world!
__________
[1] Bullshit is a rude and contemptuous term for deliberately misleading and pretentious
assertions. A favorite movie of mine, the rather clumsy Return of Captain Invincible, has
an entire musical number consisting of that single word! Also known as "male bovine
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feces." The metaphor is cute, but in real life, mushrooms are raised on horse manure,
since ruminants, with their four stomachs, leave little behind for mushrooms to feast
upon.
II Salonika
Thursday, November 12, 2009
In his first letter to the new believers at Salonika, Paul encouraged them to endure
persecution with patience, since their enemies would soon experience divine retribution.
To quote the late Jerry Falwell's recipe for dealing with adversaries, "Love them, forgive
them, outlive them."
The world these people lived in was facing radical (from the roots up) turmoil, and the
people who were riding high at the moment had a date with destiny.
The problem is, when you hear that judgment day is upon us, and the world we now
know is on its last legs, it gets really easy to lose one's own drive, momentum, energy,
mojo. Apparently, many of the lazier people in Salonika used this news as an excuse to
slack off, and start living on the charity of others. During the late sixties / early seventies,
as the bungled Vietnam war was winding down, the hippy subculture preached the
wisdom of "tune in, turn on, drop out." Who wants to expend energy neatly arranging the
deck furniture on a sinking Titanic? This turned out to be really bad advice, even if the
"drug of choice" was a vivid personal relationship with Jesus. Quite a few long-haired
"Jesus freaks" bummed around the country, living on the charity of others. This was not a
good scene. (sorry, my hippy argot keeps cropping up!)
Let's look at how Paul addressed the issue:
2Th 3:7 Bizleri nasıl örnek almanız gerektiğini kendiniz biliyorsunuz. Çünkü biz
aranızdayken boş gezenler değildik.
2Th 3:8 Kimsenin ekmeğini karşılıksız yemedik. Herhangi birinize yük olmamak için
uğraşıp didindik, gece gündüz çalıştık.
2Th 3:9 Yardımlarınızı hak etmediğimiz için değil, izleyebileceğiniz bir örnek bırakmak
için böyle yaptık.
2Th 3:10 Hatta sizinle birlikteyken şu buyruğu vermiştik: "Çalışmak istemeyen yemek de
yemesin!"
2Th 3:11 Çünkü aranızda bazılarının boş gezdiğini duyuyoruz. Bunlar hiçbir iş yapmıyor,
başkalarının işine karışıp duruyorlarmış.
2Th 3:12 Böylelerine Rab İsa Mesih adına yalvarıyor, şunu buyuruyoruz: Sakin bir şekilde
çalışıp kendi kazançlarından yesinler.
2Th 3:13 Sizlerse kardeşler, iyilik yapmaktan usanmayın.
Let's look at a few words. In vs. 7, Paul admonishes the folks at Salonika to follow his
example. In the other translation I use, the verb the translators selected is
izleyebileceğiniz. Let's tease that apart:
• iz -- footprint, track, trace, mark, evidence, clue
• izlemek -- to follow, watch, view, observe
• izci -- Boy / Girl Scout
• izleyebileceğiniz -- you will be able to follow. Combines the root izle with ebil
(capability suffix) and ecek (future tense) and iniz (second person plural).
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In the original language, Paul demonstrates a bit of word play in verse 11:
μηδὲν ἐργαζομένους, ἀλλὰ περιεργαζομένους·
The people he reproved were no longer busy, but had become busybodies. Erg- , the
Greek syllable for work, shows up in the English word energy. Running one's own life well
is a major-league project. It's so much easier to assert a right to run other people's lives
for them. I guess that explains the perennial appeal of liberalism.
Meanwhile, back in Efeses (I Timothy 1)
Scholars of ancient Christian history make a big deal over the contrasts between Antioch
and Alexandria. Each city produced notable pastors, preachers, and teachers. Antioch
seemed to be more under the spell of the Jewish culture, while Alexandria, of course,
was named for that conquering Greek dude, Alexander, and celebrated Hellenistic
culture.
Once again, in this book, we come to a third major happening place in the history of
revelation, Efeses. You see, in addition to Greek philosophy and Jewish traditions, the
early believers had to figure out what to do with the crazy mystical esoteric pagan cults
that bubbled up in force at places like Efeses. Paul had spent a very profitable two years
in this city, at the peak of his professional career. He taught and catalyzed people with
such powerful effect that the Christian message made it to every corner of Anatolia.
Yet, the older perversions hovered around the periphery, and tried to sneak back in. In
his warning to the elders of Efeses in Acts 2, Paul warned them that some of the
corrupting influences would even come from among their own number. It was to deal with
"the crazies" that Paul, once again, sent his right-hand man, Timothy, back to town to set
things straight.
1Ti 1:3, 4 Makedonya'ya giderken sana rica ettiğim gibi, Efes'te kal ve bazı kişilerin farklı
öğretiler yaymamasını, masallarla ve sonu gelmeyen soyağaçlarıyla uğraşmamasını
öğütle. Bu şeyler, imana dayanan tanrısal düzene hizmet etmekten çok, tartışmalara yol
açar.
1Ti 1:5 Bu buyruğun amacı, pak yürekten, temiz vicdandan, içten imandan doğan sevgiyi
uyandırmaktır.
1Ti 1:6 Bazı kişiler bunlardan saparak boş konuşmalara daldılar.
1Ti 1:7 Kutsal Yasa öğretmeni olmak istiyorlar, ama ne söyledikleri sözleri ne de iddialı
oldukları konuları anlıyorlar.
Imagine a sailor spending hours reading The Bluejacket's Manual just to rejoice in its
elegant discourse. Or, imagine a nerd with a shelf crammed with instruction manuals for
software he doesn't have, and has no intention of using! People of faith view sacred
books as handbooks for living. To turn our backs on life in order to disappear into endless
and sterile speculations is a misuse of God's precious guidance.
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God likes good government ( I Timothy 2 )
"You know, there's something to be said about living in a police state," I said to myself
one sweet summer midnight, as I strolled through downtown Kiev, feeling completely
safe.
People in Franco's Spain could say whatever they liked about him -- but you could leave
a $5 bill on the seat of a convertible on the streets of Madrid -- and no one would touch it.
People in South Africa today -- people of all shades -- recall the apartheid era with wistful
nostalgia. "Before God, sir, we intended no malice," the Afrikaaner explained to me on
the plane back from Kiev. Apartheid was an attempt to maintain the peace between a
dozen or more tribes, only a few generations out of the stone age. Today, abortion and
sodomy are legal -- and South Africa leads most of the world in per-capita rape and
murder rates. Ain't progress wonderful?
What did Paul have to say about the imperial Roman empire and its sovereign, Caesar
Nero?
1Ti 2:1, 2 Her şeyden önce şunu öğütlerim: Tanrı yoluna tam bir bağlılık ve ağırbaşlılık
içinde sakin ve huzurlu bir yaşam sürelim diye, krallarla bütün üst yöneticiler dahil, bütün
insanlar için dilekler, dualar, yakarışlar ve şükürler sunulsun.
1Ti 2:3 Böyle yapmak iyidir ve Kurtarıcımız Tanrı'yı hoşnut eder.
1Ti 2:4 O bütün insanların kurtulup gerçeğin bilincine erişmesini ister.
During times of peace, we have leisure to talk with our neighbors about the things that
matter most to us. During times of strife, turmoil, and hostility, conversations die out. As
Americans, we need to pray for the end of political correctness, and reclaim our liberty to
speak freely.
Of kings and castles ( I Timothy 3 )
Mormonism has been called "the American Islam." This strange cult, which is especially
strong in the state of Utah, boasts a post-Christian prophet and another book. The early
Mormons also believed that polygamy was necessary for salvation. They discovered for
themselves the observation made by anthropologists in Africa -- the men found
themselves outnumbered all too often, as the wives made common cause. The Mormons
had a wry comment on that condition -- "That man isn't king in his own castle!"
The family is the truest nursery for leadership in the larger community.
1Ti 3:1 İşte güvenilir söz: Bir kimse gözetmen olmayı gönülden istiyorsa, iyi bir görev arzu
etmiş olur.
...
1Ti 3:4 Evini iyi yönetmeli, çocuklarına söz dinletmeli, her yönden saygılı olmalarını
sağlamalı.
1Ti 3:5 Kendi evini yönetmesini bilmeyen, Tanrı'nın topluluğunu nasıl kayırabilir?
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If it doesn't work at home, our gospel isn't worth exporting. (This is also, BTW, the
motivation of many home schooling families.)
Left brain, right brain ( I Tim. 4 )
During the American war of independence, an engineer named Bushnell invented a
submarine he called the Turtle. It was made of wood, and shaped rather like a barrel. The
inventor climbed into it, closed the lid and began turning a crank that span a propellor that
moved the ungainly craft slowly towards its target.
Creative writing has been described as performing a right-brain activity (visual, spatial, 3D) through left-brain means (verbal, linear). For me, a good and productive day is more
like one wherein I can get "inside" the project, and start cranking away.
The muse is mysterious. Folks on speaking terms with it tend to be incredibly productive.
But getting into the flow is the problem. It is entirely too easy to drift around the outside of
one's calling, one's area of giftedness, and not get anything done. My screen saver is a
three-word phrase, ... armağanı ihmal etme. Armak = gift. ihmal = neglect. etme = do not.
Let's look at the larger context:
1Ti 4:13 Ben yanına gelinceye dek kendini topluluğa Kutsal Yazılar'ı okumaya, öğüt
vermeye, öğretmeye ada.
1Ti 4:14 Peygamberlik sözüyle, ihtiyarlar kurulunun ellerini senin üzerine koymasıyla
sana verilen ve hâlâ sende olan ruhsal armağanı ihmal etme. Timothy, it appears, was a
gifted speaker who was prone to stage fright. Paul reminded him of all that had gone into
making him the man he was, and told him, "Don't let it go to waste."
Priorities ( I Tim. 5:8 )
Efeses is a sophisticated place. People loved having long conversations on speculative
topics. Time after time Paul had to remind them -- directly, and again through Timothy -that good doctrine must be lived. Consider this shocking offhand comment:
1Ti 5:8 Kendi yakınlarına, özellikle de ev halkına bakmayan kişi imanı inkâr etmiş,
imansızdan beter olmuştur.
• imanı -- the faith (direct object case)
• inkâr -- denial
• etmiş -- has made
• imansızdan -- than an unbeliever
• beter -- worse
• olmuştur -- has become
A favorite scholar, R. J. Rushdoony, suggested that the American cult of celebrity
correlates to the loss of reverence for worship. When we celebrate our covenant with
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God with condign passion and seriousness, we are less inclined to live (and lust)
vicariously through the glossy pages of People magazine.
Still, this is a country that cherishes its heros, its larger-than-life sized "American idols."
Sadly, this adulation of public figures has also affected the community of believers.
Several decades ago, several very visible "televangelists" had spectacular public falls. A
century ago, a Billy Sunday mesmerized a million people into performing a novel ritual,
the "altar call response." Meanwhile, he lost all four of his own children. His advocacy of
prohibition also discredited Christians in the larger public sphere ever since.
Paul asserts that the man who refuses to measaure up to his responsibilities at home is
"worse than an unbeliever." No atheist hurling[0] brickbats[1] at us from outside our
community can do as much harm to the gospel we proclaim than the guy inside the camp
who feels entitled to consort with prostitutes.
______________
[0] Hurl is a less-common way of saying throw, and always refers to an object propelled
with hostile intent. A decade ago, it was also a slang term for the verb vomit.
[1] That's a funny old word, defined by its use. "An object, such as a piece of a brick, that
is hurled in a fight."
Servant or master? ( I Tim. 6 )
Here is an interesting article on the intersection of money and putperest (idolatry).
Here is the most famous quote from İncil about money:
1Ti 6:10 Çünkü her türlü kötülüğün bir kökü de para sevgisidir. Kimileri zengin olma
hevesiyle imandan saptılar, kendi kendilerine çok acı çektirdiler.
Let's look at a few words!
• her -- every
• türlü -- kind
• kötülüğün -- of evil
• bir kökü de -- a root of
• para -- money
• sevgisidir -- love is.
It's not the money itself that is evil, but the inordinate love of it. Like fire -- a wonderful
servant, but a fearsome master!
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Non-automatic gifts ( II Tim. 1 )
Second Timothy is believed to be the last letter Paul wrote. In any case, if he wrote
anything after this letter, we don't have it. He's in prison, looking down the barrel of one
last criminal trial, and probable execution. He is encouraging his closest associate, the
younger man he trusts to carry on his mission. He reminds Timothy of how much he has
going for him -- starting with the Biblical faith of his grandmother and mother. And, he
reminds him of his spiritual empowerment:
2Ti 1:6 Bu nedenle, ellerimi senin üzerine koymamla Tanrı'nın sana verdiği armağanı
alevlendirmen gerektiğini hatırlatıyorum.
2Ti 1:7 Çünkü Tanrı bize korkaklık ruhu değil, güç, sevgi ve özdenetim ruhu vermiştir.
Key words, verse 6:
• armak -- gift
• alevlendirmen -- stir up into flame
Key words, verse 7:
• Tanrı -- God
• bize -- to us
• korkaklık --fearful
• ruhu -- spirit
• değil, -- not
• güç, -- power, strength
• sevgi -- love
• özdenetim -- self-mastery
• vermiştir -- He has given
Each of us has his own special "gift," his own knack for doing something more easily
than most of our peers. The problem is, these "gifts" do not operate themselves. Yes,
God has equipped us with an ability to make an impact on our world. No, we can't go
onto autopilot and coast along. For example, I have a gift for writing. However, unless I
"glue the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair" and "drive the dreary quill," nothing
happens, other than increasing anxiety and frustration.
Well, I'm memorizing verse 7, as part of the ongoing project of recalibrating the brain.
The Big Picture ( II Tim. 2 )
Monday, November 23, 2009
One of the metaphors Paul frequently uses is the soldier. I sometimes wonder how my
life would be different today if I had answered my country's call back in the late '60s.
When you march in demonstrations against your nation's military, even if only out of a
desire to belong, a desire to impress your peers, it leaves a nagging suspicion, in the
back of your mind, about your own manliness, your own courage, your own ability to face
hardship and adversity. I know, logically, that my nation hasn't participated in a just war
for well over 150 years. I know, as Smedley Butler realized, that most of our more recent
wars have made a handful of plutocrats really rich, while costing the expendables their
lives, limbs, and sanity.
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Yet on a level beyond logic, a sense that one has avoided the challenge of his generation
does leave one at a loss when talking with those who took the challenge, measured
themselves against it, and measured up.
Well, as Uncle Remus used to say, "Dat's needer heer nor dare." Paul used the metaphor
of military service to warn Timothy against the tyranny of petty distractions:
2Ti 2:4 Askerlik yapan kişi günlük yaşamla ilgili işlere karışmaz; kendisini askerliğe
çağıranı hoşnut etmeye çalışır.
A few words:
• Askerlik -- military. asker (soldier) + lik (participating in the characteristics of)
• günlük -- mundane. gün (day) + lük (participating in the characteristics of)
• yaşamla -- of life
• işlere -- works
Now, on the one hand, most of life does consist of small duties, routine obligations. The
problem happens when one gets immersed in the urgent to the extent of neglecting the
important. There are always trivial things one could be doing. Programmers call those
distractions "dogwash." When a major project is approaching its deadline, other things
suddenly look interesting. Like washing the dog.
Only a vision of the Commander who conscripted us has sufficient power to break us out
of the tyranny of the urgent, the immediate, and keep our eyes focused on the big picture.
If you can keep your head ( II Tim. 3 )
Monday, November 23, 2009
Paul loved the Jewish civilization, tradition, and culture, with all the passion of one who
knew himself to be somewhat peripheral to it. Stalin, after all, was a Georgian. Hitler was
an Austrian. And Paul, who had the most impeccable Jewish credentials, and had even
completed advanced studies at Jerusalem U, studying with the most prestigious rabbis of
his day, was still the guy from Anatolia.[1]
Yet, Paul knew that "the beloved community" was on a collision course with reality. His
nation, his tribe, his people, were being mismanaged into destruction. Israel had crucified
and rejected the Prophet God sent them, and that's a hard mistake to bounce back from.
So, Paul warned his protege, dying cultures can break bad. Dying cultures can be
possessed by an insane lust to share the misery. "Timothy, my lad, watch out," Paul
wrote.
2Ti 3:1 Şunu bil ki, son günlerde çetin anlar olacaktır.
2Ti 3:2, 3 İnsanlar kendilerini seven, para düşkünü, övüngen, kibirli, küfürbaz, anne baba
sözü dinlemez, nankör, kutsallıktan ve sevgiden yoksun, uzlaşmaz, iftiracı, özünü
denetleyemeyen, azgın, iyilik düşmanı olacaklar.
2Ti 3:4 Hain, aceleci, kendini beğenmiş, Tanrı'dan çok eğlenceyi seven, Tanrı
yolundaymış gibi görünüp bu yolun gücünü inkâr edenler olacaklar. Böylelerinden uzak
dur.
Let's look at that last sentence:
• Böylelerinden -- from these kinds of people
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• uzak -- far away
• dur -- stay!
Although it may be a surprise to today's apocalyptic nincompoops, Paul's letter to
Timothy was written to Timothy. The condemned prisoner was giving the man he most
counted on to further his legacy the exact admonitions and advice that protege needed.
Paul did not break away from addressing Timothy to pen a handful of sentences for the
entertainment of 20th century fortune-tellers.
Still, Timothy had to know what to expect as his culture came unglued. How people could
be expected to react to those special pressures. What kinds of charlatans would arise to
take advantage of the prevailing misery. All of this is helpful information for believers
facing the unraveling of their worlds, at those hinges of history.
__________
[1] A man may live 50 years in the south -- but whenever he opens his mouth, people
hear "Pittsburgh."
If you think it's hard now ... ! ( II Tim. 4 )
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
When times get tough, people get strange. There are times, rare in history, when a
distinct demographic group suddenly is fascinated by God's truth, eager and responsive.
This usually happens at times of national catastrophe. However, a more common
reaction is to tune in to comforting lies. In the aftermath of the American war of Northern
aggression, our people brooded over the smoking ruins of two Christian nations. The
losers had lost the war, and suffered punitive military occupation. The winners lost their
souls. This was the time when "dispensationalism," a perverted heresy that ran rampant
through popular Protestantism, sank its roots into the hearts of this subculture. Paul
warned Timothy using graphic language:
2Ti 4:3 Çünkü öyle bir zaman gelecek ki, sağlam öğretiye katlanamayacaklar. Kulaklarını
okşayan sözler duymak için çevrelerine kendi arzularına uygun öğretmenler
toplayacaklar.
2Ti 4:4 Kulaklarını gerçeğe tıkayıp masallara sapacaklar.
And today's word is:
• okşamak -- to caress, to fondle.
People who see nothing but increasing distress ahead are easy prey for those who
seduce, caress, and fondle their ears. Who trot out rationalizations for why things turned
out so bad.
And Paul's advice to Timothy was -- expect it, and soldier on.
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So who's lying? ( Titus 1 )
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
"All Cretans are liars," said the Cretan poet.
I don't know if Paul got the joke. If all Cretans are liars, how can you trust the Cretan who
tells you that all Cretans are liars? Well, apparently Anaxamander (if memory serves me
correctly) had a whole string of unpleasant things to say about his fellow countrymen:
Tit 1:12 Kendilerinden biri, öz peygamberlerinden biri şöyle demiştir: "Giritliler hep
yalancıdır, azgın canavarlar, tembel oburlardır."
• Giritliler -- People of Crete, Cretans. Girit (Crete) + li (partaking of, citizen of) + ler
(plural) [1]
• hep -- all
• yalancıdır -- Liar(s). Yalan (lie) + cı (agent ending, like the -er in baker) + dır (are)
• canavarlar -- beasts
• tembel -- lazy
After this observation was published, I imagine that the poet heard the same message
communicated to Tom Wolfe after he published his first novel, Look Homeward, Angel.
The message that became the title of his next novel, You Can't Go Home Again.
_________
[1] OK -- so li comes before ler. Even as it's idiomatically correct, in English, to talk about
a "little old lady," but not an "old little lady." Size comes before time ... one of those "rules"
that native speakers never even notice!
Matt. 1
Hello again, friends. Sorry, but the last few months have been busy, and I've barely had
time to read through Hebrews (my favorite book), the next few letters, and Apocalypse.
But, a new year is underway, and I'm back at Matthew. Once again this morning, I
relished the pleasure of seeing a sentence come into focus one word at a time:
Mat 1:19 Nişanlısı Yusuf, doğru bir adam olduğu ve onu herkesin önünde utandırmak
istemediği için ondan sessizce ayrılmak niyetindeydi.
In this case, the key to the verse is the verb in the infinitive form, utandırmak. It means, to
humiliate. To put to shame. To embarrass. Research on the inner lives of children
uncovered the interesting fact that kids fear embarrassment more than death. Far too
often, in the cesspool of public schools, children kill themselves to escape ongoing
humiliation at the hands of bullies. In "face" cultures, shame can be a matter of life and
death. In traditional Japan, the loss of "face" can only be redeemed by disemboweling
oneself.
Nişanlısı Yusuf, the (apparently cuckolded) espoused Joseph, had it in his power to
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humiliate Meryim. Women of suspect virtue had no honorable lives ahead of them. And
people back then, as today, had enough fingers to count to nine. So why was a woman in
her ninth month of pregnancy making a long trip? Were there no relatives at home who
would take her in while Joseph went to Bethlehem to obey the taxmaster's dictate?
However, the rest of the sentence gives us insight into the character of this noble
gentleman who was chosen to train the Messiah of the world in "Torah and a trade."[1]
• doğru bir adam olduğu ve -- righteous a man he was, and
• onu herkesin önünde utandırmak istemediği için -- her / everyone / in front of / to put
to shame / he did not wish / because
• ondan sessizce ayrılmak niyetindeydi -- her / quietly, noiselessly (my other
translation uses the adverb gizlice -- secretly) / to divorce / intended
Yes, a quiet divorce for unspecified reasons was an option. The child, who Joseph knew
was not his own, would be spared the legal approbation of bastardy. He would be a
legitimate child. People would assume that Joseph had acted in a less than honorable
way towards the young woman who gave birth less than six months after her marriage.
Still, in years to come, Jesus would be known as the "son of Mary." In other words,
"father unknown." And this story is off to a tempestuous beginning!
________________
[1] An old rabbinic saying tells us -- "The man who does not teach his son Torah and a
trade, teaches him to be a fool and a thief."
Matt. 2 -- Happy Ephiphany !
The 12th Day of Christmas, January 6, has traditionally been used to honor those
mysterious Magi who came from the neighborhood of Persia to honor the new-born
Messiah:
Mat 2:1,2 İsa'nın Kral Hirodes devrinde Yahudiye'nin Beytlehem Kenti'nde doğmasından
sonra bazı yıldızbilimciler doğudan Yeruşalim'e gelip şöyle dediler: "Yahudiler'in Kralı
olarak doğan çocuk nerede? Doğuda O'nun yıldızını gördük ve O'na tapınmaya geldik."
Let's look at one word, and several derivatives thereof:
• yıldız -- star
• yıldızını -- at his star
• yıldızbilimciler -- astrologers. yıldız (star) + bilim (skill, knowledge, science) + ci
(practitioner of the foregoing) + ler (plural)
The Zoroastrian religion of ancient Persia had a legend of a coming messiah figure who
would destroy the deeds of darkness and raise the dead. When Marco Polo visited
Persia, he was shown the tombs of the Magi. So, they may have been native sages.
On the other hand, clusters of Jewish bankers, scholars, and merchants were scattered
all over the known world by then. The Magi may simply have read Daniel, done the
numbers, then responded when external evidence confirmed their expectations.
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In any case, they came, they saw, they worshiped. On the Feast of Epiphany, we
celebrate the shining forth of salvation to the non-Jewish nations. In many Christian
countries, this is when gifts are given, in memory of the gifts the Magi brought to Jesus.
Gifts that bankrolled their flight into Egypt.
Matt. 3 -- the threshing floor
Historical processes are messy. From time to time, nefarious characters take charge and
bring about a reign of terror. Then, the ages roll on, and these tyrants who viewed
themselves as our saviors are covered with the opprobrium they deserve.
From time to time the process is accelerated, and a society reaches a "tipping point." One
uncooperative soul who refuses to "get with the program," and "play by the rules," can
redefine the world at these moments of transition. One example is the story of Kemal
Ataturk, who led armed resistance against the victors of WW I, taking on the combined
armed forces of England, France, Greece, and Italy -- and winning.
John the Baptist described Jesus in these kinds of terms:
Mat 3:12 Yabası elindedir. Harman yerini temizleyecek, buğdayını toplayıp ambara
yığacak, samanı ise sönmeyen ateşte yakacak."
Picture a threshing floor, a large, flat, smooth area where the farmer spreads out the
grain, and threshes it. He may drive a heavy sledge back and forth across it. Or, if he
can't afford an ox, he can always use a flail, two poles connected by a leather strap, to
separate the wheat from the chaff. After pounding away for a while, he takes a shovel,
and tosses the mixture into the air. The lighter chaff is blown away, while the precious
grain falls back to the threshing floor.
First century Israel was about to be pounded vigorously, then winnowed. Most of the
culture turned out to be chaff, and blew away. At Jewish weddings to this day, you break
a wine glass to commemorate the destruction of the last Jewish temple.
But we have no grounds for getting smug. Jesus continues to thresh and winnow
humanity. May we be found among the good grains!
Matt. 4 -- special people
Sometimes, it helps to look at the end of a trend, before committing to it. On a very
strange day, a young couple came to the street mission / commune, seeking refuge. She
was about to give birth. He was, at that point, and forever after in memory, "the most
worthless man I ever met," a pouting, self-pitying parasite. Bone-idle. He and his new
bride were adept at "working" various social-service and charitable agencies. When
presented with some work that could be done, he gave a staff member a social services
health card, and walked away. Showed up after the baby was born, to pound on his wife
in the hospital. Disappeared again. Shortly after the girl's mother arrived to take her back
Al ve oku
217
home, alone. The van paused briefly to pick up a small coffin at a local funeral home.
The baby had been killed with a drug overdose.
Some people are "special."
In this chapter, İsa is presented with three major temptations. The middle one is on my
mind this morning.
Mat 4:5, 6 Sonra İblis O'nu kutsal kente götürdü. Tapınağın tepesine çıkarıp, "Tanrı'nın
Oğlu'ysan, kendini aşağı at" dedi, "Çünkü şöyle yazılmıştır: 'Tanrı, senin için meleklerine
buyruk verecek.' 'Ayağın bir taşa çarpmasın diye Seni elleri üzerinde taşıyacaklar.'"
Mat 4:7 İsa İblis'e şu karşılığı verdi: "'Tanrın Rab'bi denemeyeceksin' diye de yazılmıştır."
How often do I, do you, hear that insinuating voice whispering in our inner ear? "Go
ahead. You are special. You don't have to play by the rules. The universe will always
make an exception for you."
The guy who fails to work to achieve his goals, and counts instead on God intervening
miraculously at the last minute, is in for some serious disappointments, as well as some
wonderful surprises, since God is kind. However, "to fail to plan is to plan to fail." Those
who do not do the routine stuff they already know that they need to be doing are tempting
God. Presuming upon His mercies. Yes, there is a "dimension of miracles" in life. But
miracles tend to happen to folks who are hard at work, pursuing their vocations with
vigor.
Not even İsa expected God to make exceptions for him, at his whim. Neither should I.
Matt. 5 -- Lawyers step in ...
when community fails.
An American who spent several years in China reported a bad case of reverse cultural
shock upon returning to the States. "I'm lonely!" he exclaimed. In China, a high-context
society, people paid attention to one another all the time. If it was time to move, a dozen
neighbors showed up to help out, without even being asked.
The Chinese people take community seriously. If a young couple quarrel on a bus, all the
passengers feel that their own peace is disturbed, and intervene in an attempt to make
peace. They'll even conscript the obviously foreign blond guy for his advice!
In a fallen world, frictions and offenses are inevitable. That does not mean that such
breakdowns in community are acceptable, or tolerable. Let's sit at the Master's feet again:
Mat 5:21 "Atalarımıza, 'Adam öldürmeyeceksin. Öldüren yargılanacak' dendiğini
duydunuz.
Mat 5:22 Ama ben size diyorum ki, kardeşine öfkelenen herkes yargılanacaktır. Kim
kardeşine aşağılayıcı bir söz söylerse, Yüksek Kurul'da* yargılanacaktır. Kim kardeşine
ahmak derse, cehennem ateşini hak edecektir.
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Mat 5:23, 24 Bu yüzden, sunakta adak sunarken kardeşinin sana karşı bir şikâyeti
olduğunu anımsarsan, adağını orada, sunağın önünde bırak, git önce kardeşinle barış;
sonra gelip adağını sun.
Mat 5:25 Senden davacı olanla daha yoldayken çabucak anlaş. Yoksa o seni yargıca,
yargıç da gardiyana teslim edebilir; sonunda da hapse atılabilirsin.
Mat 5:26 Sana doğrusunu söyleyeyim, borcunun son kuruşunu ödemeden oradan asla
çıkamazsın."
And, a few words:
• Bu yüzden -- for this reason
• sunakta adak sunarken -- upon the altar / a sacrifice / while you are offering
• kardeşinin sana karşı -- your neighbor / to you / against
• bir şikâyeti olduğunu anımsarsan -- an offense / there is / you happen to remember
In the "big picture" "scheme of things," (OK, so that's two consecutive American idioms!)
disentangling our standing with God and our standing with our neighbor is an "exercise in
futility." In one of his letters, Peter warns husbands that unresolved quarrels with their
wives will hinder their prayers.
In this passage, though, İsa warns us that petty irritations can grow into major breaches.
It is foolish to think that we can callously use our neighbor, then expect God to hear our
prayers. Afte all, as Yuhanna and Yacup argued elsewhere, how can we claim to love the
invisible God, if we despise our visible neighbor, who is made in the image of God?
Matt. 6 -- deferred gratification
A simple test will reveal whether a toddler will achieve distinction in life. Put child in room
on chair in front of table.[0] Place cookie in front of child. Tell child, "I'm going out for a
few minutes. If that cookie is still there when I get back, I'll give you another one. If you
eat it, it's the only one you'll get." Future high achievers are able to deny themselves.
Observers through hidden cameras watch them struggle with their immediate desires,
perhaps even sitting on their hands. But the future is real to them, with its promised
rewards. The rewards promised by a trusted person.[1]
Somebody wrote a book -- I remember the title and the thesis, but not the author -- The
Unheavenly City. The difference between poor people, and not-poor people, this
researcher explained, lay in their attitude towards time.[2] Poor people are presentoriented. As Hermann Hesse phrased in, what they needed was always exactly equal to
what they had.
The future is real to successful people, to high achievers. A good provider is, by
definition, who who "sees ahead," since the word derives from the Latin components that
imply fore-sight.
İsa mapped this conflict between present orientation and delayed gratification against a
cosmic scale:
Mat 6:1 "Doğruluğunuzu insanların gözü önünde gösteriş amacıyla sergilemekten
kaçının. Yoksa göklerdeki Babanız'dan ödül alamazsınız.
Mat 6:2 "Bu nedenle, birisine sadaka verirken bunu borazan çaldırarak ilan etmeyin.
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219
İkiyüzlüler, insanların övgüsünü kazanmak için havralarda ve sokaklarda böyle yaparlar.
Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, onlar ödüllerini almışlardır.
Mat 6:3 Siz sadaka verirken, sol eliniz sağ elinizin ne yaptığını bilmesin.
Mat 6:4 Öyle ki, verdiğiniz sadaka gizli kalsın. Gizlice yapılanı gören Babanız sizi
ödüllendirecektir."
Mat 6:5 "Dua ettiğiniz zaman ikiyüzlüler gibi olmayın. Onlar, herkes kendilerini görsün
diye havralarda ve caddelerin köşe başlarında dikilip dua etmekten zevk alırlar. Size
doğrusunu söyleyeyim, onlar ödüllerini almışlardır.
Mat 6:6 Ama siz dua edeceğiniz zaman iç odanıza çekilip kapıyı örtün ve gizlide olan
Babanız'a dua edin. Gizlilik içinde yapılanı gören Babanız sizi ödüllendirecektir.
• insanların gözü önünde gösteriş -- of men / the eyes / in front of / to be seen
• İkiyüzlüler -- hypocrites. iki (two) + yüz (face) + lü (partaking of the characteristic of)
+ ler (plural indicator)
The word İsa used in the Greek, ὑποκριταὶ , has been transliterated into English as the
familiar hypocrites. It refers to actors. In our Lord's day, the professional religious people
had little interest in God -- they were too busy performing their religious shticks on the
public stage, basking in the adulation of their fans.[3]
Well, I need to prepare breakfast for my sweetheart.
__________________
[0] This sentence is not good idiomatic English, but a parody of stilted, dogmatic, didactic,
technical-writer type prose.
[1] Then, there were those of us who were spoiled kids. We would eat the cookie as soon
as the door closed, and then confidently expected the universe to make an exception for
us.
[2] F. Scott Fitzgerald began a novel with the assertion, "The rich are not like you and I."
Ernest Hemingway retorted, "Of course not! They have more money!"
[3] To cite a few lines from Bob Dylan's song Like a Rolling Stone,
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
Matt. 7 -- a man of the future
During the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, garrison troops stationed in remote
frontier posts considered pillage a part of their pay. After a battle, the soldiers would walk
through the defeated village, helping themselves to whatever struck their fancy.[1] On
one such occasion Kemal Ataturk, the father of the modern Turkish Republic, asked a
friend, "Do you want to be a man of the future? Or a man of the past?"
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Are you content with things the way they are? A feature built into the best network
devices is -- I'm serious -- graceful degradation. When the component starts to fail, it
does so in a tidy, orderly, fashion, so that the surrounding components can "take up the
slack." Are you content with the graceful degradation of the world around you? Or do you
aspire to a better future? Let's revisit the words of Isa here:
Mat 7:24 "İşte bu sözlerimi duyup uygulayan herkes, evini kaya üzerine kuran akıllı
adama benzer.
Mat 7:25 Yağmur yağar, seller basar, yeller eser, eve saldırır; ama ev yıkılmaz. Çünkü
kaya üzerine kurulmuştur.
Mat 7:26 Bu sözlerimi duyup da uygulamayan herkes, evini kum üzerine kuran budala
adama benzer.
Mat 7:27 Yağmur yağar, seller basar, yeller eser, evi sarsar. Ev yıkılır; yıkılışı da korkunç
olur."
Those who hear and heed, endure. Those who give in to the temptations of the moment,
come to regret it.
_______________
[1] to "strike one's fancy" is, I fear, an obsolete idiom, a "bookish" turn of phrase.
Matt. 8 -- a talent for war [0]
The American "peaceniks" of the late 60s did not believe the reasons offered for going
overseas and killing, or being killed by, total strangers.[1]
So, how to you demonstrate your aversion to war? The German anabaptist movement
that gave birth to the American Amish communities avoided the badges of the military
castes of 16th century Germany -- including buttons and mustaches.
The American hippies adopted other emblems of resistance: effeminate clothing, long
hair, in-you-face immorality, drug use.[2] "The American folk rock / love rock musical"
Hair had some unforgettable tunes, including Good Morning, Starshine. The central
characters had it. Lots of hair, that is.
Yet, decades later, the "flower children" who avoided military service still suspect that
they missed out on something. They did not participate in the defining trial of their
generation, and often feel as though they've been "out of the loop" ever since. One of the
very few people isa commended was, in fact, a military officer. A foreign one. A member
of the occupying forces. Let's read the story:
Mat 8:5,6 İsa Kefarnahum'a varınca bir yüzbaşı O'na gelip, "Ya Rab" diye yalvardı,
"Uşağım felç oldu, evde yatıyor; korkunç acı çekiyor."
Mat 8:7 İsa, "Gelip onu iyileştireceğim" dedi.
Mat 8:8 Ama yüzbaşı, "Ya Rab, evime girmene layık değilim" dedi, "Yeter ki bir söz söyle,
uşağım iyileşir.
Mat 8:9 Ben de buyruk altında bir adamım, benim de buyruğumda askerlerim var. Birine,
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221
'Git' derim, gider; ötekine, 'Gel' derim, gelir; köleme, 'Şunu yap' derim, yapar."
Mat 8:10 İsa, duyduğu bu sözlere hayran kaldı. Ardından gelenlere, "Size doğrusunu
söyleyeyim" dedi, "Ben İsrail'de böyle imanı olan birini görmedim.
Let's look at a few sentences:
• evime girmene layık değilim -- to my house / for you to enter / worthy / I am not
• Ben de buyruk altında bir adamım -- and I / authority / under / a / man am
The military mind recognized what was going on. A King was on the scene. A Messiah,
who embodied ultimate Authority. For this man under authority, the matter was a "nobrainer." If his servants obeyed him, obviously disease would obey the Healer.
The military mind has to be realistic. Those who understand hierarchy have insight into
the structure of the universe.
_____________________
[0] A Talent for War is the title of a science fiction novel by one of my favorite writers,
Jack McDevitt.
[1] It turns out that the Gulf of Tonkin incident / resolution was a fraud. One that 50,000+
young American men, and untold thousands more of Vietnamese, paid for with their lives.
But it made a few people very rich.
[2] As the old joke goes, "If you can remember the sixties, you weren't there!"
Matt. 9 -- the Townman
I just re-read Isaac Asimov's little classic The Currents of Space, and have to wonder
how many of my insights into history trace back to that source.[1]
The central character in this book is "the Townman," a member of a subject people who
was selected, trained, and placed into the service of the master race. He lived a lonely
life among his own people, with slightly better accommodations and slightly higher status.
Like a Frenchman in the pay of the Nazi occupiers, or a Ukrainian who served the
Russians.
Or, like Matthew, the author of this gospel.
Mat 9:9 İsa oradan geçerken, vergi toplama yerinde oturan birini gördü. Matta adındaki
bu adama, "Ardımdan gel" dedi. Adam da kalkıp İsa'nın ardından gitti.
Mat 9:10 Sonra İsa, Matta'nın evinde sofrada otururken, birçok vergi görevlisiyle
günahkâr gelip O'nunla ve öğrencileriyle birlikte sofraya oturdu.
Mat 9:11 Bunu gören Ferisiler, İsa'nın öğrencilerine, "Sizin öğretmeniniz neden vergi
görevlileri ve günahkârlarla birlikte yemek yiyor?" diye sordular.
Mat 9:12 İsa bunu duyunca şöyle dedi: "Sağlamların değil, hastaların hekime ihtiyacı var.
Mat 9:13 Gidin de, 'Ben kurban değil, merhamet isterim' sözünün anlamını öğrenin.
Çünkü ben doğru kişileri değil, günahkârları çağırmaya geldim."
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Let's consider some of the players in this scene. The hated tax collector served the
Romans. He extracted from his people the Roman taxes, plus "overhead." He was
protected by the Roman military machine. His only friends were other tax collectors, and
like[2] disreputable characters.
The Ferisiler were the local religious and cultural leaders, supported by voluntary
contributions from the people. You might say the tax collectors and the pastors were in
competition for the same small pool of discretionary income, but the tax collectors had
the weight of armed force on their side.
And, off in the capital city, the Sadducees lived large on Roman subsidies and national
imposts.
As the Messiah, the anointed and long-expected King of Israel, you would expect İsa to
make common cause with, to find his natural allies among, the local religious leaders, the
Ferisiler. Instead, he seemed to go out of his way to provoke them, to offend their
sensibilities, to inform them that they were wrong on the basics.
_________________
[1] I strongly recommend this writer's books to folks who speak English as a second,
third, or fourth language. Asimov believed there were two contrasting prose styles. He
called them "plate glass vs. stained glass." Stained glass writing is beautiful, and draws
attention to itself. Much poetry is like this. Plate glass writing is invisible -- you see
through it, to the things described. Asimov epitomized clarity. His output was amazing.
Once, a friend asked what he would do if he only had six months to live. His answer?
"Write faster!" This genial atheist's productivity continues to challenge me -- he put so
much into life, and evidently found the process richly satisfying.
[2] Like, in this context, is an adjective that means similar. Like can also be a verb, a
pointless "filler" word, or a synonym for said -- although this last usage is probably
already obsolete.
Matt. 10 -- the Man of Peace
Jesus began his public ministry by taking up the message that John the Baptist was
preaching at the time of his arrest: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." But
what did that mean? A shiny new boss to replace the shabby old boss? A lot of folks
thought so. We read of other messianic movements, charismatic rabble-rousers who
gathered crowds and made militant noises.
Or, was God's Kingdom a place of liberty, where men quietly governed themselves and
their own households, with little need for human oversight?
On the one hand, as a thaumaturge (fancy word for miracle-worker), Jesus definitely was
a center of attention. On the other hand, He was happy to share his charisma, eager to
let others in on the action, the fun, the party. Consider the marching orders he gave the
twelve disciples, as he sent them to bring the happy news of God's Kingdom to all of
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223
Israel:
Mat 10:7 Gittiğiniz her yerde Göklerin Egemenliği'nin yaklaştığını duyurun. Mat 10:8
Hastaları iyileştirin, ölüleri diriltin, cüzamlıları temiz kılın, cinleri kovun. Karşılıksız aldınız,
karşılıksız verin. Mat 10:9 Kuşağınıza altın, gümüş, ya da bakır para koymayın. Mat
10:10 Yolculuk için ne torba, ne yedek mintan, ne çarık, ne de değnek alın. Çünkü işçi
yiyeceğini hak eder. Mat 10:11 Hangi kent ya da köye girerseniz, orada saygıdeğer birini
arayın ve ayrılıncaya dek onunla kalın. Mat 10:12 Onun evine girerken, evdekilere esenlik
dileyin. Mat 10:13 Eğer evdekiler buna layıksa, dilediğiniz esenlik üzerlerinde kalsın; layık
değillerse, size geri dönsün.
Let's look up a word or two:
• saygı -- respect, esteem, regard.
• saygıdeğer -- respectable, honorable, esteemed.
We talked about "the townman" yesterday, the flunky, the functionary, the domesticated
native leader who keeps the machinery of oppression working efficiently.[1] Although
Jesus called one such to be his disciple, he did not tell his followers to seek out the
official people of power in the villages they went to. Rather, they were to seek out a "man
of peace," a local notable with real stature in the community.
Nationalism resulted, in nation after new nation, in the appearance of internal pilgrims, a
class of migrant bureaucrats who learned the new official national language, and went to
strange places to implement the new order. Jesus, however, told his people to work with
the existing local opinion leaders. The Kingdom of Heaven grows up quietly within
existing families and communities. It is not imposed from outside. Unless those already
on the inside are prepared to embrace the Lord and His Kingdom,[2] then it's a waste of
time to make noisy assertions.
_____________________
[1] People normally have to cooperate with their own enslavement.
[2] "The gospel is like a joke told to a circle of men. And one man smiles." (Ivan Illych)
Matt. 11 -- are you the man?
Jesus had a cousin, a man who also arrived via a miraculous birth. John the Baptist was
born to elderly parents, grew up in the desert, and lived on bugs and wild honey -survival rations. He had a hard-edged message: things are not okay. God is showing up - and he's angry. This society better start practicing its survival skills, because judgment
dangles over its head.
Paradoxically, in the Roman Catholic catalog of saints, John the Baptist is honored as the
epitome of joy! In John 3, he said, "This my joy is now complete." Not too many people
have ever lived to say that. He rejoiced in that he had fulfilled the "prime directive" of his
life, and introduced Israel to her Messiah. Let's see what Jesus had to say about John.
Mat 11:2-4 Tutukevinde bulunan Yahya, Mesih'in yaptığı işleri duyunca, O'na gönderdiği
öğrencileri aracılığıyla şunu sordu: "Gelecek Olan sen misin, yoksa başkasını mı
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bekleyelim?"
Mat 11:5 Körlerin gözleri açılıyor, kötürümler yürüyor, cüzamlılar temiz kılınıyor, sağırlar
işitiyor, ölüler diriliyor ve Müjde yoksullara duyuruluyor.
Mat 11:6 Benden ötürü sendeleyip düşmeyene ne mutlu!"
Mat 11:7 Yahya'nın öğrencileri ayrılırken İsa halka Yahya'dan söz etmeye başladı. "Çöle
ne görmeye gittiniz?" dedi. "Rüzgarda sallanan bir kamış mı?
Mat 11:8 Söyleyin, ne görmeye gittiniz? Pahalı giysiler giymiş bir adam mı? Oysa pahalı
giysi giyenler, kral saraylarında bulunur.
Mat 11:9 Öyleyse ne görmeye gittiniz? Bir peygamber mi? Evet! Size şunu söyleyeyim,
gördüğünüz kişi peygamberden de üstündür.
Mat 11:10 'İşte, habercimi senin önünden gönderiyorum; O önden gidip senin yolunu
hazırlayacak' diye yazılmış olan sözler onunla ilgilidir.
Mat 11:11 Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, kadından doğanlar arasında Vaftizci Yahya'dan
daha üstün biri çıkmamıştır. Bununla birlikte, Göklerin Egemenliği'nde en küçük olan
ondan üstündür.
John was in prison. His followers were bewildered.[1] The One John had pointed to
certainly didn't live like his austere mentor. Jesus spent more time partying with "the
wrong crowd" than he did organizing a guerrilla resistance movement! It's possible that
John was having second thoughts as well. Or, maybe he just wanted to offer his soon-tobe-orphaned followers some reassurance. In any case, he sent two of them to Jesus,
with a question:
Gelecek Olan sen misin, yoksa başkasını mı bekleyelim?
Let's unpack this:
• Gelecek -- The Coming
• Olan -- One
• sen misin -- are you
• yoksa -- if not
• başkasını -- another one
• mı -- should
• bekleyelim? -- we await?
To this day, many people are unclear on who, exactly, Jesus is. Those who know, have
discovered the exuberant joy that John spoke of. The rest are still bewildered, unable to
puzzle out the significance of "life, the universe, and everything." The toxic antiphilosophy of existentialism bluntly asserts that life has no significance, and we have
nothing to live for. Fortunately, the image of God inscribed in our souls is repulsed by that
cynicism, and years for something transcendent to live for.
________________
[1] Someone who is "bewildered" is, metaphorically at least, lost in the wild.
Matt. 12 -- a strong man
Macbeth, Shakespeare's thrilling play of destiny, sorcery, and skulduggery, begins with
three "weird sisters," witches, laying a plot to capture the soul of the protagonist. In
Shakespeare's day, as in Macbeth's, two wars were in progress for the future of Great
Britain: a visible and a spiritual. The playwright's[1] background was the Elizabethan
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225
obsession with the Church of Rome, and its earthly allies -- France, Italy, Spain.
A war was in progress for the soul of first-century Israel, as well. On the macro level, the
ruling class, the Sadducees, were in league with Rome. On all too many personal levels,
tormented souls were in thrall[2] to demons. When a culture is on its last legs, strange
psychic phenomena multiply. Something about societal insecurity pushes unstable souls
over the edge.
It's interesting how disease hates health. Jesus, the epitome of sanity, health, and
exuberant joy, had more than enough of these traits. He bubbled over, and imparted
wholeness wherever he went. This was, of course, a standing rebuke to the selfobsessed spiritual athletes of his day, who assumed the worst of him:
Mat 12:24 Ferisiler bunu duyunca, "Bu adam cinleri, ancak cinlerin önderi Baalzevul'un*
gücüyle kovuyor" dediler.
Mat 12:25 Onların ne düşündüğünü bilen İsa şöyle dedi: "Kendi içinde bölünen ülke
yıkılır. Kendi içinde bölünen kent ya da ev ayakta kalamaz.
Mat 12:26 Eğer Şeytan Şeytan'ı kovarsa, kendi içinde bölünmüş demektir. Bu durumda
onun egemenliği nasıl ayakta kalabilir?
Mat 12:27 Eğer ben cinleri Baalzevul'un gücüyle kovuyorsam, sizin adamlarınız kimin
gücüyle kovuyor? Bu durumda sizi kendi adamlarınız yargılayacak.
Mat 12:28 Ama ben cinleri Tanrı'nın Ruhu'yla kovuyorsam, Tanrı'nın Egemenliği üzerinize
gelmiş demektir.
Mat 12:29 "Bir kimse güçlü adamın evine girip malını nasıl çalabilir? Ancak onu
bağladıktan sonra evini soyabilir.
Jesus, the burglar, was busily restraining Satan, and pillaging those precious people who
had been treated as the property of the evil one.
And for this, he was condemned. In an age of envy, the good is hated for being good, the
healthy for being sound, the wise for staying out of trouble.
_____________________
[1] A play writer is a playwright. Wright is an archaic English word for maker. A
wheelwright makes wheels, a cartwright makes carts, and two bishop's boys named
Wright made airplanes.
[2] Thrall is a somewhat archaic word, derived from the Scandinavian language of
England's Viking invaders/settlers, meaning slave. It is usually found in verb and
combined form in modern English -- enthralled.
Matt. 13 -- a man goes out to sow [0]
In this chapter, we have a number of parables that illustrate the nature of the Kingdom
Jesus preached. The Master begins by comparing the Kingdom to a farmer, scattering
his grain across the field. The seed is all good, but "actual mileage may vary," depending
on the quality of the soil.
The sentence that impressed me this morning with its ominous clarity is as follows:
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Mat 13:11 İsa şöyle yanıtladı: "Göklerin Egemenliği'nin sırlarını bilme ayrıcalığı size
verildi, ama onlara verilmedi. Mat 13:12 Çünkü kimde varsa, ona daha çok verilecek,
bolluğa kavuşturulacak. Ama kimde yoksa, elindeki de alınacak.
The fact that the disciples were hanging around with Jesus meant that they were, at least
at that point, "good soil." They were eager to absorb and apply His teachings. Since they
adhered to the King, they received His Kingdom. They were under the canopy of His
jurisdiction, His protection, He authority. Let's look at a few words from vs. 12:
• kimde -- whoever with whom
• varsa, -- stuff is,
• ona -- to him or her (the Turkish 3rd person pronoun is gender-neutral)
• daha -- more
• çok -- very much
• verilecek -- will be given
• Ama kimde yoksa, -- But / whoever with whom / stuff is not
• elindeki de alınacak -- that which is in his hand
• alınacak -- shall be taken away.
The English idiomatic expression "on a roll" indicates a condition of ongoing
achievement, continuing good fortune. Those who respond to the continuing challenge of
living to please the invisible, but very present King are on far safer ground than those
who are willing to settle for the status quo. If you are coasting, and no longer paying
attention to the goals or person of the King, then you are on thin ice. And might suddenly
wake up to realize that even something you were sure of is gone.
_____________
[0] The word sow that rhymes with so or sew means to scatter seed. It can also be used
metaphorically to describe a troublemaker as one who "sows discord." The word sow that
rhymes with how is a female pig or bear.
Matt. 14 -- a man on foot
Two guys are out duck hunting. Fred shoots a bird. His golden retriever runs out across
the top of the water and brings it back. Ed watches in silence. Fred downs another bird.
Again, the dog runs across the top of the water and retrieves it. Ed watches. This
happens a third time, and Fred asks, "Do you see anything unusual about my dog?"
"Yeah," Ed replies. "He can't swim."
The "synoptic" (seen together) gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, appear to borrow
heavily from Peter's sermons. Mark, who was a relative, apparently took careful notes
whenever Peter spoke of what the Master had said and done. Peter is a prominent
character in many of the stories, even those that reflect badly upon him. We get the
impression that he was impetuous, impulsive, sometimes a bit of a buffoon. And lefthanded.
Yet, Peter wanted to be with Jesus. He wanted to be like Jesus. When he died, however,
tradition holds that Peter asked to crucified upside down, since he was unworthy to die
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the same way Jesus had. In one of his last projects, Michelangelo painted this scene on
a fresco (see HERE). The artist painted himself in the scene twice -- once as a young
man eagerly participating in the execution, again as an elderly man looking on
sorrowfully.
In today's gospel, after spending the night in solitary prayer, Jesus demonstrates again
that he is master of the elements.
Mat 14:24 O sırada tekne kıyıdan bir hayli uzakta dalgalarla boğuşuyordu. Çünkü rüzgar
karşı yönden esiyordu.
Mat 14:25 Sabaha karşı İsa, gölün üstünde yürüyerek onlara yaklaştı.
Mat 14:26 Öğrenciler, O'nun gölün üstünde yürüdüğünü görünce dehşete kapıldılar. "Bu
bir hayalet!" diyerek korkuyla bağrıştılar.
Mat 14:27 Ama İsa hemen onlara seslenerek, "Cesur olun, benim, korkmayın!" dedi.
Mat 14:28 Petrus buna karşılık, "Ya Rab" dedi, "Eğer sen isen, buyruk ver suyun
üstünden yürüyerek sana geleyim."
Mat 14:29 İsa, "Gel!" dedi. Petrus da tekneden indi, suyun üstünden yürüyerek İsa'ya
yaklaştı.
Mat 14:30 Ama rüzgarın ne kadar güçlü estiğini görünce korktu, batmaya başladı. "Ya
Rab, beni kurtar!" diye bağırdı.
Mat 14:31 İsa hemen elini uzatıp onu tuttu. Ona, "Ey kıt imanlı, neden kuşku duydun?"
dedi.
The high points of life are frequently achievements that look impossible. You feel
commissioned to do something without the visible resources to achieve it. But, if Jesus
bids you "Gel," the water is a safer surface than a sidewalk.
Matt. 15 -- a man at table
My wife, as a dietitian, frequently encounters the power of food. Ethnic foods define
cultures. Chinese cooking, for example, is one evidence of God's great love for those
folks. Koreans love their kimchee. Ukrainian cooking is defined by great effort put into
simple ingredients. I miss the halupcha my late mother cooked -- ground beef and rice
and spices wrapped in cabbage leaves and cooked in tomato sauce.
An old Jewish saying goes "Food is love made edible." This reverence for good food has
made the Jewish delicatessen, or deli, a cliche for innovative cold cuts.[1]
Yet the power of food has a more ominous side. Eating disorders, such as anorexia and
bulimia, can be fatal. Diet can be a matter of religious significance -- the "sacred cow" of
the Hindus comes to mind. So, too, do the Muslim and Jewish prohibitions on eating
pork. The "sepoy riots" that destabilized India in the mid-1800s were provoked by rumors
concerning the grease that waterproofed the gunpowder cartridges. The Hindu sepoys
(native soldiers) heard that the cartridges they had to bite open were greased with tallow
-- cow fat. The Muslims heard that pig fat was the grease of choice.
A book of the "in-between testament," the Apocrypha, celebrates the heroism of a Jewish
mother who chose death by torture for herself and her four sons, rather than nibble a bit
of the pork sizzling on the grill.
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Given this background, the cavalier attitude Jesus had towards dietary matters truly
shocked his audience:
Mat 15:10 İsa, halkı yanına çağırıp onlara, "Dinleyin ve şunu belleyin" dedi.
Mat 15:11 "Ağızdan giren şey insanı kirletmez. İnsanı kirleten ağızdan çıkandır."
Mat 15:12 Bu sırada öğrencileri O'na gelip, "Biliyor musun?" dediler, "Ferisiler bu sözü
duyunca gücendiler."
Mat 15:13 İsa şu karşılığı verdi: "Göksel Babam'ın dikmediği her fidan kökünden
sökülecektir.
Mat 15:14 Bırakın onları; onlar körlerin kör kılavuzlarıdır. Eğer kör köre kılavuzluk ederse,
ikisi de çukura düşer."
Mat 15:15 Petrus, "Bu benzetmeyi bize açıkla" dedi.
Mat 15:16 "Siz de mi hâlâ anlamıyorsunuz?" diye sordu İsa.
Mat 15:17 "Ağza giren her şeyin mideye indiğini, oradan da helaya atıldığını bilmiyor
musunuz?
Mat 15:18 Ne var ki ağızdan çıkan, yürekten kaynaklanır. İnsanı kirleten de budur.
Mat 15:19 Çünkü kötü düşünceler, cinayet, zina, fuhuş, hırsızlık, yalan yere tanıklık ve
iftira hep yürekten kaynaklanır.
Mat 15:20 İnsanı kirleten bunlardır. Yıkanmamış ellerle yemek yemek insanı kirletmez."
Let's look at one verse: Petrus, "Bu benzetmeyi bize açıkla" dedi.
• Petrus -- Peter
• Bu -- this
• benzetmeyi -- parable
• bize -- to us
• açıkla -- open up / make plain
• dedi -- he said.
So keeping kosher is not the heart of holy living? Is this some kind of new parable,
Jesus? Surely, you didn't really mean what you just said!
Ah, but he did. And it was the man who asked this question, Peter, who later had a vision
of a sheet filled with non-kosher animals offered to him from heaven. (See Acts 9) In our
non-kosher day, the Kingdom of God is now offered to the whole world. People from all
nations can be holy in God's sight.[2]
An Italian neighborhood in Pennsylvania devoured vast quantities of fatty, greasy, tasty,
food -- and had very low incidences of heart disease. You see, they chowed down around
the family table, taking time to debrief one another on the events of the day, and share
their dreams for tomorrow. In the final analysis, your health depends less on what you eat
that it does on what's eating you!
_____________
[1] Cold cuts are sandwich meats and cheeses sliced thin.
[2] A large percentage of winos, perhaps even most, in America are the product of
fundamentalist homes. They grew up steeping in the notion that alcohol is some kind of
evil magic voodoo juice, that miraculously takes over human discretion, and can be
blamed for human wrongdoing. Once you relinquish responsibility, especially to an
inanimate substance, you take the brakes off your own behavior.
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Matt. 17 -- you da man !
Jesus took his disciples on a side trip to one of the focal points of Greek pagan culture,
then asked them two questions:
• Who do men say that I am?
• Who do you say that I am?
Then, as today, there were many clashing opinions concerning the nature and mission of
Jesus. And only one right answer:
Mat 16:16 Simun Petrus, "Sen, yaşayan Tanrı'nın Oğlu Mesih'sin*" yanıtını verdi.
Mat 16:17 İsa ona, "Ne mutlu sana, Yunus oğlu Simun!" dedi. "Bu sırrı sana açan insan
değil, göklerdeki Babam'dır.
People who get this answer right have insight into the core reality of the universe.
Matt. 18 -- woe to the man
My daughter and her husband first began encountering one another at two contrasting
locations: the campus Calvinist club, and the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA).
For some reason, a gauzy, fairy-tale sentiment lingers around the memories of the preRenaissance European culture. Young people try to recapture the sense of magic by
dressing up in period costumes, affecting archaisms in their language, and fighting one
another. Guys dress up in home-made plate steel armor, and bang away at each other
with fiberglass swords, to the applause of spectators. Jugglers and acrobats perform,
while musicians play lutes and flutes, and artisans create handicrafts.
Somehow, these people are drawn in by the external trappings of that which made the
era noble, while overlooking the soul of chivalry: the solicitous care of the strong for the
weak, the noblesse oblige[1] that matched matched power with duty. Again, these
beautiful young people rarely give credit to the Christian faith that inspired small cities, of
a few hundred thousand souls, to spend several generations building the incredible
cathedrals of Europe. The faith that led to a decentralized, but continent-spanning,
civilization.
The Christian message teaches that God cares for those who are unable to care for
themselves: the widow, the orphan, the handicapped -- and those who are wise share
this concern. This is a message with teeth it, though. Enforced with harsh language:
Mat 18:1 Bu sırada öğrencileri İsa'ya yaklaşıp, "Göklerin Egemenliği'nde en büyük
kimdir?" diye sordular.
Mat 18:2 İsa, yanına küçük bir çocuk çağırdı, onu orta yere dikip şöyle dedi: "Size
doğrusunu söyleyeyim, yolunuzdan dönüp küçük çocuklar gibi olmazsanız, Göklerin
Egemenliği'ne asla giremezsiniz.
Mat 18:3 (SEE 18:2)
Mat 18:4 Kim bu çocuk gibi alçakgönüllü olursa, Göklerin Egemenliği'nde en büyük odur.
Mat 18:5 Böyle bir çocuğu benim adım uğruna kabul eden, beni kabul etmiş olur.
Mat 18:6 "Ama kim bana iman eden bu küçüklerden birini günaha düşürürse, boynuna
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kocaman bir değirmen taşı asılıp denizin dibine atılması kendisi için daha iyi olur.
Mat 18:7 İnsanı günaha düşüren tuzaklardan ötürü vay dünyanın haline! Böyle tuzakların
olması kaçınılmazdır. Ama bu tuzaklara aracılık eden kişinin vay haline!
In Afghanistan, a popular proverb asserts that "a woman is for procreation, a boy is for
pleasure." In America, if you merely have pictures of that transaction on your computer,
you can find yourself in jail for years -- stripped of profession, status, property, liberty.
Common law remembers is roots from time to time.
______________
[1] a Latin phrase meaning "nobility obligates." High rank imposes high responsiblities.
Matt. 19 -- a man and a woman
Thingamatropic walking sticks begin as young sassafras saplings, entwined by a vine.
Over the years, as the two plants grow up together, each alters the shape of the other. In
God's economy, marriage also result in two dissimilar beings growing together, and
bending each other into a new shape. Having one other person so close, so inside your
perimeter, your comfort zone, makes you a different person. You have someone else to
think about as you make your decisions. Someone else to help you think. A guy I knew,
who struggles with Aspergers syndrome symptoms, prayed desperately for years for
wisdom in the area of human relations. He came to see that his prayers had been
answered, in the form of an incredibly insightful wife. Even as a blind man can get around
with the help of a guide dog, this guy learned to see situations through his wife's eyes,
thereby avoiding uncountable faux pas. He described the relationship as a dualprocessor computer, with a 128-bit bus connecting the processors. As long as the bus is
maintained, each processor can benefit from the data the other processes.
Let's look at the way Jesus describes the ideal situation:
Mat 19:3 İsa'nın yanına gelen bazı Ferisiler*, O'nu denemek amacıyla şunu sordular: "Bir
adamın, herhangi bir nedenle karısını boşaması Kutsal Yasa'ya uygun mudur?"
Mat 19:4,5 İsa şu karşılığı verdi: "Kutsal Yazılar'ı okumadınız mı? Yaradan başlangıçtan
'İnsanları erkek ve dişi olarak yarattı' ve şöyle dedi: 'Bu nedenle adam annesini babasını
bırakıp karısına bağlanacak, ikisi tek beden olacak.'
Mat 19:6 Şöyle ki, onlar artık iki değil, tek bedendir. O halde Tanrı'nın birleştirdiğini, insan
ayırmasın."
C. S. Lewis discussed the differences between the Catholic and Protestant positions on
divorce by starting with what the two faiths agree on: divorce is radical surgery, like a
double amputation. The only disagreement is over whether or not the patient survives the
operation.
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Matt. 20 -- the unfair man
Day laborers are near the bottom of the social
order, just a step above beggars.[1] In many cities,
illegal immigrants cluster on certain corners,
waiting. People who need a few hours of unskilled
labor drive by, select the likeliest candidates, and
pay them in cash at the end of the day. If the
employer is ruthless, and shorts them on their pay,
they have no recourse. The story Jesus told in this
chapter resonated with an audience that knew
first-hand about ruthless employers who would do
something capricious from time to time just to keep
the hired help off-balance: insecure, apprehensive,
docile.
Mat 20:1 "Göklerin Egemenliği, sabah erkenden
bağında çalışacak işçi aramaya çıkan toprak sahibine benzer.
Mat 20:2 Adam, işçilerle günlüğü bir dinara anlaşıp onları bağına gönderdi.
Mat 20:3 "Saat* dokuza doğru tekrar dışarı çıktı, çarşı meydanında boş duran başka
adamlar gördü.
Mat 20:4 Onlara, 'Siz de bağa gidip çalışın. Hakkınız neyse, veririm' dedi, onlar da bağa
gittiler. "Öğleyin ve saat üçe doğru yine çıkıp aynı şeyi yaptı.
Mat 20:5 (SEE 20:4)
Mat 20:6 Saat beşe doğru çıkınca, orada duran başka işçiler gördü. Onlara, 'Neden bütün
gün burada boş duruyorsunuz?' diye sordu.
Mat 20:7 "'Kimse bize iş vermedi ki' dediler. "Onlara, 'Siz de bağa gidin, çalışın' dedi.
Mat 20:8 "Akşam olunca, bağın sahibi kâhyasına, 'İşçileri çağır' dedi. 'Sonuncudan
başlayarak ilkine kadar, hepsine ücretlerini ver.'
Mat 20:9 "Saat beşe doğru işe başlayanlar gelip kâhyadan birer dinar aldılar.
Mat 20:10 İlk başlayanlar gelince daha çok alacaklarını sandılar, ama onlara da birer
dinar verildi.
Mat 20:11 Paralarını alınca bağ sahibine söylenmeye başladılar:
Mat 20:12 'En son çalışanlar yalnız bir saat çalıştı' dediler. 'Ama onları günün yükünü ve
sıcağını çeken bizlerle bir tuttun!'
Mat 20:13 "Bağ sahibi onlardan birine şöyle karşılık verdi: 'Arkadaş, sana haksızlık
etmiyorum ki! Seninle bir dinara anlaşmadık mı?
Mat 20:14 Hakkını al, git! Sana verdiğimi sonuncuya da vermek istiyorum.
Mat 20:15 Kendi paramla istediğimi yapmaya hakkım yok mu? Yoksa cömertliğimi
kıskanıyor musun?'
Mat 20:16 "İşte böylece sonuncular birinci, birinciler de sonuncu olacak."
Oh, yes. The people knew about mean bosses. Many of those who heard Jesus with
gladness came from the lower social orders, and had suffered this kind of abuse. The
astonishing thing is, Jesus was talking about God as the capricious boss, and His
Kingdom as the place where things do not turn out as expected.
____________
[1] A century ago, America had a vigorous "hobo" subculture. These restless souls "rode
the rails," from place to place by secreting themselves in freight trains. They had their
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own idiom, including a set of "hobo signs," symbols inscribed on places where a man
could get a sandwich in exchange for a few hours' work, places with a mean dog, or a
mean cop. Hobos considered themselves to be migratory laborers, and looked down
upon tramps (migratory non-laborers) and bums (non-migratory non-laborers).
Matt. 21 -- the hungry man of faith
First-century Israel was a glittering, influential culture. Jerusalem was the Mecca of a
world-spanning community of faith, a place of pilgrimage for Jews and proselytes. A nonstop work ethic and a passion for learning helped the Jews to prosper wherever they
went. A reasonable faith in one God attracted interest wherever they went. All seemed to
be well.
As this acted-out parable demonstrated, however, Jesus saw beyond the superficial to
the rot at the heart of the culture:
Mat 21:18 İsa sabah erkenden kente dönerken acıkmıştı.
Mat 21:19 Yol kenarında gördüğü bir incir ağacına yaklaştı. Ağaçta yapraktan başka bir
şey bulamayınca ağaca, "Artık sonsuza dek sende meyve yetişmesin!" dedi. İncir ağacı o
anda kurudu.
Mat 21:20 Öğrenciler bunu görünce şaşkına döndüler. "İncir ağacı birdenbire nasıl
kurudu?" diye sordular.
Mat 21:21 İsa onlara şu karşılığı verdi: "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, eğer imanınız olur
da kuşku duymazsanız, yalnız incir ağacına olanı yapmakla kalmazsınız; şu dağa, 'Kalk,
denize atıl' derseniz, dediğiniz olacaktır.
Mat 21:22 İmanla dua ederseniz, dilediğiniz her şeyi alırsınız."
The fig tree, a frequent emblem for Israel, had plenty of leaves, but was barren. Soon,
God's verdict upon this condition would be made visible. Yet people of faith would prevail
in the coming time of chaos.
Matt. 22 -- the badly-dressed man
Sunday, February 07, 2010
This chapter has a lot going on in it. For example, Matthew, the former tax collector, has
yet another story on taxes (see also Matt. 17:21). The enemies of Jesus try again to
outwit him, and are handily routed, publicly humiliated.
People of a certain age remember a bumper sticker prevalent during the Vietnam era -"Suppose they gave a war and nobody came?" This recalls the parable that launches this
chapter. The Kingdom of Heaven is like an incredible feast, a party. Strangely enough,
the people honored by the first invitation (the Jews) not only snubbed the host, but
mistreated the delivery boys. The King did not take this calmly -- and his verdict on firstcentury Israel was devastating:
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Sonra kölelerine şöyle dedi: 'Düğün şöleni hazır, ama çağırdıklarım buna layık değilmiş.
Then / to his slaves / this saying / he said: 'The wedding / feast / is ready, / but / those
who were invited / to it / worthy / were not.
It's not safe to snub the King's summons. Even when, especially when, He has invited
you to a joyous and exuberant feast.
It's also not safe to try to get in on the gravy train when wearing the colors of a rival
gang:[1]
Mat 22:11 "Kral konukları görmeye geldiğinde, orada düğün giysisi giymemiş bir adam
gördü.
Mat 22:12 Ona, 'Arkadaş, düğün giysisi giymeden buraya nasıl girdin?' diye sorunca,
adamın dili tutuldu.
Mat 22:13 "O zaman kral, uşaklarına, 'Şunun ellerini ayaklarını bağlayın, dışarıya,
karanlığa atın!' dedi. 'Orada ağlayış ve diş gıcırtısı olacaktır.'
Mat 22:14 "Çünkü çağrılanlar çok, ama seçilenler azdır."
Modern bureaucrats hold meetings. The oriental potentates had feasts, formal occasions
when the servants and subjects would report on conditions in their satrapies, and when
the King would set the direction for the Kingdom's forthcoming activities. The King would
furnish a rich table, and provide festive robes for the guests. In donning the robe, the
guest accepted the King's authority. In feasting at the table, the guest was incorporated,
metaphorically, into his body, to serve as his extensions throughout the realm.
It's communion Sunday, I need to get ready for church.
______________
[1] "Color riding" is the tradition of motorcycle gangs, each of which has its own "colors,"
its emblematic jacket.
Matt. 23 -- beware The Man
The resentment-driven underclass in America esteems a practice they call "sticking it to
The Man." The Man is the personification of the social structure they blame for their
woes.[1]
Jesus had a better idea -- outperform The Man. Self-governing people, people who honor
the Lord as their king, live better lives than slaves.[2] This chapter is a withering
indictment of the ruling class of first century Israel. Like the Mayor played by Bill Murray in
the excellent little movie City of Ember, these people were willing to see their society
collapse, as long as their own nests were feathered.[3] Let's look at a few extracts from
this chapter:
Mat 23:1,2 Bundan sonra İsa halka ve öğrencilerine şöyle seslendi: "Din bilginleri ve
Ferisiler Musa'nın kürsüsünde otururlar.
Mat 23:3 Bu nedenle size söylediklerinin tümünü yapın ve yerine getirin, ama onların
yaptıklarını yapmayın. Çünkü söyledikleri şeyleri kendileri yapmazlar.
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These folks are in power. To stay out of trouble, take them at their word and live up to the
values they assert. Socialists claim to care for "the poor." So, our lives should be
characterized by true benevolence, true charity. However, this concern of their rarely, if
ever, translates into practical, sacrificial action on their parts.
The ruling class is where it is, so we need to be aware of them. However, we do not need
to take them as seriously as they take themselves. Rush Limbaugh became an overnight
success after 17 years, by simply pointing out the discrepancies between what the ruling
class said, and what they actually did. The "filling" in this sandwich chapter is withering
scorn poured upon the heads of the ruling elite and its media outlets. Injunctions for His
disciples to do better. As Kingdom people, as self-governing people, we should not be
driven by the power lust that characterizes contemptible rulers.
Let's drop down to verse 37 to see the bottom line, wherein Jesus compares Himself to a
chicken:
Mat 23:37 "Ey Yeruşalim! Peygamberleri öldüren, kendisine gönderilenleri taşlayan
Yeruşalim! Tavuğun civcivlerini kanatları altına topladığı gibi ben de kaç kez senin
çocuklarını toplamak istedim, ama siz istemediniz.
Mat 23:38 Bakın, eviniz ıssız bırakılacak!
Mat 23:39 Size şunu söyleyeyim: 'Rab'bin adıyla gelene övgüler olsun!' diyeceğiniz
zamana dek beni bir daha görmeyeceksiniz."
The bridge is out. Israel has just driven past the last exit ramp.
_________
[1] This sense of entitlement leads to numerous acts of pillage and pilferage. For
examine, Social Security Supplemental funds are paid out to handicapped folks, or the
parents of handicapped children. SO, coach the kids to act crazy, and the government
will send you another check in the mail. The raids on the nation's productive class are
sanctioned by the politicians whose role in this danse macabre is to buy the votes of the
underclass with "public" money.
[2] The Finno-Russian War of 1939 quantified this observation. The Finns were
outnumbered by around 12 to 1 -- but their soldiers were free men protecting their
homes. The Russian invaders were conscripts.
[3] At the end of the Ottoman Empire, the ruling class in Istanbul were willing to sign away
a whole nation to foreign masters, in exchange for their own continuing roles as
pampered puppet rulers.
Matt. 24 -- let no man deceive you
Israel had, without quite realizing it, missed the last exit ramp and was hurtling down the
road towards the missing bridge. Bad times were ahead, as Jesus spells out in this
chapter. He gives His disciples the specific signal they'll need to heed, if they are to jump
clear of the wreck:
Mat 24:33 Aynı şekilde, bütün bunların gerçekleştiğini gördüğünüzde bilin ki, İnsanoğlu
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235
yakındır, kapıdadır.
A consistent metaphor used in the Bible is "clouds," as indicators of God's judicial
presence. In other words, they tell us, "Here comes the judge."[1] When the pieces fell
into place, it was time to make a hasty exit.
Meanwhile, if they valued their temporal and eternal welfare, there was a more immediate
threat they had to watch out for: false prophets.
Mat 24:4 İsa onlara şu karşılığı verdi: "Sakın kimse sizi saptırmasın!
Mat 24:5 Birçokları, 'Mesih benim' diyerek benim adımla gelip birçok kişiyi aldatacaklar.
...
Mat 24:11 Birçok sahte peygamber türeyecek ve bunlar birçok kişiyi saptıracak.
Hegel said, "The owl of Minerva only flies at twilight." Only towards the end of a
civilization, he thus asserted, do its inhabitants achieve wisdom. Jesus took a blunter,
and more realistic, view:
Mat 24:28 "Leş neredeyse, akbabalar oraya üşüşecek.
Bad times bring forth worse people. Adolph Hitler leads his people out of economic
desperation and into prosperity, and then on towards a shining destiny. FDR saves
American capitalism by hog-tying American businesses and saddling a nation with a
massive layer of socialist bureaucracies. A glib-tongued Kenyan who has achieved
nothing but speaks in the White dialect of American English and can read a teleprompter
offers salvation to a worried, nation, "Hope" and "Change." He will command the seas to
stop rising, after all.
______________
[1] For fans younger than their mid-fifties, this is a famous line from the comedy variety
show Rowan and Marti's Laugh-in.
Matt. 25 -- an austere man
In this chapter, Jesus continues using stories to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. Many
folks then (and, alas, now) viewed this Kingdom as something that would appear
magically, full-grown, apart from human "blood, toil, sweat, tears." In the first parable, we
learn how great opportunities that catch us unprepared leave us worse off than before.
That which we had yearned, longed, and hoped for happens -- but we are not ready. We
need to have and build reserves, so as to be fit to capitalize on opportunities.
The third parable connects Kingdom rewards to the way we treat the agents of the
Kingdom, the "brethren" of the Lord -- those who hear, believe, and act upon His Word.
Nations that are cordial and hospitable to the Gospel message, and messengers, enjoy
divine favor.
I'd like to look at the middle parable, today. What is the Kingdom like? Well, it is like the
King who isn't there!
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Mat 25:14 "Göksel egemenlik, yolculuğa çıkan bir adamın kölelerini çağırıp malını onlara
emanet etmesine benzer.
Mat 25:15 "Adam, her birinin yeteneğine göre, birine beş, birine iki, birine de bir talant
vererek yola çıktı.
Mat 25:16 Beş talant alan, hemen gidip bu parayı işletti ve beş talant daha kazandı.
Mat 25:17 İki talant alan da iki talant daha kazandı.
Mat 25:18 Bir talant alan ise gidip toprağı kazdı ve efendisinin parasını sakladı.
Mat 25:19 "Uzun zaman sonra bu kölelerin efendisi döndü, onlarla hesaplaşmaya oturdu.
Mat 25:20 Beş talant alan gelip beş talant daha getirdi, 'Efendimiz' dedi, 'Bana beş talant
emanet etmiştin; bak, beş talant daha kazandım.'
Mat 25:21 "Efendisi ona, 'Aferin, iyi ve güvenilir köle!' dedi. 'Sen küçük işlerde güvenilir
olduğunu gösterdin, ben de seni büyük işlerin başına geçireceğim. Gel, efendinin
şenliğine katıl!'
Mat 25:22 "İki talant alan da geldi, 'Efendimiz' dedi, 'Bana iki talant emanet etmiştin; bak,
iki talant daha kazandım.'
Mat 25:23 "Efendisi ona, 'Aferin, iyi ve güvenilir köle!' dedi. 'Sen küçük işlerde güvenilir
olduğunu gösterdin, ben de seni büyük işlerin başına geçireceğim. Gel, efendinin
şenliğine katıl!'
Mat 25:24 "Sonra bir talant alan geldi, 'Efendimiz' dedi, 'Senin sert bir adam olduğunu
biliyordum. Ekmediğin yerden biçer, harman savurmadığın yerden devşirirsin.
Mat 25:25 Bu nedenle korktum, gidip senin verdiğin talantı toprağa gömdüm. İşte, al
paranı!'
Mat 25:26,27 "Efendisi ona şu karşılığı verdi: 'Kötü ve tembel köle! Ekmediğim yerden
biçtiğimi, harman savurmadığım yerden devşirdiğimi bildiğine göre paramı faize
vermeliydin. Ben de geldiğimde onu faiziyle geri alırdım...
Mat 25:28 Haydi, elindeki talantı alın, on talantı olana verin!
Mat 25:29 Çünkü kimde varsa, ona daha çok verilecek ve o bolluk içinde olacak. Ama
kimde yoksa, kendisinde olan da elinden alınacak.
Mat 25:30 Şu yararsız köleyi dışarıya, karanlığa atın. Orada ağlayış ve diş gıcırtısı
olacaktır.'"
Let's look at the key concept:
Senin sert bir adam olduğunu biliyordum.
You / hard /a / man / are / I know.
The Greek adjective the slave used is transliterated into the English word austere. It
means hard, strict, severe. Whoops, that's in Luke's account of the story. Evidently, like
any public speaker, Jesus recycled his sermon illustrations as he moved from audience
to audience. The word Matthew reports Jesus using is σκληρὸς -- hard.
The guy held his boss in contempt, and resented the Master's wealth. Envy, hostile
resentment, are not tolerable in the Kingdom of Heaven. Nor, for that matter, on earth.
The intriguing book Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory
to Disaster describes the insanity of rapacious unions and their thuggish leaders,
parasites who were perfectly willing to bleed the host to death.
To bring the story down to earth, it's very easy to let resentment about our situation cause
us to sit on our "talents," to refuse to energetically employ the opportunities we have been
given. And this surly sterility is rooted in a contempt for the King, in disrespect for God.
Al ve oku
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Matt. 26 -- the price of a man
Post-modernism is "skepticism regarding grand meta-narratives," if we believe the
communications scholars. It's "weirdness for the sake of being weird," if we heed Mo
Sizlak, the bartender on the animated series The Simpsons. It has become fashionable to
present Judas as an enigmatic figure, someone who, for reasons known only to himself,
but perhaps, in some sense, justifiable, betrayed Jesus. Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock
opera Jesus Christ, Superstar treated Judas as the central character, the honest
observer who grows uneasy as things don't seem to add up.
Medieval Christians simply assumed that Judas was "bad to the bone," a thief, who finally
decided to cash in his chips when the gravy train went off the rails.[1]
Let's see how Matthew describes the moment of betrayal:
Mat 26:6,7 İsa Beytanya'da cüzamlı Simun'un evindeyken, yanına bir kadın geldi. Kadın
kaymaktaşından bir kap içinde çok değerli, güzel kokulu yağ getirmişti. İsa sofrada
otururken, kadın yağı O'nun başına döktü.
Mat 26:8 Öğrenciler bunu görünce kızdılar. "Nedir bu savurganlık?" dediler.
Mat 26:9 "Bu yağ pahalıya satılabilir, parası yoksullara verilebilirdi."
Mat 26:10 Söylenenleri farkeden İsa, öğrencilerine, "Kadını neden üzüyorsunuz?" dedi.
"Benim için güzel bir şey yaptı.
Mat 26:11 Yoksullar her zaman aranızdadır, ama ben her zaman aranızda olmayacağım.
Mat 26:12 Kadın bu güzel kokulu yağı, beni gömülmeye hazırlamak için bedenimin
üzerine boşalttı.
Mat 26:13 Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, bu Müjde dünyanın neresinde duyurulursa, bu
kadının yaptığı da onun anılması için anlatılacak."
Mat 26:14,15 O sırada Onikiler'den biri -adı Yahuda İskariot olanı başkâhinlere giderek,
"O'nu ele verirsem bana ne verirsiniz?" dedi. Otuz gümüş tartıp ona verdiler.
Mat 26:16 Yahuda o andan itibaren İsa'yı ele vermek için fırsat kollamaya başladı.
Apparently, the last straw was this impractical act of devotion, that poured out a year's
worth of income upon the feet of Jesus. A cynic, Oscar Wilde wrote, "is a man who knows
the price of everything, and the value of nothing." Judas settled on a price he considered
adequate, then set upon to earn his pay.
_______________
[1] Did I pack enough cliches into that sentence? The expression "to cash in your chips"
refers to card games, at the point where a player takes his winnings and walks away from
the table. "Gravy train" is, I fear, an obsolete metaphor dating back to the days when the
railroads were a more visible feature of American life.
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Matt. 27 -- the blood of this man
The irascible governor was roused from his bed by the restless rabble rioting outside. It
seems they wanted to lynch a troublemaker. After a brief examination, the governor tries
to find a face-saving way to bring the disturbance to a conclusion. Perhaps he could
extend executive clemency to the suspect?
Mat 27:15 Her Fısıh Bayramı'nda vali, halkın istediği bir tutukluyu salıvermeyi adet
edinmişti.
Mat 27:16 O günlerde Barabba adında ünlü bir tutuklu vardı.
Mat 27:17 Halk bir araya toplandığında, Pilatus onlara, "Sizin için kimi salıvermemi
istersiniz, Barabba'yı mı, Mesih denen İsa'yı mı?" diye sordu.
Mat 27:18 İsa'yı kıskançlıktan ötürü kendisine teslim ettiklerini biliyordu.
Mat 27:19 Pilatus yargı kürsüsünde otururken karısı ona, "O doğru adama dokunma. Dün
gece rüyamda O'nun yüzünden çok sıkıntı çektim" diye haber gönderdi.
Mat 27:20 Başkâhinler ve ileri gelenler ise, Barabba'nın salıverilmesini ve İsa'nın
öldürülmesini istesinler diye halkı kışkırttılar.
Mat 27:21 Vali onlara şunu sordu: "Sizin için hangisini salıvermemi istersiniz?"
"Barabba'yı" dediler.
Mat 27:22 Pilatus, "Öyleyse Mesih denen İsa'yı ne yapayım?" diye sordu. Hep bir
ağızdan, "Çarmıha gerilsin!" dediler.
Mat 27:23 Pilatus, "O ne kötülük yaptı ki?" diye sordu. Onlar ise daha yüksek sesle,
"Çarmıha gerilsin!" diye bağrışıp durdular.
Mat 27:24 Pilatus, elinden bir şey gelmediğini, tersine, bir kargaşalığın başladığını
görünce su aldı, kalabalığın önünde ellerini yıkayıp şöyle dedi: "Bu adamın kanından ben
sorumlu değilim. Bu işe siz bakın!"
Mat 27:25 Bütün halk şu karşılığı verdi: "O'nun kanının sorumluluğu bizim ve
çocuklarımızın üzerinde olsun!"
• Bu adamın kanından ben sorumlu değilim. Bu işe siz bakın! -- This / man's blood
from / I / am guilty / not. / This / matter, business / you see to!
• O'nun kanının sorumluluğu bizim ve çocuklarımızın üzerinde olsun! -- His / blood /
the guilt thereof / ours / and / our children's (double possessive -- you can do that
easily in Turkish) / upon / let it be!
In another generation, the people who committed the greatest crime since the Garden of
Eden -- the unjust murder of God's most precious emissary, got what they had asked for.
Their children and grandchildren perished miserably in the catastrophic fall of Jerusalem.
And the majority of their descendants since then have lived resentfully, enviously, apart
from and outside of God's glorious eternal Kingdom.
Matt. 28 -- man your battle stations !
Matthew's gospel ends with the command Christians call "The Great Commission."
Mat 28:18 İsa yanlarına gelip kendilerine şunları söyledi: "Gökte ve yeryüzünde bütün
yetki bana verildi.
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239
Mat 28:19 Bu nedenle gidin, bütün ulusları öğrencilerim olarak yetiştirin; onları Baba,
Oğul ve Kutsal Ruh'un adıyla vaftiz edin;
Mat 28:20 size buyurduğum her şeye uymayı onlara öğretin. İşte ben, dünyanın sonuna
dek her an sizinle birlikteyim."
The general is on the battlefield, directing every operation. He already has complete
jurisdiction everywhere ...
• Gökte ve yeryüzünde bütün yetki bana verildi. -- In heaven / and / on earth / all /
authority / to me / has been given.
Our sphere of operation is as large as the created universe. The subset we need to
focus on, however, is the nation, the cohesive ethnic group. Every nation. The Greek
phrase, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, all the nations, includes the root of our word ethnic. Let's take a
look hear at our task for the nation, including Turkey:
• Bu nedenle gidin, bütün ulusları öğrencilerim olarak yetiştirin; -- For this reason / go,
/ all / the nations / my disciples / make / to attain, arrive, catch up.
• onları Baba, Oğul ve Kutsal Ruh'un adıyla vaftiz edin; -- Them / Father / Son / and
Holy Spirit / in the name of / baptize.
• size buyurduğum her şeye uymayı onlara öğretin. -- to you / my commands / every /
thing / adaptation. conformity. fit. respect. agreement. accommodation. adherence.
compliance. conformance. conformation. deference. observance / them / teach.
• İşte ben, dünyanın sonuna dek her an sizinle birlikteyim."-- Behold / I / the earth's /
end / until / every / moment / with you / I am.
And the moral of this story is, beware of aiming too low. Yes, we can bring massive
resources to bear on "converting" individual souls. Human beings are not, however, selfcontained units. We are also members of families and tribes. A gospel that has the best
interests of entire tribes at heart is more interesting to those who take their families
seriously.
Mark 1 -- by the company he keeps.
It's an old, but wise saying: you know a man by the company he keeps. Or, as the
rhyming cliche puts it, "Birds of a feather, flock together." Mark 1 is full of personal
interactions. For example:
Mar 1:13 İsa çölde kaldığı kırk gün boyunca Şeytan tarafından denendi. Yabanıl
hayvanlar arasındaydı, melekler O'na hizmet ediyordu.
Here, we see the Master hanging out with Satan, wild beasts, and angels, a crowd that
definitely encompasses diverse social strata!
Later, he summons fishermen to go after bigger game:
Mar 1:17 İsa onlara, "Ardımdan gelin" dedi, "Sizleri insan tutan balıkçılar yapacağım."
In the synagogue a few verse later, he evicts a demon. Crowds show up at his host's
door after sunset (when the sabbath ended). Finally, after he heals a leper, this guy's
testimony brings even larger crowds around him.
In every context, the King is in command of his situation, and is the most influential party
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in every party.
Mark 2 -- the center of attention
Charisma. Everyone knows who has it. Those who don't are mystified, and envious. An
episode of the old TV show Cheers centered around a visit from Sam's charismatic
brother. The viewer never saw the brother -- just the noisy, cheerful crowd that always
surrounded him, with enthusiastic individuals occasionally breaking away from the throng
to display some new ability, some new insight, some new encouraging thought.
Attention. None of us ever seems to have enough of it. Yet charismatic people pay it,
spend it lavishly, and have more than enough to give away. We on the fringes only see
them soaking it up, and wonder why nobody is as fascinated with our own amazing
persons!
The energy around Jesus attracts four guys with a paralyzed friend, crippled in body and
soul.
The energy swirling around Jesus attracts a tax collector, and his slimy, disreputable
friends. When the "nice" people mutter about the kind of company Jesus keeps, the
Teacher says, these are the kind of people I'd rather hang around with, so put that in your
pipe and smoke it!
Mar 2:16 Ferisiler'den* bazı din bilginleri, O'nu günahkârlar ve vergi görevlileriyle birlikte
yemekte görünce öğrencilerine, "Niçin vergi görevlileri ve günahkârlarla birlikte yemek
yiyor?" diye sordular.
Mar 2:17 Bunu duyan İsa onlara, "Sağlamların değil, hastaların hekime ihtiyacı var"
The nattering nabobs of negativity wonder why his disciples don't fast, and Jesus tells
them -- There's a party going on! A time of festive celebration!
Sorry, folks, I'm not here to tinker with the existing order, I represent a whole new order.
And those who aren't too embedded in the current order have the opportunity to get in on
the ground floor![1]
___________
[1] This idiom comes from the stock market. Folks who "get in on the ground floor"
purchase stock in a company at the initial public offering for a price that looks trivial later,
when the value of the stock soars. Many Microsoft employees became millionaires, for
example.
Al ve oku
241
Mark 3 -- conflicting opinions
In this chapter, Jesus continues to heal and preach. Crowds thronged around him, or
maybe I should say throngs crowded around him, attracted by his lively discourse and the
spectacle of healings and exorcisms. He is starting to attract hostile attention as well.
Opinion about him is divided.
Mar 3:21 Yakınları bunu duyunca, "Aklını kaçırmış" diyerek O'nu almaya geldiler.
For example, some sought to draw near to him out of sincere concern, fearing that Jesus
had lost his mind. Or, as the colorful Turkish expression has it, "Aklını kaçırmış." His
mind, wits, intelligence / have fled.
Others read the worst possible explanations into his motives:
Mar 3:22 Yeruşalim'den gelen din bilginleri ise, "Baalzevul O'nun içine girmiş" ve "Cinleri,
cinlerin önderinin gücüyle kovuyor" diyorlardı.
Mar 3:30 İsa bu sözleri, "O'nda kötü ruh var" dedikleri için söyledi.
"Obviously," the current religious leaders said, "this upstart must be in league with the
devil. After all, he's not one of us, and we are God's official representatives on earth!"
His family shows up, apparently worried:
Mar 3:32 İsa'nın çevresinde oturan kalabalıktan bazıları, "Bak" dediler, "Annenle
kardeşlerin dışarıda, seni istiyorlar."
"Look," they said, "With mother / your brothers / outside (are), / you / they seek."
And Jesus just goes on teaching. The opinions of others do not deflect him from his
purposes. As the elegant old Turkish proverb has it,
İt ürür, kervan yürür.
The dogs bark, the caravan moves along.
Mark 4 -- ignorant growth
What advice can you give desperate people, who wonder if deep-seated political,
personal, economic, and spiritual struggles will ever break through into resolution? One
answer that is sadly too prevalent in American Christianity is -- wait for the Second
Coming! Everything will be all right then! Meanwhile, just grin and bear it![1]
Jesus seemed to have a different understanding of the Kingdom. It was, he said, like a
seed. Give it good soil, and things will take care of themselves. God works quietly,
secretly, and over time.
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Here is one of the rare chunks of Mark that is not also found in Matthew or Luke:
Mar 4:26 Sonra İsa şöyle dedi: "Tanrı'nın Egemenliği, toprağa tohum saçan adama
benzer.
Mar 4:27 Gece olur, uyur; gündüz olur, kalkar. Kendisi nasıl olduğunu bilmez ama, tohum
filizlenir, gelişir.
Mar 4:28 Toprak kendiliğinden ürün verir. Önce filizi, sonra başağı, sonunda da başağı
dolduran taneleri verir.
Mar 4:29 Ürün olgunlaşınca, adam hemen orağı vurur. Çünkü biçim vakti gelmiştir."
Let's look at a key concept here:
• Gece olur, uyur; gündüz olur, kalkar. -- Night / comes, / he sleeps; / Daytime /
comes, / he wakes up.
• Kendisi nasıl olduğunu bilmez ama, -- By itself / how / it happens / he does not know
/ but,
• tohum filizlenir, gelişir. -- The seed / sprouts, / comes forth.
The universe does not depend on us. God's work keeps on keeping on, without our
attention, while we pursue the routines of life.
__________
[1] A woman was married for the fourth time. To her husband's astonishment, she was
still a virgin. "Well," she said. "My first husband and I really loved each other, but he'd had
a terrible accident. But, he was a kind man, a good man, a good provider, so our
marriage worked. After he died, I married again. Right after the ceremony, my second
husband told me that he really preferred boys. But, he was a kind man, a good man, a
good provider, so our marriage worked. My third husband was a (fill in party label of
choice). He just sat on the bed and talked about how great it was going to be!"
Mark 5 -- alone in a crowd
A US military advertising slogan promotes the soldier as "an army of one." Just think,
kids! Learn to use our high-tech gadgets, and you can find yourself inside a real-life video
game!
The Lonely Crowd was a landmark sociological book a half-century ago. It spoke of
people who go through life with nothing inside, who take their cues from those around
them.
This chapter has a number of crowd scenes, and individual encounters. For example, the
guy with too much internal population:
Mar 5:7 Yüksek sesle haykırarak, "Ey İsa, yüce Tanrı'nın Oğlu, benden ne istiyorsun?
Tanrı hakkı için sana yalvarırım, bana işkence etme!" dedi.
Mar 5:8 Çünkü İsa, "Ey kötü ruh, adamın içinden çık!" demişti.
Mar 5:9 Sonra İsa adama, "Adın ne?" diye sordu. "Adım Tümen. Çünkü sayımız çok"
dedi.
Then, there was the one lady in a crowd who had a meaningful encounter with Jesus:
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243
Mar 5:27 Kadın, İsa hakkında anlatılanları duymuştu. Bu nedenle, kalabalıkta O'nun
arkasından gelip giysisine dokundu.
Mar 5:28 İçinden, "Giysilerine bile dokunsam kurtulurum" diyordu.
Mar 5:29 O anda kanaması kesiliverdi. Kadın, bedeninin derinliğinde acıdan kurtulduğunu
hissetti.
Mar 5:30 İsa ise, kendisinden bir gücün akıp gittiğini hemen anladı. Kalabalığın ortasında
dönüp, "Giysilerime kim dokundu?" diye sordu.
Mar 5:31 Öğrencileri O'na, "Seni sıkıştıran kalabalığı görüyorsun! Nasıl oluyor da, 'Bana
kim dokundu' diye soruyorsun?" dediler.
Mar 5:32 İsa kendisine dokunanı görmek için çevresine bakındı.
Finally, there was a crowd of mocking mourners around the house of woe:
Mar 5:38 Havra yöneticisinin evine vardıklarında İsa, acı acı ağlayıp feryat eden gürültülü
bir kalabalıkla karşılaştı.
Mar 5:39 İçeri girerek onlara, "Niye gürültü edip ağlıyorsunuz?" dedi. "Çocuk ölmedi,
uyuyor."
Mar 5:40 Onlar ise kendisiyle alay ettiler. Ama İsa hepsini dışarı çıkardıktan sonra
çocuğun annesini babasını ve kendisiyle birlikte olanları alıp çocuğun bulunduğu odaya
girdi.
A guy wrote a book a while back with the lengthy title Extraordinary Popular Delusions
and the Madness of Crowds.
The majority can be wrong -- or simply irrelevant.
Mark 6 -- the hometown crowd
A cynical American aphorism defines a consultant as someone who is more than fifty
miles from home, with a briefcase. Somehow, it's easier to impress people who don't
know us too well. Jesus had a similar experience:
Mar 6:1 İsa oradan ayrılarak kendi memleketine gitti. Öğrencileri de ardından gittiler.
Mar 6:2 Şabat Günü olunca İsa havrada öğretmeye başladı. Söylediklerini işiten birçok
kişi şaşıp kaldı. "Bu adam bunları nereden öğrendi?" diye soruyorlardı. "Kendisine verilen
bu bilgelik nedir? Nasıl böyle mucizeler yapabiliyor?
Mar 6:3 Meryem'in oğlu, Yakup, Yose, Yahuda ve Simun'un kardeşi olan marangoz
değilmi bu? Kızkardeşleri burada, aramızda yaşamıyor mu?" Ve gücenip O'nu reddettiler.
Mar 6:4 İsa da onlara, "Bir peygamber, kendi memleketinden, akraba çevresinden ve
kendi evinden başka yerde hor görülmez" dedi.
Mar 6:5 Orada birkaç hastayı, üzerlerine ellerini koyarak iyileştirmekten başka hiçbir
mucize yapamadı.
Mar 6:6 Halkın imansızlığına şaşıyordu. İsa çevredeki köyleri dolaşıp öğretiyordu.
• memleket -- homeland. country. hometown. mother country. fatherland.
• şaşmak -- wonder. to be amazed. to be astonished. to be surprised. to lose one's
way. to go astray. to deviate.
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• imansızlığına -- at their unbelief. Start with the root (iman) -- faith, belief. Add the
negating syllable (sız). Then, the "that which is characteristic of" syllable (lık). The
third person possessive syllable (ın). Finally, the direct object syllable (a).
The people were surprised that this home boy, this home-schooled lad, should have
such deep insight, so much wisdom. In fact, they were offended by the excellence of his
sermon. Jesus, in turn, was surprised by their unbelief.
A century or two after our Lord's brief sojourn on earth, a number of fairy tales sprang up
around him, fictitious imaginary childhood stories. Of a vengeful infantile demigod, who
made clay birds come to life -- or slew bullies with a word. The real gospels paint a
different picture: Jesus was so totally normal a guy that very little of his early life was
considered noteworthy by those who knew him best.
Mark 7 -- the tidy crowd
Jesus lived among people. He had his own friends around him most of the time, plus his
larger audience of thrill-seekers, plus his armada of critics. There was always someone
eager to find fault with him, or his followers, or his message, or all of the above. Today's
reading, for example, deals with table manners. The Pharisees had an elaborate system
of cleansing rituals, perhaps to compensate for their internal filth. Let's look at today's
angry confrontation:
Mar 7:1 Yeruşalim'den gelen Ferisiler ve bazı din bilginleri, İsa'nın çevresinde toplandılar.
Mar 7:2 O'nun öğrencilerinden bazılarının murdar, yani yıkanmamış ellerle yemek
yediklerini gördüler.
Mar 7:3 Ferisiler, hatta bütün Yahudiler, atalarının töresi uyarınca ellerini iyice yıkamadan
yemek yemezler.
Mar 7:4 Çarşıdan dönünce de, yıkanmadan yemek yemezler. Ayrıca kâse, testi ve bakır
kapların yıkanmasıyla ilgili başka birçok töreye de uyarlar.
Mar 7:5 Ferisiler ve din bilginleri İsa'ya, "Öğrencilerin neden atalarımızın töresine
uymuyorlar, niçin murdar ellerle yemek yiyorlar?" diye sordular.
Mar 7:6 İsa onları şöyle yanıtladı: "Yeşaya'nın siz ikiyüzlülerle ilgili peygamberlik sözü ne
kadar yerindedir! Yazmış olduğu gibi, 'Bu halk, dudaklarıyla beni sayar, Ama yürekleri
benden uzak.
Mar 7:7 Bana boşuna taparlar. Çünkü öğrettikleri, sadece insan buyruklarıdır.'
Mar 7:8 Siz Tanrı buyruğunu bir yana bırakmış, insan töresine uyuyorsunuz."
Mar 7:9 İsa onlara ayrıca şunu söyledi: "Kendi törenizi sürdürmek için Tanrı buyruğunu
bir kenara itmeyi ne de güzel beceriyorsunuz!
Mar 7:10 Musa, 'Annene babana saygı göstereceksin' ve, 'Annesine ya da babasına
söven kesinlikle öldürülecektir' diye buyurmuştu.
Mar 7:11, 12 Ama siz, 'Eğer bir adam annesine ya da babasına, benden alacağın bütün
yardım kurbandır, yani Tanrı'ya adanmıştır derse, artık annesi ya da babası için bir şey
yapmasına izin yok' diyorsunuz.
Mar 7:13 Böylece kuşaktan kuşağa aktardığınız törelerle Tanrı'nın sözünü geçersiz
kılıyorsunuz. Buna benzer daha birçok şey yapıyorsunuz."
• ellerini iyice yıkamadan yemek yemezler
• ellerini -- their hands
Al ve oku
245
• iyice -- very well. The Turkish adjective iyi is converted into an adverb with the -ce
suffix. The Greek adjective in this phrase (ἐὰν μὴ πυγμῇ νίψωνται τὰς χεῖρας) is only
found here in the New Testament, and may mean "with the fist" or "to the elbow." In
any case, it seems to imply that these folks obsessively scrubbed their hands with
extraordinary zeal.
• yıkamadan -- if they do not wash
• yemek -- food
• yemezler -- they will not eat.
Jesus calls their bluff, and gives an example of how their religious tradition leads to
violation of God's real commands. Their habitual preference for their own rituals indicates
internal apostasy, a hatred of God masked as a love for their religion. It's something we
all need to watch out for, I imagine.
______________
[0] I found an excellent dictionary site -- http://www.hazar.com/index.php. You will be
seeing longer definitions.
Mark 8 -- never make excuses
"Never make excuses. Your friends don't need them, and your enemies won't believe
them." In Christian thinking, unbelief is primarily an ethical issue, a failure of character,
rather than of intellect. The whole universe shouts the glories of the Creator -- and so
many of us stop up our ears. Such as the rivals who dogged the steps of Jesus:
Mar 8:11 Ferisiler gelip İsa'yla tartışmaya başladılar. O'nu denemek amacıyla gökten bir
belirti göstermesini istediler.
Mar 8:12 İsa içten bir ah çekerek, "Bu kuşak neden bir belirti istiyor?" dedi. "Size
doğrusunu söyleyeyim, bu kuşağa hiçbir belirti gösterilmeyecek."
They demanded to see a sign from heaven -- "Show us, and we'll believe." This was just
after a miraculous feeding of thousands. Which was in the context of an ongoing ministry
of healing and exorcisms. The heart-felt reaction of Jesus is quite colorful in Turkish:
• İsa içten bir ah çekerek
• içten -- from the inside
• bir -- a
• ah -- An exclamation, expressive of surprise, pity, complaint, entreaty, contempt,
threatening, delight, triumph, etc., according to the manner of utterance.
• çekerek -- brings forth
Or, as the Greek has it, ἀναστενάξας τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ (groaning in his spirit). What
does it take to convince some people? May the Almighty deliver us from hearts that
refuse to believe.
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Mark 9 -- looks like we've got company
Pornography is strange. Somehow, nearly microscopic dots of colored ink on paper can
exert a powerful attraction to our minds, and become more fascinating than the flesh-andblood women we actually share our lives and beds with. The reader toys with the
increasingly vile possibilities that arise if half the human race consists of toys to be used - and broken -- for the pleasure of the other half. As you play with depravity in the atelier
and abattoir of the mind, you sometimes find you've got company. An invisible playmate,
eager to dialogue with you about the possibilities -- and ways to achieve them.
Pornography is strange. Users are ashamed to put it out with the trash, lest their
neighbors see what they've been giving their thoughts over to. Somehow, porn ends up
bundled up in neat packages, and left by remote waysides where adolescent lads can
find it. One such lad found one such bundle in the 1950s. The centerfolds back then were
somewhat more chaste, somewhat more demure, than the Sports Illustrated swimsuit
models today. Even so, the only women willing to pose for those airbrushed pictures a
half-century ago were prostitutes.
Serial rapist / murderer Ted Bundy gave one interview to the civilian media, on the night
before his execution. He spoke at length with James Dobson, PhD, founder of a Christian
and family themed radio talk show. Bundy's descent into the life of a monster began with
dots of colored ink on paper. Then, as he told Dr. Dobson, one day he had company. An
invisible playmate. A driving, obsessive passion that seemed to sweep in from outside his
mind, to take possession of him.
The fences between the visible and invisible realities we live among are stout, and
liberally posted with No Trespassing signs. Most of the time, we are unaware of the holy
angels that protect us. Unless we go looking for them, we usually live in blissful ignorance
of the foul spirits, the cinler, that lust to participate in the visible world through the agency
of our willing cooperation.
Sometimes, though, the barriers can be penetrated. Materialistic ages, for example,
usually are obsessed with the occult. Something of the image of God in us, the
fingerprints of the Creator on our souls, rejects the doctrine that life consists only and
entirely of what can be seen, touched, measured. Carl Sagan's pompous credo, "The
Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be," rings hollow with real people. "Surely,
there's got to be more," the well-indoctrinated little materialist muses, then falls prey to
the blandishments of "scientific" spiritualism. Oh, yes. There are techniques and tools that
can open the soul to interactions with invisible entities. The most popular board game in
America, for example, is the Ouija board. The "flower children" of the sixties turned to
psychedelic drugs in a quest for transcendent realities. Or practiced "transcendental
meditation," self-hypnotic techniques for lowering the bars, putting out the welcome mat,
turning on the Vacancy sign for invisible guests.
There are moments in history when the stakes are raised, and human/demon interactions
become more commonplace. The destiny of the nation is at stake,[1] and various trends
in popular culture compete for the souls of children. When eras end, they usually do so in
a cloud of debauched currency, debauched morals, and debauched spirituality.
When Jesus walked the earth, a lot of his attention was given to the ministry of exorcism.
Al ve oku
247
Such as we read of in this chapter:
Mar 9:17 Halktan biri O'na, "Öğretmenim" diye karşılık verdi, "Dilsiz bir ruha tutulan
oğlumu sana getirdim.
Mar 9:18 Ruh onu nerede yakalarsa yere çarpıyor. Çocuk ağzından köpükler saçıyor,
dişlerini gıcırdatıyor ve kaskatı kesiliyor. Ruhu kovmaları için öğrencilerine başvurdum,
ama başaramadılar."
Mar 9:19 İsa onlara, "Ey imansız kuşak!" dedi. "Sizinle daha ne kadar kalacağım? Size
daha ne kadar katlanacağım? Çocuğu bana getirin!"
Mar 9:20 Çocuğu kendisine getirdiler. Ruh, İsa'yı görür görmez çocuğu şiddetle sarstı;
çocuk yere düştü, ağzından köpükler saçarak yuvarlanmaya başladı.
Mar 9:21 İsa çocuğun babasına, "Bu hal çocuğun başına geleli ne kadar oldu?" diye
sordu. "Küçüklüğünden beri böyle" dedi babası.
Mar 9:22 "Üstelik ruh onu öldürmek için sık sık ateşe, suya attı. Elinden bir şey gelirse,
bize yardım et, halimize acı!"
Mar 9:23 İsa ona, "Elimden gelirse mi? İman eden biri için her şey mümkün!" dedi.
Mar 9:24 Çocuğun babası hemen, "İman ediyorum, imansızlığımı yenmeme yardım
et!"diye feryat etti.
Mar 9:25 İsa, halkın koşuşup geldiğini görünce kötü ruhu azarlayarak, "Sana
buyuruyorum, dilsiz ve sağır ruh, çocuğun içinden çık ve ona bir daha girme!" dedi.
Mar 9:26 Bunun üzerine ruh bir çığlık attı ve çocuğu şiddetle sarsarak çıktı. Çocuk ölü
gibi hareketsiz kaldı, öyle ki oradakilerin birçoğu, "Öldü!" diyordu.
Mar 9:27 Ama İsa elinden tutup kaldırınca, çocuk ayağa kalktı.
Mar 9:28 İsa eve girdikten sonra öğrencileri özel olarak O'na, "Biz kötü ruhu neden
kovamadık?" diye sordular.
Mar 9:29 İsa onlara, "Bu tür ruhlar ancak duayla kovulabilir" yanıtını verdi.
Let's look at a brief part of the conversation:
• Elinden bir şey gelirse
• Elinden -- from your hand
• bir şey -- one thing
• gelirse -- can come from forth
• İman eden biri için her şey mümkün! -• İman -- faith
• eden -- has
• biri --one
• için -- within
• her şey -- everythin
• mümkün -- is possible!
Encounters with demonic forces are ugly scenes, though rarely as harrowing as the
movie The Exorcist portrayed. Cinler enjoy their zones of influence, are reluctant to give
them up, and often scream loudly, using the voice of the cinli person, when expelled.
Exorcists need to be people with rich prayer lives, as Jesus told His disciples. People of
integrity. A Catholic priest, who blessed me and my younger brother when we were
infants, told my parents that the forces of evil throw in the face of the exorcist every sin
he's ever committed.
Yet there's more to life than the ugly side. This chapter begins with an experience on a
mountain top. Our Lord's favorite three disciples (and yes, God does play favorites)
suddenly realized that they were not alone with Jesus. Two other gleaming Personages,
Moses[2] and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, also showed up. One of the
classic doctrines of the Christian faith is "the communion of saints." In some way, we are
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linked with all of God's people who have ever lived. When we gather around the Throne
to worship, we sometimes sense an invisible parallel congregation. We are forbidden to
talk with the dead -- but we can and certainly do worship with those who are now
eternally alive in the presence of God.[3]
__________________
[1] In the card game of Poker, "the stakes" are the funds being wagered. To "raise the
stakes" is to increase the amount of the bet, the funds at risk, the resources "at stake."
[2] Moses had finally made it into the Promised Land.
[3] The week after my godly father-in-law died, I was at a Wednesday evening prayer
service, and had a vivid mental picture of the older gent, eyes alive and alight, vigorously
enjoying the prayer service with us.
Mark 10 -- the astonished crowd
OK, time to 'fess up. I can't hope to hit it out of the ballpark every time I blog a chapter. [1]
Some days, the course of wisdom is to simply comment on a few verses, and move
along.
Mar 10:23 İsa çevresine göz gezdirdikten sonra öğrencilerine, "Varlıklı kişilerin Tanrı
Egemenliği'ne girmesi ne güç olacak!" dedi.
Mar 10:24 Öğrenciler O'nun sözlerine şaştılar. Ama İsa onlara yine, "Çocuklar" dedi,
"Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ne girmek ne güçtür!
Mar 10:25 Devenin iğne deliğinden geçmesi, zenginin Tanrı Egemenliği'ne girmesinden
daha kolaydır."
Mar 10:26 Öğrenciler büsbütün şaşırmışlardı. Birbirlerine, "Öyleyse kim kurtulabilir?"
diyorlardı.
Mar 10:27 İsa onlara bakarak, "İnsanlar için bu imkânsız, ama Tanrı için değil. Tanrı için
her şey mümkündür" dedi.
Let's look at two words. Jesus just told his disciples that wealth is an impediment to
entering God's Kingdom. They were dumbfounded.
• büsbütün --the definition from http://www.hazar.com/index.php:
downright. quite. altogether. wholly. completely. entirely. neck and crop. out and out.
teetotal. Turkish has only one form of common prefix -- you sometimes double the
first syllable to intensify a word. In this case, the root is ...
• bütün -- whole. entire. complete. total. all. every. solid. undivided. gross. all-out.
aggregate. clear. continuum. out-and-out. round. sheer. unbroken. utter. one and
only. the whole. the total. entire. gross. totality. complement. holo-. omni-. pan-. all
ov.
• şaşırmışlardı -- it is said that they were surprised.
Let's examine the components of this lego-block word:
• şaşırmak -- to be bewildered / confused. to be astonished / surprised. to wonder. to
get muddled. to lose track. to be baffle d. confound. to become entangled.
flabbergast. jolt. lose. puzzle. strike dumb.
Add the "dubatative" syllable, sometimes called the "narrative" case marker: -mış- .
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249
This indicates action that the speaker did not see personally. It's often used like our
"once upon a time."
Add the plural syllable: -lar-.
Finally, add the past syllable: -dı.
The disciples were not just mildly surprised. They were astonished, to the roots of their
souls. Their world had just been turned upside down. The Book of Proverbs often
encourages the godly to exert themselves, to work hard, plan, save, invest.[2] In God's
sovereignty, things will not always work out the way you expect them to, but usually, most
of the time, as a rule, the diligent prosper, and the indolent end up "on the dole."
Yet Jesus is telling his people, a new kingdom is stepping onto the stage of history -- and
the only way to enter it is to write off one's resources in the status quo as sunk costs.[3]
This was especially true for those he addressed that day. Their nation was doomed.
Within a generation, the majority of its inhabitants would be dead, or enslaved. Jewish
slaves were so plentiful after the Jewish War that they cost less than horses.
Yet, there are rewards for those who "get with the program." Once you are in the
kingdom, God's blessings can flow upon obedient servants. As Truett Cathy said, "I don't
see a contradiction between Bible principles and success in business."[4]
_____________________
[1] Two English idioms.
• To 'fess up -- to confess, usually one's shortcoming, blunder, or ethical lapse.The
sting of embarrassment is reduced by using the ungrammatical contraction.
• To hit it out of the ballpark -- a baseball metaphor. A ball that a batter hits over the
stadium wall obviously cannot be caught and used to tag the play out.
[2] Cynical maxim used to explain why Jewish people are often wealthier than Christians.
"Jesus saves. Moses invests."
[3] Sunk costs -- investments that you just need to write off, since the project you invested
in is irretrievably "gone south." Salvage operations are sometimes recipes for frustration.
Sometimes, "you gotta know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to
walk away. Know when to run."
[4] I met the 80+ year old tycoon at a bookstore, autographing copies of his
autobiography. The line was very short -- creating a fast food empire does not have the
sex appeal of writing a new fantasy novel. Yet this elderly gentleman was still "on the go,"
still getting around, still meeting and encouraging people.
Chic-Fil-E is privately owned, to avoid shareholder demands that the company do things
like open on Sunday, or curtail its donations to charitable causes.
Mark 11 -- who's in charge, here?
A nerd joke goes like this:
There are 10 kinds of people in the world:
Those who understand binary,
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Al ve oku
And those who don't.
Max Weber wrote about the three kinds of leaders who guide societies. There are those
who derive their authority from tradition -- the village elders, the local priest. There are
also bureaucratic leaders -- those whose position is defined by some kind of
organizational handbook, and org chart. Finally, there are the charismatic leaders, who
are admired, envied, and hated because they influence folks without even breaking a
sweat. People simply want to be around them.
Weber, good German that he was, preached the virtues of bureaucratic systems,
bureaucratic leaders. A well-organized society is like a well-regulated machine, running
smoothly, humming along efficiently, achieving the purposes its designers intend. Every
component knows its place and function. If one part breaks, it can be quickly replaced
with another identical part.
No one denies that the Nazi death camps were models of efficiency.
John Taylor Gatto, twice New York's Teacher of the Year (once for the Big Apple, once
for the entire state), knows how factory systems for processing human beings work. How
human beings are converted into docile components for The Machine. His book The
Underground History of American Education spells out the open conspiracy, and the
conspirators. Many of the folks responsible for creating the system were the wild cards,
the jokers, the unpredictable geniuses who created vast wealth for their nations, and for
themselves -- Rockefeller. Ford. Edison. Carnegie. And wanted to rig the system to make
sure that folks like themselves never happened again.
Jesus just rolled into town "like he owned the place." The status quo is losing credibility,
and he claims to be its undertaker, as well as the midwife for the new order. So, just who
does he think he is?
Mar 11:27,28 Yine Yeruşalim'e geldiler. İsa tapınakta gezinirken başkâhinler, din bilginleri
ve ileri gelenler O'nun yanına gelip, "Bunları hangi yetkiyle yapıyorsun, bunları yapma
yetkisini sana kim verdi?" diye sordular.
Mar 11:29 İsa da onlara, "Size bir soru soracağım" dedi. "Bana yanıt verin, ben de size
bunları hangi yetkiyle yaptığımı söylerim.
Mar 11:30 Yahya'nın vaftiz etme yetkisi Tanrı'dan mıydı, insanlardan mı? Yanıt verin
bana."
Mar 11:31 Bunu aralarında şöyle tartışmaya başladılar: "'Tanrı'dan' dersek, 'Öyleyse ona
niçin inanmadınız?' diyecek.
Mar 11:32 Yok eğer 'İnsanlardan' dersek..." Halkın tepkisinden korkuyorlardı. Çünkü
herkes Yahya'yı gerçekten peygamber sayıyordu.
Mar 11:33 İsa'ya, "Bilmiyoruz" diye yanıt verdiler. İsa da onlara, "Ben de size bunları
hangi yetkiyle yaptığımı söylemeyeceğim" dedi.
One loose cannon points to another. Charisma is unpredictable, and does not ask
permission to pursue its vision.
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251
Mark 12 -- charisma, continued
Charisma makes people uncomfortable. It seems to betoken a power from another realm,
for good or ill. This is especially threatening to folks who already run the show, or think
they do. Sometimes, the hidden kingmakers will try to buy off the charismatic leader,
subvert him, domesticate him. The German businessmen who were worried about
Communism after WW I thought they could turn a certain Bavarian socialist into their
sock puppet. After all, he was a clean-living vegetarian, an injured war hero.
Or perhaps the Powers That Be will simply attempt to kill off the intrusion from another
realm, the realm where they have no power, no credibility:[1]
Mar 12:1 İsa onlara benzetmelerle konuşmaya başladı. "Adamın biri bağ dikti, çevresini
çitle çevirdi, üzüm sıkmak için bir çukur kazdı, bir de bekçi kulesi yaptı. Sonra bağı
bağcılara kiralayıp yolculuğa çıktı.
Mar 12:2 Mevsimi gelince bağın ürününden payına düşeni almak üzere bağcılara bir köle
yolladı.
Mar 12:3 Bağcılar köleyi yakalayıp dövdü ve eli boş gönderdi.
Mar 12:4 Bağ sahibi bu kez onlara başka bir köle yolladı. Onu da başından yaralayıp
aşağıladılar.
Mar 12:5 Birini daha yolladı, onu öldürdüler. Daha birçok köle yolladı. Kimini dövüp kimini
öldürdüler.
Mar 12:6 "Bağ sahibinin yanında tek kişi kaldı, o da sevgili oğluydu. 'Oğlumu sayarlar'
diyerek bağcılara en son onu yolladı.
Mar 12:7 "Ama bağcılar birbirlerine, 'Mirasçı budur, gelin onu öldürelim, miras bizim olur'
dediler.
Mar 12:8 Böylece onu yakaladılar, öldürüp bağdan dışarı attılar.
Mar 12:9 "Bu durumda bağın sahibi ne yapacak? Gelip bağcıları yok edecek, bağı da
başkalarına verecek.
Mar 12:10, 11 Şu Kutsal Yazı'yı okumadınız mı?'Yapıcıların reddettiği taş, İşte köşenin
baş taşı oldu. Rab'bin işidir bu, Gözümüzde harika bir iş!'"
Mar 12:12 İsa'nın bu benzetmede kendilerinden söz ettiğini anlayan Yahudi önderler O'nu
tutuklamak istediler; ama halkın tepkisinden korktukları için O'nu bırakıp gittiler.
Let's look at one sentence, that reveals the way such bureaucratic power brokers think,
and illuminates a nifty feature of the Turkish language:
• Ama bağcılar birbirlerine, 'Mirasçı budur, gelin onu öldürelim, miras bizim olur'
dediler. -- But / the vineyard workers / to one another / "The heir / this is / come / him
/ let us kill / the inheritance / ours / will be "/ they said.
• bağ -- vineyard
• bağcı -- one who works in a vineyard
• miras -- inheritance
• mirasçı -- heir. one who inherits.
Ah, but the unseen realm does not disappear if the rulers of this age try to wish it away.
The common people know, intuitively, that there is more to life than the visible realm, the
political realm. "Uneasy rests the head the wears the crown."
______________
[1] Muslim rulers are traditionally buried in discrete unmarked graves. Before the Lord of
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Life, all are equal.
Mark 13 -- beware the flim flam man
Writing under the pen name of O. Henry, William Sidney Porter created a number of vivid
short stories. Most of them deliver a surprise twist ending in the last few sentences. That
was his trademark, and few have equaled him in this technique. The vocabulary in these
stories is rich, extravagant, and often hilariously inappropriate. The collection The Gentle
Grifter chronicles the antics of a pair of con artists. Time after time, the protagonist and
deuteragonist[1] profit from the streak of larceny that is latent in so many respectable
pillars of the community. See, for example, The Shearing of the Wolf.
A legal con game in the United States offers the mark[2] some kind of "free gift" in
exchange for listening to a sales pitch, "a brief information session." Time shares[3] are
often marketed this way. You go for the gift, resolved in your mind that you, for one, have
no intention of buying an overpriced week or two per year at some tourist destination. No
desire to start selling insurance or cosmetics. But it would be nice to have that "free" item.
However, the larceny in your own heart, your own willingness to participate under false
pretenses, is the leverage that the skilled presenter can use against you.
We have an incredible capacity for self-deception. As the slimy protagonist in the
wretched little nihilistic movie House of Games explained to the "heroine," confidence
men inspire confidence. During times of turmoil, fantasies, and those who pander to
them, become dangerously seductive.
Let's examine a few warnings from Mark 13. The disciples have been told that their
nation, their culture, their society, is doomed. The warning that is repeated several times
is -- don't get fooled.
Mar 13:3,4 İsa, Zeytin Dağı'nda, tapınağın karşısında otururken Petrus, Yakup, Yuhanna
ve Andreas özel olarak kendisine şunu sordular: "Söyle bize, bu dediklerin ne zaman
olacak, bütün bunların gerçekleşmek üzere olduğunu gösteren belirti ne olacak?"
Mar 13:5 İsa onlara anlatmaya başladı: "Sakın kimse sizi saptırmasın" dedi.
Mar 13:6 "Birçokları, 'Ben O'yum' diyerek benim adımla gelip birçok kişiyi saptıracaklar.
Mar 13:7 Savaş gürültüleri, savaş haberleri duyunca korkmayın. Bunların olması
gerek,ama bu daha son demek değildir.
Mar 13:8 Ulus ulusa, devlet devlete savaş açacak; yer yer depremler, kıtlıklar olacak.
Bunlar, doğum sancılarının başlangıcıdır.
Mar 13:9 "Ama siz kendinize dikkat edin!
...
Mar 13:21 Eğer o zaman biri size, 'İşte Mesih burada', ya da, 'İşte şurada' derse,
inanmayın.
Mar 13:22 Çünkü sahte mesihler, sahte peygamberler türeyecek; bunlar, belirtiler ve
harikalar yapacaklar. Öyle ki, ellerinden gelse seçilmiş olanları saptıracaklar.
Mar 13:23 Ama siz dikkatli olun. İşte size her şeyi önceden söylüyorum."
Let's look at a few key phrases:
• Sakın kimse sizi saptırmasın
• Sakın -- beware
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• kimse -- anyone
• sizi -- (t0) you
• saptırmasın -• Ama siz kendinize dikkat edin!
• Ama -- But
• siz -- you
• kendinize -- yourselves
• dikkat -- caution
• edin -- take
• Ama siz dikkatli olun
• dikkatli -- cautious
• olun -- be
Bad times bring out the worst in some people. And predispose all of us to indulge in
wishful thinking, in fantasies. Maybe this time, the laws of God, the natural order of the
universe, will be suspended for me, since I'm such a special person! Dikkatli olun!
_________________
[1] the first and second speakers. Don't worry, very few people recognize, let alone use,
the term deuteragonist, so it's a pretty useless word.
[2] the mark is the intended victim of the scam.
[3] A "Time share" is the overpriced purchase of a week or two at an apartment or cabin.
If you really want a time share in coastal Florida, look into the secondary market. It's not
unusual to find them for dimes on the dollar there. So many first purchasers just want to
cut their losses and get rid of their time share!
Mark 14 -- you're in for it now!
This is a long chapter, with a lot going on. Jesus has the Last Supper with his disciples
(although there is a later breakfast!). He prays, while they sleep. Peter talks big while
safely at table, but denies Jesus while in a position of danger, and goes out weeping
bitterly.[1] Tonight, though, I'd like to look at the heart of the exchange between the high
priest and Jesus:
Mar 14:61 Ne var ki, İsa susmaya devam etti, hiç yanıt vermedi. Başkâhin O'na yeniden,
"Yüce Olan'ın Oğlu Mesih sen misin?" diye sordu.
Mar 14:62 İsa, "Benim" dedi. "Ve sizler, İnsanoğlu'nun Kudretli Olan'ın sağında
oturduğunu ve göğün bulutlarıyla geldiğini göreceksiniz."
Jesus is "remaining silent." He is wisely declining to incriminate himself. He is
demonstrating a fact that anyone who deals with the police is aware of -- nothing you tell
a policeman can do you any good. Anything you say can do you harm. "Anything you say
can and will be used against you." Anything means anything. In the state of North
Carolina, if you use a handgun to defend yourself, and shoot an assailant, you are
considered guilty 'til proven innocent. The burden of proof is on you. In the words of my
instructor, the only word you should say to the police in such a situation is "Lawyer!" Hey,
it makes for good television drama to watch cops and criminals matching wits in
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interrogation rooms. In real life, though, the wise have a lawyer at their elbows, and keep
their lips zipped. You can give your side in open court -- if the incident "goes to trial." The
cops wish to shorten the process, by having you "incriminate yourself" before a costly trial
cranks up.
But, how could the process of redemption proceed if Jesus stood on his rights? In
frustration, the high priest demands, "Yüce Olan'ın Oğlu Mesih sen misin?" The High
One's Son, the Messiah, are you?[1] And Jesus answers, Benim. I am. Ah, but there's
more: "Ve sizler, İnsanoğlu'nun Kudretli Olan'ın sağında oturduğunu ve göğün bulutlarıyla
geldiğini göreceksiniz." And you, the Son of Man[2] at the Right Hand of the High One
and on heaven's clouds coming you will see.
Throughout the Bible, clouds are emblems of the visible judgments of the invisible God.
When God comes "on / with / in clouds," it's not for tea. Jesus is informing the leaders of
Israel that they will see, they will experience, the consequences of their shabby little
power play.
And, for my readers who are studying Turkish, let's look at the last verse of the chapter:
Petrus, İsa'nın kendisine, "Horoz iki kez ötmeden beni üç kez inkâr edeceksin" dediğini
hatırladı ve hüngür hüngür ağlamaya başladı.
When you look up the word hüngür on hazar.com, it's in doubled form: hüngür hüngür:
sobbingly. This appears to be a parallel to half of the Turkish farewell, Güle güle:
smilingly. That man was crying bitterly. Loudly. With a broken heart.
____________________
[1] Christians do not believe that the Eternal God had marital relations with Mary. They do
not believe that Jesus is the natural son of the Almighty. When you call a merchant "the
son of a table," you are not saying that his mother had lewd relations with an article of
furniture. There is, however, a relationship between the Eternal God and the Jesus we
know. The one reveals the other, and provides us with access to all of Heaven's
resources. Think of a "graphic user interface," or GUI. Study this one Man's biography,
and you will have insight into the character, behavior, and nature of your Creator.
[2] Son of Man is a formal messianic title in the Book of Daniel.
Mark 15 (a) -- beware the company you keep
We know that the leaders of Israel could initiate and did execute capital punishment by
stoning. This was, after all, how Stephen, the first Christian martyr, died in Acts 7. Yet,
stoning Jesus would not have suited their purposes. For some reason, they wanted the
Romans to do their dirty work for them.[0] Perhaps, given the popularity Jesus had
accrued in many parts of Israel, they wanted "plausible deniability."[1] Or, maybe they
wanted to make a particularly gruesome example out of this threat to their hold on their
political positions and popular power:
Mar 15:1 Sabah olunca başkâhinler, ileri gelenler, din bilginleri ve Yüksek Kurul'un* öteki
üyeleri bir danışma toplantısı yaptıktan sonra İsa'yı bağladılar, götürüp Pilatus'a teslim
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ettiler.
Mar 15:2 Pilatus O'na, "Sen Yahudiler'in Kralı mısın?" diye sordu. İsa, "Söylediğin gibidir"
yanıtını verdi.
Mar 15:3 Başkâhinler O'na karşı birçok suçlamada bulundular.
Mar 15:4 Pilatus O'na yeniden, "Hiç yanıt vermeyecek misin?" diye sordu. "Bak, seni ne
çok şeyle suçluyorlar!"
Mar 15:5 Ama İsa artık yanıt vermiyordu. Pilatus buna şaştı.
An irritable military occupation governor is roused out of bed by the native rabble in the
wee hours of the morning. He is not inclined to go along with their project. Just to make
matters even more annoying, the prisoner is not cooperating in his own defense:
• Hiç yanıt vermeyecek misin? -• Hiç -- no
• yanıt -- answer
• vermeyecek -- to give
• misin? -- is there?
• Bak, seni ne çok şeyle suçluyorlar! -• Bak, seni -- Behold, against you
• ne çok -- how many
• şeyle -- things
• suçluyorlar! -- they accuse!
Pilate tries to throw several monkey wrenches into their project, including the tradition of
releasing a prisoner. The rent-a-mob[2], however, will be satisfied with nothing less than
the death of Jesus at Roman hands.
You need to be careful about choosing others as tools for your own evil purposes. Those
whom you use may well turn against you at a later date -- as Israel found out the hard
way 40 years later.
____________
[0] There's a colorful Afrikaans proverb, Kommandeer jou eie hond en blaf self. Grab your
own dog and bark. When I tried it on an Afrikaaner, though, she looked puzzled. "What
did you just say? Was that German?" The perils of pretension, of trying to show off!
[1] This term appeared during the Reagan administration, I believe. If the President wants
something illegal to happen, his underlings seek to insulate him from the consequences if
the events come to light. They try to make it possible for the president to deny knowing of
his staff's actions.
[2] This expression, coined by conservative pundits, refers to the parasites on the public
payrolls, bureaucrats and welfare recipients, who can be produced when necessary to
make noise in public places by advocating further growth in the public sector, further
encroachments on private life, liberty, and property. They usually have suspiciously
uniform signs, professionally printed, and chant simple-minded rote slogans. In a
democracy, the rent-a-mob gives rapacious politicians "plausible deniability" -- "I was just
giving the voters what they wanted."
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Mark 16 -- a honkin' big stone
The best-documented fact of ancient history is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Unless, of course, you are a "positivist." Those are the sad folks who only believe in what
can be seen, weighed, measured, or counted. "If you can't count it, it doesn't count" in
their tiny strait-jacketed "cosmos." For most of the last few thousand years, believers
have told unbelievers -- "There's something wrong with your head! You need to repent,
and start thinking straight!" There was, however, a brief episode when some Christians
tried to win a few rhetorical battles by first conceding the war: "Of course, we only believe
in what is objectively measurable. But isn't it nice to pretend to believe in a personal God
who cares for us? And doesn't Jesus have some nice things to say about how we should
all just get along?
These "modernists" had to figure out what to do with the Resurrection, though. Some
suggested a "swoon" theory: Jesus simply passed out on the cross, went comatose,
entered a dormant state. Later, in the cool of the tomb he revived, pushed aside the rock,
beat up four heavily armed Roman guards, and made a quick get-away on his pierced
feet, pausing only to put a stitch in his side ...
Let's see what the eye witnesses had to say, around 1800 years before the modernists
told them what "really" happened:
Mar 16:1 Şabat Günü geçince, Mecdelli Meryem, Yakup'un annesi Meryem ve Salome
gidip İsa'nın cesedine sürmek üzere baharat satın aldılar.
Mar 16:2 Haftanın ilk günü sabah çok erkenden, güneşin doğuşuyla birlikte mezara
gittiler.
Mar 16:3 Aralarında, "Mezarın girişindeki taşı bizim için kim yana yuvarlayacak?" diye
konuşuyorlardı.
Mar 16:4 Başlarını kaldırıp bakınca, o kocaman taşın yana yuvarlanmış olduğunu
gördüler.
Mar 16:5 Mezara girip sağ tarafta, beyaz kaftan giyinmiş genç bir adamın oturduğunu
görünce çok şaşırdılar.
Mar 16:6 Adam onlara, "Şaşırmayın!" dedi. "Çarmıha gerilen Nasıralı İsa'yı arıyorsunuz.
O dirildi, burada yok. İşte O'nu yatırdıkları yer.
Today's key word is kocaman . Let's look at the dictionary definition:
• kocaman big. huge. enormous. giant. bulky. colossal. cyclopean. elephantine. fab.
frightful. gargantuan. gigantean. gigantic. gross. hulking. hulky. jumbo-sized.
mammoth. monster. prodigious. rousing. tearing. thumping. thundering. tremendous.
walloping.
Well, Mr. Modernist: if you believe in a crucified guy who can roll away a gigantic sealed
stone -- from the inside of his tomb -- your fairy tale is far stranger than the glad faith of all
Christians[1] of all ages in a Jesus who rose from the dead by the miraculous power of
God. Far stranger, and far sadder. And guess what -- those "smart people" you are trying
to suck up to by discarding the core of your faith still hold you in contempt.
__________________
[1] People who deny the Resurrection by that unbelief remove themselves from the
category of "Christian."
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Luke 1 -- the mechanics of inspiration
A century or two ago, a popular form of recreation in America was listening to
professional orators make vivid presentations of the Christian gospel.[1] They were the
rock stars of their day, men like Billy Sunday and D. L. Moody. In the early part of the
nineteenth century, a young lad went, listened, and rejected.
We don't know all the influences and forces that lead susceptible souls into the realm of
the demonic. Perhaps, Edgar Cayce was repulsed by the show-biz hype surrounding
those entertainment spectacles, seeing the disconnect between high-powered star
power, and the humble, routine service at the heart of normal Christian living. There is
some evidence of a family history of dabbling in the occult. There was a lot of that going
around back then, even as today. In any case, by mid-century, Edgar's shtick[2] was "the
sleeping prophet." He would lie down, go into a trance, and, in an altered voice, provide
information he had no normal way of knowing. His services as a diagnostician were much
in demand, and "he helped a lot of people."
Amazing how innocent things can look at the beginning.
As Cayce spent more of his "waking" hours in a trance, a whole cosmology emerged, a
form of Hinduism in western dress, a major component of the "New Age" movement.
People went to Cayce for "past life readings," to hear tales of what they'd been and done
in prior incarnations. A supporting genre of literature appeared, and "paperback riders"
devoured the books that seemed to combine mystical experience with scientific rigor.
Cayce's "gift" became ever more demanding, tormenting him with excruciating migraines
when he tried to stay awake, stay normal. Eventually, he was worn out and discarded.
His "Association for Research and Enlightenment" is still, alas, going strong. May God
have mercy upon us all.
Quite often, occultic phenomena require darkness, altered states of consciousness, and
are surrounded by a sense of the weird. The spooky. The uncanny. Normal people in
normal circumstances find this atmosphere repellent. Given the right pressures, however,
even healthy people can find themselves drawn into this vortex, where The Truth seems
to always be almost within one's grasp -- if I can just buy one more book, and factor one
more notion into the total equation of my life, if I can just have the experience of
enlightenment these folks all write about ...
The core of the Christian message, by contrast, is daylight, sanity, sobriety. We are
talking about things that really happen. One of the major scribes of the New Testament,
Luke the physician, invites us into his office to watch him at work:[3]
Luk 1:1-3 Sayin Teofilos, Birçok kişi aramızda olup bitenlerin tarihçesini yazmaya girişti.
Nitekim başlangıçtan beri bu olayların görgü tanığı ve Tanrı sözünün hizmetkârı olanlar
bunları bize ilettiler. Ben de bütün bu olayları ta başından özenle araştırmış biri olarak
bunları sana sırasıyla yazmayı uygun gördüm.
Luk 1:4 Öyle ki, sana verilen bilgilerin doğruluğunu bilesin.
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A sober scholar talks to eye-witnesses, collects their recollections. Sifts through the mass
of source material, to ascertain which accounts are most reliable, most widely believed,
held on the best authority. He then carefully arranges the material, and writes the longest
gospel in the New Testament. His brain is fully engaged. He is not in a trance taking
dictation. Yet, somehow, God is at work in and through Luke, and the end-result, the
double book of Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, is understood by all sane[4]
Christians as God's Word.
Let's take a look at one more inspired writer:
The major reference here is Mishkatu'l Masabih (k'tab'l Fitanu: Babul Buth wa Bad'l
wahy), i.e. the section on Revelation; (pp 513-516). These are the testimonies of Ibn
Ishaq. Husain Ibn Muhammad, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Athir, Muslim, Abu Huralra. Al-Bukharl,
and even Zaid ibnThabit, the Scribe of Mohammed and the traditional editor of the
original Qur'an.
According to these witnesses, whenever the Inspiration came upon Mohammed, he
would normally fall to the ground, with the body shaking violently, perspiring intensively,
eyes shut, mouth foaming and the face looking like a young camel. Sometimes, he would
hear a bell ringing In his ears. The experience was normally followed by most severe
headaches. Abu Huraira is quoted in the Hadith as saying: "...when Inspiration
descended on the Apostle, they used to bathe his sacred head with henna, because of
the headache that used to come on."
I leave this question with the reader: does Mohammed's experience more closely
resemble that of Edgar Cayce? Or Luke?
________________
[1] I regret to inform my readers that some Christians still think that's an appropriate way
to share the Good News of the Great King -- put on an entertainment spectacular. With a
big-name star if you can organize a city to pony up the dough it takes. Or, a low-budget
imitation in a local church. Find a few acts, trot them across the stage, bring on the orator.
Meanwhile, as the Christians try to pretend that this mid-nineteenth-century form of
popular culture is still entertaining, the unbelievers stay home and watch CSI. (And, if you
call your city-wide spectacular a "crusade," you can make sure that your Jewish and
Muslim neighbors will avoid the event like the plague. They do NOT have happy
memories of the character and behavior of the late medieval crusaders!)
[2] Many words in idiomatic English that begin with Germanic consonant clusters like shtcame into our language by way of Yiddish. This eastern-European German dialect,
written in Hebrew characters, immigrated with Jewish refugees, who soon established a
presence in the entertainment industry. A "shtick" is an act, and entertainer's
characteristic form of performance.
[3] Sometimes, when short stories are collected into an anthology, the authors preface
each tale with a brief description of how he or she originated and developed the story.
Many of us writers and wanna-be writers find these introits even more interesting than the
stories!
[4] Orthodox is from two Greek words meaning "right/correct/healthy thinking." I am a
little-o orthodox Christian, not a member of the Greek Orthodox church.
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259
Luke 1:5 -- when a nations kisses its liberties
goodbye ...
While the debate in going on as to whether or not 1/6 of the American economy is to be
hijacked / nationalized / confiscated by the politicians and their pets, this comment from
Matthew Henry's commentary looks singularly apt:
Luk 1:5 Yahudiye Kralı Hirodes zamanında, Aviya bölüğünden Zekeriya adında bir kâhin*
vardı. Harun soyundan gelen karısının adı ise Elizabet'ti.
And, the commentary, a few centuries old, but still relevant:
The account given of his parents (Luk_1:5): They lived in the days of Herod the king, who
was a foreigner, and a deputy for the Romans, who had lately made Judea a province of
the empire. This is taken notice of to show that the sceptre was quite departed from
Judah, and therefore that now was the time for Shiloh to come, according to Jacob's
prophecy, Gen_49:10. The family of David was now sunk, when it was to rise, and
flourish again, in the Messiah. Note, None ought to despair of the reviving and flourishing
of religion, even when civil liberties are lost. Israel enslaved, yet then comes the glory of
Israel.
Luke 2 -- treasured memories
We started through this tour of Luke by discussing the mechanics of inspiration. How
does one speak for God without migraines, convulsions, and grinning like a baby camel?
The writers of the New Testament (İncil) put their brains in gear, described things they'd
actually experienced, or spent major chunks of time listening to those who had been on
the scene. For example, John Mark was related to Simon Peter, apparently his nephew.
His gospel tells the story of the life of Jesus through the eyes of Peter. Imagine the
younger man listening to his uncle repeating the most significant accounts, time after
time, to various audiences.
Matthew and Luke both dipped into this same well of information. All but a handful of
verses from Mark are incorporated into the other two synoptic (seen together) gospels.
John's gospel reports a number of personal conversations that involved Jesus and one
other person. Well, since Jesus was in heaven by the time John wrote his gospel, he
apparently found and talked to the other party, time after time.
People remember the landmarks of their lives. Luke, the physician, seems to have spent
a great deal of time with Meryam, the mother of Jesus. Tradition informs us that Mary
retired to the city of Efes in Turkey. Luke was from Troas, another Anatolian city. In
chapter 2 of Luke's gospel, we read these comments:
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Luk 2:19 Meryem ise bütün bu sözleri derin derin düşünerek yüreğinde saklıyordu.
Luk 2:33 İsa'nın annesiyle babası, O'nun hakkında söylenenlere şaştılar.
Luk 2:50 Ne var ki onlar ne demek istediğini anlamadılar.
Luk 2:51 İsa onlarla birlikte yola çıkıp Nasıra'ya döndü. Onların sözünü dinlerdi. Annesi
bütün bu olup bitenleri yüreğinde sakladı.
Mary committed some things to memory, and meditated "deeply" upon them. The word
derin has a number of definitions: derin deep. profound. abstruse. fathomless. recondite.
religious. derin deep. exquisite. extensive. profound. recondite. sound. thorough. derin
deep. profound. bottom. depth.
In Turkish, to intensify a word, you often double it. Mary thought about these events, and
words, very deeply, indeed.
Luke 3 -- jack up the radiator cap[0]
I was born on June 24, the day when the Catholic church recognizes the life and work of
St. John the Baptist. Like him, I can be brutally direct, offending people without even
thinking about it when the facts of the matter appear so plain -- at least to me. In today's
reading, John adopts the metaphor of highway construction:
Luk 3:4 Nitekim Peygamber Yeşaya'nın sözlerini içeren kitapta şöyle yazılmıştır: "Çölde
haykıran, 'Rab'bin yolunu hazırlayın, Geçeceği patikaları düzleyin' diye sesleniyor.
Luk 3:5 'Her vadi doldurulacak, Her dağ ve her tepe alçaltılacak. Dolambaçlı yollar
doğrultulacak, Engebeli yollar düzleştirilecek.
Luk 3:6 Ve bütün insanlar Tanrı'nın sağladığı kurtuluşu görecektir.'"
• vadi -- wadi. Arroyo. Dry desert valley.
• Her dağ ve her tepe -- every mountain and every hill.
• Dolambaçlı yol -- tortuous course. detour. devious path. ramble. twisty road.
roundabout route.
• Engebeli -- broken. rough. rugged. uneven. bumpy. steep and broken. hilly. rugged.
In one of her "Little House" books, Laura Ingles Wilder described the process of building
a railroad road bed. Teams of draft animals dragged scoops across hill tops, then
dumped the fill in the lower areas. The process of "cut and fill" made a level and efficient
route. [1]
The glory of the Lord was about to be revealed to Israel, but the nation was sleepwalking
in complacency, certain that they were God's "special" people,[2] and therefore the future
only promised more of the same of more of the same. They knew not the times, they
were ignorant of the abyss opening under their feet, the need for radical personal
reformation. In this culture, John's message dynamited a straight path through the clutter
and devious detours.[3] He prepared the way of the Lord, prepared the hearts of the
people to expect the Messiah. He described appropriate behavior for those who asked
him. The examples given -- tax collectors and soldiers -- were the agents of the alien
occupying force. Hostile to Israel's national identity and aspirations, but integral parts of
God's project. One more indication that things would never be the same.
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_________________
[0] "The only way to fix that truck is to jack up the radiator cap, and drive a new truck
under it." Israel was so far gone that it could not be salvaged. A whole new paradigm was
needed. The Titanic had hit the iceberg, but the passengers were not yet aware of the
doom that impended.
[1] Yes, I've also served as a "highway man," a soils and concrete technician who
evaluated roadbeds and road materials. I can do a sand cone, a proctor, an air
entrainment measurement.
[2] This notion was so deeply embedded that our Lord's own disciples asked the
stupidest question in the Bible in Acts 1:6 -- "Lord, will you at this time restore Israel... ?"
Israel had just repudiated Jesus, railroaded him through a rigged show trial, and
demanded his humiliating and painful execution at the hands of the Romans. And for all
this, Israel deserved to be exalted, made the chief of the nations? Maybe wishful thinking
makes us all view ourselves as "special" people, no matter what we do.
[3] As a technical writer, I have a gift for finding the most direct route through a clutter of
interesting facts. Engineers are fascinating people, smart people, but the way they write
will drive you crazy. They have a habit of never getting to the point, but only elaborating
all the details around the main point!
Luke 4 -- so who issued him his poetic license?
I am closing in on a PhD in Communication Studies. As happens with all subsidized
products, the price of higher education has risen far faster than the rate of inflation, so
that my college debt load is well in excess of my retirement savings, alas. Sad to say,
formal certification seems to be a requirement for some occupations. Yet, honest
observers will admit that the real movers, shakers, and achievers in life usually hit the
ground running, knew early in life what they wanted to do, and simply did it. In an age of
envy, the successful self-made man is bitterly resented for "winning life's lottery." Let's
look at an episode in the life of the teacher, Jesus:
Luk 4:20 Sonra kitabı kapattı, görevliye geri verip oturdu. Havradakilerin hepsi dikkatle
O'na bakıyordu.
Luk 4:21 İsa, "Dinlediğiniz bu Yazı bugün yerine gelmiştir" diye konuşmaya başladı.
Luk 4:22 Herkes İsa'yı övüyor, ağzından çıkan lütufkâr sözlere hayran kalıyordu.
"Yusuf'un oğlu değil mi bu?" diyorlardı.
Luk 4:23 İsa onlara şöyle dedi: "Kuşkusuz bana şu deyimi hatırlatacaksınız: 'Ey hekim,
önce kendini iyileştir! Kefarnahum'da yaptıklarını duyduk. Aynısını burada, kendi
memleketinde de yap.'"
Luk 4:24 "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim" diye devam etti İsa, "Hiçbir peygamber kendi
memleketinde kabul görmez.
Luk 4:25 Yine size gerçeği söyleyeyim, gökyüzünün üç yıl altı ay kapalı kaldığı, bütün
ülkede korkunç bir kıtlığın baş gösterdiği İlyas zamanında İsrail'de çok sayıda dul kadın
vardı.
Luk 4:26 İlyas bunlardan hiçbirine gönderilmedi; yalnız Sayda bölgesinin Sarefat
Kenti'nde bulunan dul bir kadına gönderildi.
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Luk 4:27 Peygamber Elişa'nın zamanında İsrail'de çok sayıda cüzamlı* vardı. Bunlardan
hiçbiri iyileştirilmedi; yalnız Suriyeli Naaman iyileştirildi."
Luk 4:28 Havradakiler bu sözleri duyunca öfkeden kudurdular.
Luk 4:29 Ayağa kalkıp İsa'yı kentin dışına kovdular. O'nu uçurumdan aşağı atmak için
kentin kurulduğu tepenin yamacına götürdüler.
Luk 4:30 Ama İsa onların arasından geçerek oradan uzaklaştı.
• Havradakilerin -- Those who were in the synagogue. Havra (synagogue) + da (in, on,
at) + ki (who) + ler (plural)
• hepsi -- all
• dikkatle -- carefully. If your elbow gets too close to your coffee cup, your Turkish
friend will warn you, "Dikkat!"
• O'na -- at him
• bakıyordu -- looked
The audience marveled at the insight and eloquence of the home-town boy who was
making a big splash in other cities. And, they resented his lack of formal education. When
Jesus informed them that they, not he, were the ones on trial that day, it was the last
straw.
Luke 5 -Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The first chapter of Tolkein's masterpiece The Hobbit has Gandalf, the figure of grace
intervening in human affairs, assembling his team. In Luke 5, we see our Lord
assembling the nucleus of his team. This is where Luke first introduces us to several key
figures in the gospel.
We know that Jesus has encountered John the Baptist by this point. We know from the
Gospel of John that Jesus had met Peter, Andrew, Philip and Nathaniel as fellow
spectators at John's ministry events. He has by this time established himself as a
noteworthy preacher at Caphernaum, and as persona non grata (unwelcome person) in
his hometown of Nazareth. It is at this point that Jesus takes his program a step forward,
by recruiting several of his hearers to join his team, and become participants in his work:
Luk 5:1 Halk, Ginnesar Gölü'nün kıyısında duran İsa'nın çevresini sarmış, Tanrı'nın
sözünü dinliyordu.
Luk 5:2 İsa, gölün kıyısında iki tekne gördü. Balıkçılar teknelerinden inmiş ağlarını
yıkıyorlardı.
Luk 5:3 İki tekneden Simun'a ait olanına binen İsa, ona kıyıdan biraz açılmasını rica etti.
Sonra oturdu, teknenin içinden halka öğretmeye devam etti.
Luk 5:4 Konuşmasını bitirince Simun'a, "Derin sulara açılın, balık tutmak için ağlarınızı
atın" dedi.
Luk 5:5 Simun şu karşılığı verdi: "Efendimiz, bütün gece çabaladık, hiçbir şey tutamadık.
Yine de senin sözün üzerine ağları atacağım."
Luk 5:6 Bunu yapınca öyle çok balık yakaladılar ki, ağları yırtılmaya başladı.
Luk 5:7 Öbür teknedeki ortaklarına işaret ederek gelip yardım etmelerini istediler. Onlar
da geldiler ve her iki tekneyi balıkla doldurdular; tekneler neredeyse batıyordu.
Luk 5:8 Simun Petrus bunu görünce, "Ya Rab, benden uzak dur, ben günahlı bir adamım"
diyerek İsa'nın dizlerine kapandı.
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Luk 5:9 Kendisi ve yanındakiler, tutmuş oldukları balıkların çokluğuna şaşıp kalmışlardı.
Luk 5:10 Simun'un ortakları olan Zebedi oğulları Yakup'la Yuhanna'yı da aynı şaşkınlık
almıştı. İsa Simun'a, "Korkma" dedi, "Bundan böyle balık yerine insan tutacaksın."
A fisherman learns that he is about to become a fisher of men. His new career is in some
way an extension of his old.
A little later in the chapter, Luke tips his hat to his fellow gospel maker, Levi / Matthew.
Peter comes on board with an incredible haul of fish. Matthew immediately throws a loud
party for all of his disreputable friends and associates. And, as the calm, but energizing
center of the excitement, Jesus continues to teach.
As an educated man, who aspires for an academic career, this chapter arouses mixed
feelings. Jesus had little time for or patience with the scholars of his day, the men who'd
given their lives to erudite, recondite analysis of sacred text. He sought out people who
were successful in business, people enmeshed in the thick of life, rather than pointyheaded ivory-tower intelligentsia.[1] Those who read history note that successful
reformations are scholarly endeavors. Luther and Calvin were both academics. Many of
the unsuccessful reformations were launched by charismatic lay folk, untrained
enthusiasts, like Hong, whose "heavenly kingdom" led to millions of deaths in 19th
century China.
One of my favorite historical figures, Francis Asbury, "the prophet of the long road,"
started out as a blacksmith. This first native-born American Methodist bishop taught
himself to read Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. In his journal, he once complains about not
getting much rest the night before -- he'd been the guest of a Jewish shopkeeper, and
they stayed up late reviewing the vowel points of the Hebrew alphabet.[2]
The old rabbis had some insightful proverbs:
• The man who does not teach his son Torah and a trade teaches him to become a
fool and a thief.
• The unemployed man who tries to explain the Scripture distorts it.
The balance of the practical and the theoretical appears to be the "golden mean." Jesus,
however, seems to give first priority to the practical.
________________
[1] This word comes to us from Russian. Theodore Dostoevsky frequently featured the
alienated intellectual in his novels.
[2] My first foray into Hebrew ended when the vowel points overwhelmed my motivation.
One of these days ... !
Luke 6 -- the kem göz and its cure
A lovely feature of Turkish adornment is the blue and white glass bead inherited from
remote antiquity as a charm against the "evil eye," the kem göz. Although the superstition
has lost its power, the wisdom behind it persists. There are, in life, people who wish us ill.
Let's say things are going badly at your place of employment. New customers aren't
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showing up. Things aren't as busy as they used to be in the shop. You find yourself with
more time on your hands, time to fill with trivial tasks. There is an unease in the air, and
somehow you know that the boss considers you expendable. No matter how carefully
you conduct yourself, your prospects are bleak. At some point, the man who hired you
will now find a reason to fire you. You will be watched by hostile eyes, until a reason
materializes. In a fallen world, those who seek fault will find it.
This chapter deals with the phenomenon[1] of the hostile audience. Jesus walks into a
setup.
Luk 6:6 Bir başka Şabat Günü İsa havraya girmiş öğretiyordu. Orada sağ eli sakat bir
adam vardı.
Luk 6:7 İsa'yı suçlamak için fırsat kollayan din bilginleriyle Ferisiler, Şabat Günü hastaları
iyileştirecek mi diye O'nu gözlüyorlardı.
Luk 6:8 İsa, onların ne düşündüklerini biliyordu. Eli sakat olan adama, "Ayağa kalk, öne
çık" dedi. O da kalktı, orta yerde durdu.
Luk 6:9 İsa onlara, "Size sorayım" dedi, "Kutsal Yasa'ya göre Şabat Günü iyilik yapmak
mı doğru, kötülük yapmak mı? Can kurtarmak mı doğru, öldürmek mi?"
Luk 6:10 Gözlerini hepsinin üzerinde gezdirdikten sonra adama, "Elini uzat" dedi. Adam
elini uzattı, eli yine sapasağlam oluverdi.
Luk 6:11 Onlar ise öfkeden deliye döndüler ve aralarında İsa'ya ne yapabileceklerini
tartışmaya başladılar.
The religious experts get the impression that Jesus takes them, and their customs, a lot
less seriously than they take themselves. In the first five verses, the issue of human need
arises, and Jesus asserts that "the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
sabbath." In so saying, he crossed a picket line. He stepped on a trip wire. He touched a
sacred cow.[2] So, in verse 6, we see him teaching in a synagogue. And perhaps this
sentence is key to the rest of the chapter:
İsa'yı suçlamak için fırsat kollayan din bilginleriyle Ferisiler, Şabat Günü hastaları
iyileştirecek mi diye O'nu gözlüyorlardı.
Key words:
• suçlamak -- to accuse, to find guilty
• için -- in order to (this is one of those intriguing Turkish post-positions. Rather like the
English pre-position, but found AFTER the word it affects)
• fırsat -- opportunity
• hastaları -- those who are sick
• iyileştirecek -- he will make well
• gözlüyorlardı -- they were watching
Shortly after this episode of insanely hostile scrutiny, Jesus spends a whole night in
prayer.
He then formally selects twelve close friends, to be his counterweight to the angry eyes,
the kem göz, of the religious leaders.
He then persists in pursuing his own agenda, healing the sick, setting at liberty the
demonized. This display of raw power is an "in-your-face" challenge to the Pharisees,
who could talk a good game but otherwise did little tangible good.
Then, in verses 19-26 Jesus throws down the gauntlet,[3] and contrasts his team to
theirs. His are the blessed of God, their team is under His displeasure. His team should
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take the reproaches of the other team as reason to celebrate: O gün sevinin, coşkuyla
zıplayın!
• O gün sevinin, -- on that day
• coşkuyla -- with unrestrained exuberance
• zıplayın! -- jump and leap for joy!
Finally, he tells His disciples what to do about their enemies: be kind to them. No need to
add to their troubles -- they have God Himself as their enemies. Let God worry about
them. We have better things to do with our time than getting sucked into the vortex of
their ugly, self-righteous, hateful, little sewers.
Or, as the late Jerry Falwell put it, "Love them, forgive them, outlive them."
__________
[1] Phenomenon is derived from the Greek. That's the singular form. The plural form of
this noun is phenomena. The Turkish practice of using a single infix to denote plurality (ler- or -lar- is so simple by comparison. When English conscripts nouns from other
languages, we tend to drag their plural forms into our dictionaries as well. Sorry about
that.
[2] A "sacred cow" is a pointless and counterproductive religious observance. It is a
contemptuous metaphor based upon the Hindu reverence for cattle. The Sepoy revolts of
the mid 1800s were triggered by rumors that the British cartridges were greased with pig
fat -- which provoked the Muslim sepoys (native troops) or beef fat -- which annoyed the
Hindus.
[3] To challenge someone to a duel, a chivalrous guy would throw down an armored
glove in front of the party who had offended him. If the offender picked it up, a formal
confrontation would be scheduled.
Around a century ago, the greatest fencers in Europe were Hungarian Jews, who took up
that martial sport as a way to defend their honor. The fencing associations voided that
challenge by simply declared that Jews had no honor to defend.
Luke 7 -- men of the present
Le soup fait la soldat, Napoleon wrote. The soup makes the soldier. Or, as is more
commonly said, "An army marches on its stomach." The flip side to this is also true. Once
you have a hungry army, you need to keep it marching.[1]
Medieval armies pillaged enemy territory. Modern armies taxed their own people. A
century ago, the Turkish forces occupying Arabia did both. After subjugating a restive
village, one officer said to another, "Do you want to be a man of the present? Or a man of
the future?" When his friend voted for the future, Mustafa, called Kemal (perfection) by
his teachers, and later Atatürk (Father of the Turks) by a grateful nation, gave his advice.
Refrain from pillage.
When you view Atatürk's Six Day Speech (Nutuk) through the lenses of computerized
text analysis, you'll note how often the word that denotes present action, whilst, is used
when describing the enemies of Atatürk and the Turkish people. Again, "men of the
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present" are often clueless about where time is taking them.[2]
This chapter begins and ends with outsiders, who were more aware of what was going on
than the putative insiders. First, we meet a Roman centurion, a soldier occupying an
ornery province, who came to love the people and their God. It is when he maps his
military experience against the ministry of Jesus that Jesus is, for one of the few times on
record, surprised:
Luk 7:9 Bu sözleri duyan İsa yüzbaşıya hayran kaldı. Ardından gelen kalabalığa dönerek,
"Size şunu söyleyeyim" dedi, "İsrail'de bile böyle iman görmedim."
"In Israel, this kind of faith, I have not seen."
The story at end of this chapter tells of a sinful woman of the city, who pours precious
ointment upon the feet of Jesus. The Pharisee who had invited Jesus to dinner is
clueless. "If this man was really a prophet, he'd know what kind of woman was touching
him." Yet, Jesus explains, the so-called religious leader is really the ignorant party at the
party:
Luk 7:44 Sonra kadına bakarak Simun'a şunları söyledi: "Bu kadını görüyor musun? Ben
senin evine geldim, ayaklarım için bana su vermedin. Bu kadın ise ayaklarımı
gözyaşlarıyla ıslatıp saçlarıyla sildi.
Luk 7:45 Sen beni öpmedin, ama bu kadın eve girdiğimden beri ayaklarımı öpüp duruyor.
Luk 7:46 Sen başıma zeytinyağı sürmedin, ama bu kadın ayaklarıma güzel kokulu yağ
sürdü.
Luk 7:47 Bu nedenle sana şunu söyleyeyim, kendisinin çok olan günahları bağışlanmıştır.
Çok sevgi göstermesinin nedeni budur. Oysa kendisine az bağışlanan, az sever."
And, in the middle of the chapter, we read a discussion about John the Baptist, the
forerunner, the advance agent. John and Jesus both baffled the "men of the present."
John, however, lived in terms of a future he did not live long enough to see. And Jesus,
by his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, inaugurated that future.
Luk 7:28 Size şunu söyleyeyim, kadından doğanlar arasında Yahya'dan daha üstün olanı
yoktur. Bununla birlikte, Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'nde en küçük olan ondan üstündür."
In sociological terms, poor people are characterized by "present orientation." Those who
are not-poor think in terms of the future, and deny themselves in the present in order to
secure a better future for themselves, and their children.
With all of his real faults, Kemal Atatürk was a "man of the future," whose vision and
leadership transformed a nation. May we learn from his example to look beyond the
present.
_____________
[1] See this amazing chart, that graphs the size of Napoleon's army going to Moscow
(Tan line, read it left to right) and coming back (black line, read it right to left) against the
temperature and the map of Europe.
[2] "The frog in the kettle" is an American cliche. Put a frog in a kettle of cold water, and
gradually heat it up. Do so gradually enough, and the frog will be cooked before it
realizes what's going on. Adverse trends sneak up on us when our attention is diverted.
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Luke 8 -- the best revenge ...
is living well.
In Ray Bradbury's memorable dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist suddenly
starts talking, and acting, far more thoughtfully, far more wisely, than hitherto. He has
become a reader. And, he has a mentor. Montag now wears a "hearing aid," which
permits this mentor to listen in on his conversations, and advise him on how to comport
himself.
Once again, in this chapter, Jesus is teaching and acting. His Word, he says, has results
when the right kind of people hear it:
Luk 8:15 İyi toprağa düşenler ise, sözü işitince onu iyi ve sağlam bir yürekte
saklayanlardır. Bunlar sabırla dayanarak ürün verirler."
Luk 8:16 "Hiç kimse kandil yakıp bunu bir kapla örtmez, ya da yatağın altına koymaz.
Tersine, içeri girenler ışığı görsünler diye onu kandilliğe koyar.
Luk 8:17 Çünkü açığa çıkarılmayacak gizli hiçbir şey yok; bilinmeyecek, aydınlığa
çıkmayacak saklı hiçbir şey yoktur.
Luk 8:18 Bunun için, nasıl dinlediğinize dikkat edin. Kimde varsa, ona daha çok verilecek.
Ama kimde yoksa, kendisinde var sandığı bile elinden alınacak."
Let's look at the bottom line:
• Bunun için -- for this reason, therefore
• nasıl dinlediğinize -- how you hear
• dikkat edin -- careful be.
• Kimde varsa -- because he who has
• ona daha çok verilecek. -- to him more abundance will be given.
Many people listened to Jesus teach. Few, however, heard what he had to say, and took
His commands seriously enough to act upon them. Not even his mother and brothers
seemed to get the point at this point, since he publicly disowned them in the next few
verses.
Luke 9 -- a dead man shows up again
I begin to wonder[1] if Luke was a fan of John the Baptist. We know from chapter 19 of
his second book, Acts of the Apostles, that followers of John the Baptist were found in
Efese several decades after Jesus rose from the dead. Luke provides a detailed account
of the supernatural birth of this forerunner to The Main Event. And, in this chapter, once
again people are talking about John the Baptist:
Luk 9:7,8 Bölgenin kralı Hirodes bütün bu olanları duyunca şaşkına döndü. Çünkü
bazıları Yahya'nın ölümden dirildiğini, bazıları İlyas'ın göründüğünü, başkaları ise eski
peygamberlerden birinin dirildiğini söylüyordu.
Luk 9:9 Hirodes, "Yahya'nın başını ben kestirdim. Şimdi hakkında böyle haberler
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duyduğum bu adam kim?" diyor ve İsa'yı görmenin bir yolunu arıyordu.
...
Luk 9:18 Bir gün İsa tek başına dua ediyordu, öğrencileri de yanındaydı. İsa onlara, "Halk
benim kim olduğumu söylüyor?" diye sordu.
Luk 9:19 Şöyle yanıtladılar: "Vaftizci Yahya diyorlar. Ama kimi İlyas, kimi de eski
peygamberlerden biri dirilmiş, diyor."
So even the disciples of Jesus, most of whom knew both him and John, had heard those
rumors. The man "left a huge carbon footprint!"
_________
[1] For my Turkish friends, get a native English speaker to help you with the wonder /
wander minimal pair. Actually, most of us rely entirely on context to distinguish the two!
Well, you guys have kar / ka^r. A snowplow driver makes a profit out of snow ...
Luke 10 -- greeting the peace lover
When Jesus sent out the 70 disciples in this chapter, he gave them the same basic
instructions for finding room and board: look for a "man of peace" in the visited
community.
Luk 10:5 Hangi eve girerseniz, önce, 'Bu eve esenlik olsun!' deyin.
Luk 10:6 Orada esenliksever biri varsa, dilediğiniz esenlik onun üzerinde kalacak; yoksa,
size dönecektir.
It's nice to encounter sentences filled with short, familiar words. Today, let's unpack just
one word, esenliksever. It's one of those marvelous compound words that Turkish
assembles so nicely. It combines the adjective esen (peaceful) with the syllable used to
transform an adjective into a noun ( -lik- ) and sever (lover).
How do you know when you've found the right one? By invoking peace upon his house,
when you enter it. If you don't "connect," you know it's time to move on.
One of the most frustrating contracts I ever worked on began with the understanding that
it would lead to a full-time job. Well past the time when this was supposed to happen, a
honcho from out-of-state let slip the fact that this desired consummation would never
come to pass. I almost threw up in the parking lot as I left the job site at the end of the
day. In retrospect, I'd never "connected" with my nominal manager. He gave me a few
tasks, signed my time sheets, and that was it. Was this an issue on my side? Or on his?
Probably a little bit of both. Apparently, I'd neglected something pretty important when I
focused on the task at hand, and failed to properly integrate / ingratiate myself in the local
company culture. I had neglected the key relationship.
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Luke 11 -- why pray?
The fierce nuns who taught my first three grades made made sure we knew about the
wicked atheist communists. One story comes to mind some 50 years later. It's a
classroom. The children have a new teacher. She asks if the children believe in God.
Most do. She tells them to close their eyes, put their heads on their desks, and pray for
candy. Nothing happens. She tells them to close their eyes, put their heads on their
desks, and ask Karl Marx for candy. This time, they get results.
Yet Jesus tells us that we live in a universe with invisible resources all around us, and a
loving God who is waiting to hear from us:
Luk 11:5-7 Sonra söyle dedi: "Sizlerden birinin bir arkadasi olur da gece yarisi ona gidip,
'Arkadas, bana üç ekmek ödünç ver. Bir arkadasim yoldan geldi, önüne koyacak bir
seyim yok' derse, öbürü içerden, 'Beni rahatsiz etme! Kapi kilitli, çocuklarim da yanimda
yatiyor. Kalkip sana bir sey veremem' der mi hiç?
Luk 11:8 Size sunu söyleyeyim, arkadaslik geregi kalkip ona istedigini vermese bile,
adamin yüzsüzlügünden ötürü kalkar, ihtiyaci neyse ona verir.
Luk 11:9 "Ben size sunu söyleyeyim: Dileyin, size verilecek; arayin, bulacaksiniz; kapiyi
çalin, size açilacaktir.
Luk 11:10 Çünkü her dileyen alir, arayan bulur, kapi çalana açilir.
Luk 11:11 "Aranizda hangi baba, ekmek isteyen ogluna tas verir? Ya da balik isterse balik
yerine yilan verir?
Luk 11:12 Ya da yumurta isterse ona akrep verir?
Luk 11:13 Sizler kötü yürekli oldugunuz halde çocuklariniza güzel armaganlar vermeyi
biliyorsaniz, gökteki Baba'nin, kendisinden dileyenlere Kutsal Ruh'u verecegi çok daha
kesin degil mi?"
Çünkü her dileyen alir, arayan bulur, kapi çalana açilir : Because everyone who asks
receives, who seeks will find, who knocks on the door will see it open.
The proper response to persistent problems -- such as, finding a job in a wounded
economy -- is not fatalistic resignation, but active, aggressive, persistent action. Knock
and keep on knocking. Seek and keep on seeking. Ask and keep on asking. In the Greek,
these verbs are in the present continuous tense, and imply ongoing activity.
Well, a part-time low-paying seasonal job has just ended, so I need to take my own
advice!
Luke 11 -- focus, focus, focus!
Another thought on the eye, as a parable for the focus of our attention:
Luk 11:34 Bedenin ışığı gözdür. Gözün sağlamsa, bütün bedenin de aydınlık olur. Gözün
bozuksa, bedenin de karanlık olur.
Luk 11:35 Öyleyse dikkat et, sendeki 'ışık' karanlık olmasın.
Luk 11:36 Eğer bütün bedenin aydınlık olur ve hiçbir yanı karanlık kalmazsa, kandilin seni
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ışınlarıyla aydınlattığı zamanki gibi, bedenin tümden aydınlık olur."
When the eye is healthy, the whole body is enlightened. If the eye is bozuk, however -well, I'll let the first two definitions from hazar.com speak for me:
bozuk broken. broken down. out-of-action. damaged. disordered. distorted. wrong.
imperfect. in bad order. upset. disappointed. bad. bum. dead. deranged. dirty. doric.
embroiled. faulty. flyblown. foul. on the fritz. gone. hard-set. haywire. heavy. hipshot.
bozuk bad. broken. bumpy. corrupt. cranky. dead. dud. foul. impassable. off. rotten.
upset. wrong. spoilt. ruined. out of order. out of action. on the blink. on the bum. inactive.
faulty. disordered. disarranged. broken. bad. dirty. rotten. tainted. bumpy. depraved. not
virgin.
We become like what we behold. Let's look at one sentence a little more carefully:
Öyleyse dikkat et, sendeki 'ışık' karanlık olmasın.
• Öyleyse -- Therefore
• dikkat -- careful
• et -- be (imperative form of the verb "to be")
• sendeki -- lest
• 'ışık' -- (your so-called) light
• karanlık -- darkness
• olmasın -- might be.
If your life isn't working, if your life is characterized by ugliness and disorder, maybe a
goal-evaluation is in order.
Luke 12 -- strange arithmatic
Jesus warns his disciples that adversity is in the picture. They can expect to become the
targets of ire from high places. Religious and political leaders will take a personal,
unfriendly, interest in them. However, they are not to worry. After all, God's arithmetic
adds up in their favor:
Luk 12:6 Beş serçe iki meteliğe satılmıyor mu? Ama bunlardan bir teki bile Tanrı katında
unutulmuş değildir.
Luk 12:7 Nitekim başınızdaki bütün saçlar bile sayılıdır. Korkmayın, siz birçok serçeden
daha değerlisiniz.
Are not five sparrows sold for two tiny coins? Yet God does not forget when one of them
falls to the ground. A few Turkish words could use unpacking here:
• başınızdaki -- those that are on your head
• bütün -- all
• saçlar -- hairs
• bile -- thus
• sayılıdır -- are numbered. Taken into account. The Greek verb used here,
ἠρίθμηνται, is the source of the English word arithmetic.
We can face life with boldness, since the One we serve already has all the bases
covered. All the angles work out.
I like the way novelist Mark Halprin describes this reality:
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Luke 13 -- replacement theology -- fig and
mustard
Some folks tell Jesus about bad things that happened. The vile, violent, Roman governor
(who eventually ordered the crucifixion of Jesus) had massacred a batch of pilgrims to
Jerusalem. So were the victims of the tantrum bad people, getting what they deserved?
Not at all, Jesus said. All of us deserve the worst. "Every day above ground is a bonus,"
far more than we could ever merit. On the other hand, God's apparent favor can ratchet
up the danger of our position. Consider this favored tree:
Luk 13:6 İsa şu benzetmeyi anlattı: "Adamın birinin bağında dikili bir incir ağacı vardı.
Adam gelip ağaçta meyve aradı, ama bulamadı.
Luk 13:7 Bağcıya, 'Bak' dedi, 'Ben üç yıldır gelip bu incir ağacında meyve arıyorum,
bulamıyorum. Onu kes. Toprağın besinini neden boş yere tüketsin?'
Luk 13:8 "Bağcı, 'Efendim' diye karşılık verdi, 'Ağacı bir yıl daha bırak, bu arada ben
çevresini kazıp gübreleyeyim.
Luk 13:9 Gelecek yıl meyve verirse, ne iyi; vermezse, onu kesersin.'"
Let's look at a critical sentence: Adam gelip ağaçta meyve aradı, ama bulamadı.
• Adam -- A man
• gelip -- came (the -ip ending is the "me, too" suffix. When you have several verbs in
a sentence, just trick out one of them with the full regalia of voice, number, person,
capability, credibility, etc. suffixes. For the remaining verbs, the -ip suffix will suffice.)
• ağaçta -- to the tree
• meyve -- fruit
• aradı-- he sought
• ama -- but
• bulamadı -- he did not find.
To whom much is given, much will be required. A vineyard is a capital-intensive project.
In those days and in that place, you needed a stone wall around it, to keep out hungry
animals. A watchtower, to guard against predatory humans. A winepress, to process the
grapes as soon as they were ripe. Now, Mediterranean fig trees don't need a lot of gentle
handling. In fact, it's normal to put chunks of concrete and rocks on the ground around
the roots, to keep your fig tree from getting too comfortable. This tree was spoiled rotten,
in a favored, costly, and protected environment. This tree, of course, represented Israel.
A nation on borrowed time, unaware that flaming fingers were already scribing their
Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin on the wall of history.
But, there is a "rest of the story."
Luk 13:18 Sonra İsa şunları söyledi: "Tanrı'nın Egemenliği neye benzer, onu neye
benzeteyim?
Luk 13:19 Tanrı'nın Egemenliği, bir adamın bahçesine ektiği hardal tanesine benzer.
Tane gelişip ağaç olur, kuşlar dallarında barınır."
While Israel struts and preens itself in the glare of the footlights, God launches another
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project, one with a future. All nations will be invited to know and serve the King, while
national Israel will become an envious bystander to the party that's going on without
them.
Luke 14 -- table manners
Eating together is the theme that dominates this chapter. For example, you show up at a
party, and there are no names at the table settings. Where should you sit? At the head
table? Near it? How near? Here's what Jesus had to say:
Luk 14:7-9 Yemeğe çağrılanların başköşeleri seçtiğini farkeden İsa, onlara şu benzetmeyi
anlattı: "Biri seni düğüne çağırdığı zaman başköşeye kurulma. Belki senden daha saygın
birini de çağırmıştır. İkinizi de çağıran gelip, 'Yerini bu adama ver' diyebilir. O zaman
utançla kalkıp en arkaya geçersin.
Luk 14:10 Bir yere çağrıldığın zaman git, en arkada otur. Öyle ki, seni çağıran gelince,
'Arkadaşım, daha öne buyurmaz mısın?' desin. O zaman seninle birlikte sofrada oturan
herkesin önünde onurlandırılmış olursun.
Luk 14:11 Kendini yücelten herkes alçaltılacak, kendini alçaltan yüceltilecektir."
A few words:
• Belki -- lest, perhaps
• senden -- than you
• daha -- more
• saygın -- honor
• birini -- one owning
• de -- but
• çağırmıştır -- has, they say, been invited. (the -mış- syllable is the dubatative or
narrative verb indicator, used when telling stories, or reporting something one hasn't
seen personally.)
Bottom line: God's people are subjects of the Great King, who makes the whole universe
line up and do tricks for their ultimate benefit. When God is making the whole universe
conspire to do us good, then demanding our due is unnecessary. Anxious, restless, selfassertion is silly.
Luke 15 -- bad company
Once again, reading a familiar text in a new language can yield some delightful fresh
impressions. For example, look at the first two verses of Luke 15:
Luk 15:1 Bütün vergi görevlileriyle günahkârlar İsa'yı dinlemek için O'na akın ediyordu.
Luk 15:2 Ferisiler'le din bilginleri ise, "Bu adam günahkârları kabul ediyor, onlarla birlikte
yemek yiyor" diye söyleniyorlardı.
All the tax collectors and (other) sinners, Jesus to hear in order to, Him rushed upon.
Let's look at the dictionary definition of the highlighted word:
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akın raid. foray. rush. afflux. exodus. flow. incursion. inflow. influent. influx. inroad. inrush.
invasion. irruption. razzia. spate. akın exodus. flow. foray. incursion. influx. inroads.
invasion. raid. tide. rush. inroad. akın raid. assault. storm. rush. run. incursion. influx.
inroad. invasion.
OK, so a guy is known by the company he keeps. After all, as the old English cliche
asserts, "Birds of a feather, flock together." So, the upright, uptight, upstanding members
of the community justifiably wonder, "Why do those kind of people want to hang around
with this so-called preacher?"
You know, that's a good question. Jesus is getting mobbed. People are crowding around
him, wanting to get close to him, wanting to soak up something about him. A lot of
preachers would love to have that kind of response, and resort to all kinds of (sometimes)
underhanded and manipulative techniques to draw a crowd. Maybe these "teachers of
the law" are suffering professional jealousy. Jesus doesn't even seem to be trying very
hard -- yet his charisma, his magnetic personality, summons up an audience wherever he
goes.
So, a case of "sour grapes" sets in. A lot of these folks are the riffraff, the outcasts, the
kind of people who would never darken the door of the local synagogue. "If that's the kind
of crowd you draw, you're welcome to them."
Jesus, however, sees the value even in these lost and lowest. The remainder of the
chapter uses the stories of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son to describe
God's care for all of His own -- even those we are too inclined to write off[1] as
unsalvageable.
______________
[1] To "write off" something is a term from the accounting profession. A loan or some
other asset is considered to be irretrievably gone. So you subtract its value from the
balance sheet, and cease worrying about it. This term also demonstrates the English
habit of merging two words to create a totally new verbal unit. One example Mario Pei
gave is "call girl."
Luke 16 -- dude, the guy's an embezzler !
Friday, April 30, 2010
This is a parable that has puzzled me, and many other Christians, for quite a while, now.
A guy is accused of ripping off his employer. While cleaning out his desk[0], he cooks the
books[1] one last time in order to curry favor with other crooks. And the boss commends
the rascal for his ingenuity.
And this is the hero of the story? Dude, the guy's an embezzler!
Luk 16:1 İsa öğrencilerine şunları da anlattı: "Zengin bir adamın bir kâhyası vardı. Kâhya,
efendisinin mallarını çarçur ediyor diye efendisine ihbar edildi.
Luk 16:2 Efendisi kâhyayı çağırıp ona, 'Nedir bu senin hakkında duyduklarım?
Kâhyalığının hesabını ver. Çünkü sen artık kâhyalık edemezsin' dedi.
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Luk 16:3 "Kâhya kendi kendine, 'Ne yapacağım ben?' dedi. 'Efendim kâhyalığı elimden
alıyor. Toprak kazmaya gücüm yetmez, dilenmekten utanırım.
Luk 16:4 Kâhyalıktan kovulduğum zaman başkaları beni evlerine kabul etsinler diye ne
yapacağımı biliyorum.'
Luk 16:5 "Böylelikle efendisine borcu olanların hepsini tek tek yanına çağırdı. Birincisine,
'Efendime ne kadar borcun var?' dedi.
Luk 16:6 "Adam, 'Yüz ölçek zeytinyağı' karşılığını verdi. "Kâhya ona, 'Borç senedini al ve
hemen otur, elli ölçek diye yaz' dedi.
Luk 16:7 "Sonra bir başkasına, 'Senin borcun ne kadar?' dedi. "'Yüz ölçek buğday' dedi
öteki. "Ona da, 'Borç senedini al, seksen ölçek diye yaz' dedi.
Luk 16:8 "Efendisi, dürüst olmayan kâhyayı, akıllıca davrandığı için övdü. Gerçekten bu
çağın insanları, kendilerine benzer kişilerle ilişkilerinde, ışıkta yürüyenlerden daha akıllı
oluyorlar.
Luk 16:9 Size şunu söyleyeyim, dünyanın aldatıcı servetini kendinize dost edinmek için
kullanın ki, bu servet yok olunca sizi sonsuza dek kalacak konutlara Kabul etsinler."
Luk 16:10 "En küçük işte güvenilir olan kişi, büyük işte de güvenilir olur. En küçük işte
dürüst olmayan kişi, büyük işte de dürüst olmaz.
Luk 16:11 Dünyanın aldatıcı serveti konusunda güvenilir değilseniz, gerçek serveti size
kim emanet eder?
Luk 16:12 Başkasının malı konusunda güvenilir değilseniz, kendi malınız olmak üzere
size kim bir şey verir?
Luk 16:13 "Hiçbir uşak iki efendiye kulluk edemez. Ya birinden nefret edip öbürünü sever,
ya da birine bağlanıp öbürünü hor görür. Siz hem Tanrı'ya, hem paraya kulluk
edemezsiniz."
Luk 16:14 Parayı seven Ferisiler bütün bu sözleri duyunca İsa'yla alay etmeye başladılar.
I got to thinking the last time I read this story -- viewed in isolation, it doesn't seem to
make a lot of sense. Should we be ripping off our employers, in order to find better
opportunities elsewhere? Should we assume that there is no security in any job, and start
looking for another job a month after landing one? Should we regard this life with
contempt, and focus solely on feathering our nest in the next life?
Ah, but context. A TEXT without a CONtext is a PREtext. In the last chapter, we saw
Jesus reproving the religious leaders of his day for their lack of compassion. They
enjoyed the privileges of their positions, but no longer served as compassionate
shepherds of their people. [2]
Perhaps, Jesus is saying, the rulers of Israel were caught with their hands in the cookie
jar. They were defrauding God. Rather than getting right with God, they embarked upon a
strategy of cutting short-term deals with others who were on the wrong side of the ledger
with God. But how long will this purchased charity last? Think about it. How long would
you be willing to invite a crook, a guy who had betrayed his last employer, into your
house?
When Israel's leaders sucked up to Rome, they were able to enjoy their subsidized luxury
for a few more decades -- but when the bills came due, they did so with interest.
___________
[0] This humiliating ritual is often performed under the gaze of corporate security
personnel. Folks who have just lost their jobs have been known to strike back in
damaging ways. There's a whole tradition and ritual for "outplacing" workers. The former
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275
president of a major global corporation was called "Neutron Jack." After he toured a
company plant, the facilities would still be there, but many of the people would be gone.
[1] to "cook the books" means to illegally adjust a firm's accounting information, as to
make it look either more profitable (to possible buyers) or less profitable (to the tax man)
than is really the case. It's one of those rhyming cliches that season the English language
so charmingly!
[2] This complaint lodged against the self-serving rulers is heard thousands of years
before the time of our Lord. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the citizens lay out their complaints
against the king's behavior and add rhetorically, "Yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise,
comely, and resolute."
Luke 17 (a) -- a panaramic view
Numbered chapters and verses let us zoom in on small chunks of text, and share our
insights with one another, using an agreed-upon navigation convention. Yet this
coordinate system is not a part of the original text. Sometimes, we need to examine
messages that spill over the boundaries of verses and chapters.
As Jesus is going towards an untidy destiny in Jerusalem, the antagonism between him
and The Establishment[1] intensifies. The Pharisees nag and natter at Jesus. Jesus
pushes back. In Luke 15, they find fault with his followers. He speaks of the value, in
God's sight, of the lost lamb, the lost coin, the lost lad. Keep reading, folks.
In Luke 16, Jesus takes the battle to the enemy, comparing the Establishment leaders to
a crooked steward who is running out of time, and puts its trust in short-term fixes. The
polemic continues. They are like a rich buy with a beggar at the gate, who can expect to
see their world in flames, their social order reversed. They lost their bearings because
they lost their respect for "Moses and the prophets" (the Word of God). In that terrifying
little story, God's spokesman Abraham says that those who disregard God's Word will not
be convinced, even if a Lazarus rises from the dead.[2]
Let's keep reading. The Pharisees are an offense to God and man. We all needs to walk
more carefully.
Luk 17:1 İsa öğrencilerine şöyle dedi: "İnsanı günaha düşüren tuzakların olması
kaçınılmazdır. Ama bu tuzaklara aracılık eden kişinin vay haline!
Luk 17:2 Böyle bir kişi bu küçüklerden birini günaha düşüreceğine, boynuna bir değirmen
taşı geçirilip denize atılsa, kendisi için daha iyi olur.
Luk 17:3 Yaşantınıza dikkat edin! Kardeşiniz günah işlerse, onu azarlayın; tövbe ederse,
bağışlayın.
Luk 17:4 Günde yedi kez size karşı günah işler ve yedi kez size gelip, 'Tövbe ediyorum'
derse, onu bağışlayın."
Luk 17:5 Elçiler Rab'be, "İmanımızı artır!" dediler.
Let's extract one admonition for translation, here.
• Yaşantınıza -- about your way of life. Yaşantı (experience. life style. way of living.
life.) + -ınız- (your) + -a (direct object)
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• dikkat -- careful
• edin! -- be!
May our God increase our faith, so we can get along with one another, despite living in a
world filled with excuses for taking offense!
_________
[1] The Establishment was the contemptuous hippy label assigned to the pillars of the
social order, the people in charge. Historically, the "established church" was the sect of
Christianity embraced and funded by the political leaders of a nation.
Antidisestablishmentarianism is the conviction that such entities are necessary for the
health of a society, and much not be disestablished.
[2] Shortly after Jesus gave this parable, a man named Lazarus rose from the dead -- see
John 12. The leaders of Israel were not impressed. In fact, they discussed putting
Lazarus to death again.
Luke 17(b) -- how to surpass 90% of the
competition
An attitude of gratitude will put you ahead of 90% of your competition, I tell my children.
This is the story that supports that assertion:
Luk 17:12,13 Köyün birine girerken O'nu cüzamlı on adam karşıladı. Bunlar uzakta
durarak, "İsa, Efendimiz, halimize acı!" diye seslendiler.
Luk 17:14 İsa onları görünce, "Gidin, kâhinlere görünün" dedi. Adamlar yolda giderken
cüzamdan temizlendiler.
Luk 17:15,16 Onlardan biri, iyileştiğini görünce yüksek sesle Tanrı'yı yücelterek geri
döndü, yüzüstü İsa'nın ayaklarına kapanıp O'na teşekkür etti. Bu adam Samiriyeli'ydi.
Luk 17:17 İsa, "İyileşenler on kişi değil miydi?" diye sordu. "Öbür dokuzu nerede?
Luk 17:18 Tanrı'yı yüceltmek için bu yabancıdan başka geri dönen olmadı mı?"
Luk 17:19 Sonra adama, "Ayağa kalk, git" dedi. "İmanın seni kurtardı."
And, the critical three words:
• Öbür -- The other
• dokuzu -- nine
• nerede? -- where are they?
It takes so little effort to thank someone, to encourage someone, that we forget to do so.
Yet, the experience is asymmetric. That which costs us so little can mean so much to the
person who receives a moment's recognition.
I hope my loyal readers will strive to be among the 10%, the thankful, the happy. Bless
those who do you good, and you will be blessed. (then, maybe, we can go on to tackle
the more demanding command, to bless those who curse us!)
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Luke 18 -- the crooked judge
So many of the scoundrels in the stories Jesus told talked to themselves. At least, in the
parables Luke reported. Consider this little story, that compares God to an unjust judge:
Luk 18:1,2 İsa öğrencilerine, hiç usanmadan, her zaman dua etmeleri gerektiğini belirten
şu benzetmeyi anlattı: "Kentin birinde Tanrı'dan korkmayan, insana saygı duymayan bir
yargıç vardı.
Luk 18:3 Yine o kentte bir dul kadın vardı. Yargıca sürekli gidip, 'Davacı olduğum kişiden
hakkımı al' diyordu.
Luk 18:4,5 "Yargıç bir süre ilgisiz kaldı. Ama sonunda kendi kendine, 'Ben her ne kadar
Tanrı'dan korkmaz, insana saygı duymazsam da, bu dul kadın beni rahatsız ettiği için
hakkını alacağım. Yoksa sürekli gelip beni canımdan bezdirecek' dedi."
Luk 18:6 Rab şöyle devam etti: "Adaletsiz yargıcın ne söylediğini duydunuz.
Luk 18:7 Tanrı da, gece gündüz kendisine yakaran seçilmişlerinin hakkını almayacak mı?
Onları çok bekletecek mi?
Jesus encourages us to be persistent in our prayers. Even a crooked judge will
sometimes do the right thing if pestered long enough. And surely God will, as well, if we
ask Him. Meanwhile, though, as we continue knocking on heaven's door, our knuckles
toughen up, and we acquire the stamina and fortitude we need to live well. Let's look at a
brief phrase:
• Tanrı'dan korkmayan -- God / he did not fear. Usually, most of the time, the direct
object of a verb is indicated with the ı/i/u/ü suffix. A few verbs, especially korkmak (to
fear) require the dan/den suffix on the noun they refer to.
Luke 19 -- forget the Big Rock Candy Mountain[0]
Today's extract is rather long, but it says a few very important things about the nature of
the Kingdom / Reign of God.
Luk 19:11 Oradakiler bu sözleri dinlerken İsa konuşmasını bir benzetmeyle sürdürdü.
Çünkü Yeruşalim'e yaklaşmıştı ve onlar, Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'nin hemen ortaya
çıkacağını sanıyorlardı.
Luk 19:12 Bu nedenle İsa şöyle dedi: "Soylu bir adam, kral atanıp dönmek üzere uzak bir
ülkeye gitti.
Luk 19:13 Gitmeden önce kölelerinden onunu çağırıp onlara birer mina verdi. 'Ben
dönünceye dek bu paraları işletin' dedi.
Luk 19:14 "Ne var ki, ülkesinin halkı adamdan nefret ediyordu. Arkasından temsilciler
göndererek, 'Bu adamın üzerimize kral olmasını istemiyoruz' diye haber ilettiler.
Luk 19:15 "Adam kral atanmış olarak geri döndüğünde, parayı vermiş olduğu köleleri
çağırtıp ne kazandıklarını öğrenmek istedi.
Luk 19:16 Birincisi geldi, 'Efendimiz' dedi, 'Senin bir minan on mina daha kazandı.'
Luk 19:17 "Efendisi ona, 'Aferin, iyi köle!' dedi. 'En küçük işte güvenilir olduğunu
gösterdiğin için on kent üzerinde yetkili olacaksın.'
Luk 19:18 "İkincisi gelip, 'Efendimiz, senin bir minan beş mina daha kazandı' dedi.
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Luk 19:19 "Efendisi ona da, 'Sen beş kent üzerinde yetkili olacaksın' dedi.
Luk 19:20 "Başka biri geldi, 'Efendimiz' dedi, 'İşte senin minan! Onu bir mendile sarıp
sakladım.
Luk 19:21 Çünkü senden korktum, sert adamsın; kendinden koymadığını alır, ekmediğini
biçersin.'
Luk 19:22 "Efendisi ona, 'Ey kötü köle, seni kendi ağzından çıkan sözle yargılayacağım'
dedi. 'Kendinden koymadığını alan, ekmediğini biçen sert bir adam olduğumu bildiğine
göre,
Luk 19:23 neden paramı faize vermedin? Ben de geldiğimde onu faiziyle geri alırdım.'
Luk 19:24 "Sonra çevrede duranlara, 'Elindeki minayı alın, on minası olana verin' dedi.
Luk 19:25 "Ona, 'Efendimiz' dediler, 'Onun zaten on minası var!'
Luk 19:26 "O da, 'Size şunu söyleyeyim, kimde varsa ona daha çok verilecek. Ama kimde
yoksa, kendisinde olan da elinden alınacak' dedi.
Luk 19:27 'Beni kral olarak istemeyen o düşmanlarıma gelince, onları buraya getirin ve
gözümün önünde kılıçtan geçirin!'"
They were closing on on Jerusalem, and obviously something big and important was
about to happen: Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'nin hemen ortaya çıkacağını sanıyorlardı. The
word of interest here is sanmak -- to suppose, to think, to imagine. They
supposed/imagined/thought that God's Kingdom was about to materialize. There was a
lot of speculation in the air. Was this new Son of David going to step into that military
hero's shoes, and lead his people in a glorious war of liberation, a kurtuluş savaş, against
the occupying armies of Rome? Or would he do it all by himself, and supernaturally set
the world right side up again, with, of course, God's dear chosen people Israel on top?
Well, God's dear chosen people Israel had some unpleasant surprises coming down the
pike at them. The light at the end of their tunnel was the headlight of an approaching
train. Goaded by venal, corrupt, and flattering leaders, these dear people made their
ultimate confession of faith -- "We have no king but Caesar!"[1] -- Ne var ki, ülkesinin
halkı adamdan nefret ediyordu. Arkasından temsilciler göndererek, 'Bu adamın üzerimize
kral olmasını istemiyoruz' diye haber ilettiler. Nonetheless, his citizens hated him.
(apparently, nefret etmek is another one of those transitive verbs that requires its object
to take the -dan/-den ending.) After him messengers they sent, 'This man over us king to
be we do not want.' ...
The key point Jesus makes in this parable, however, is the connection between what we
do today and what we can anticipate later. God's Kingdom is forwarded by boring,
routine, small acts of faithful obedience every day. We take what He has entrusted us
with, and do a little something with it, consistently, day after day. The exercise of routine
faithfulness conditions us, prepares us, equips us, for greater opportunities later.
For example, if a job hunter falls into the trap of dreaming about how great everything is
going to be once he gets employed, he sets himself up for failure. If, on the other hand,
he finds ways to be productive even while looking for that ideal job, his future looks much
brighter. A friend of mine, for example, spent tax season dressed up like the Statue of
Liberty.
Bottom line: folks who faithfully work at their assigned tasks are on the fast track to
promotion. Folks who "play it safe" and idly wait for the Big Thing to happen are history's
losers.
___________
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[0] The Big Rock Candy Mountain is an old hobo song about an imaginary state of
perfection:
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains there's a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars are all empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees
Where the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay
Oh, I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall and the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
[1] To this day, their heirs still imagine that political power is the ultimate saving power -"if we can but make sure that people like us are the ones in power!"
Luke 20 -- a paradox
A paradox lies at the heart of the Christian faith. We adore One who is simultaneously
divine and human. Imagine programming a Sim City computer game -- but this one is
filled with self-aware Sims.
Now, imagine programming your own self-aware avatar[1] to enter that simulated world,
and participate in it. Let's look at today's mind-bending Scripture portion.:
Luk 20:41 İsa onlara şöyle dedi: "Nasıl oluyor da, 'Mesih Davut'un Oğlu'dur' diyorlar?
Luk 20:42,43 Çünkü Davut'un kendisi Mezmurlar Kitabı'nda şöyle diyor: Rab Rabbim'e
dedi ki, Ben düşmanlarını Ayaklarının altına serinceye dek Sağımda otur.'
Luk 20:44 Davut O'ndan 'Rab' diye söz ettiğine göre, O nasıl Davut'un Oğlu olur?"
How could the Messiah the people of Israel looked forward to be simultaneously
descended from David, and David's pre-existing Lord? Anyone who claims to understand
this paradox is lying -- to himself, at least. Those who rejoice in and embrace this
paradox have found the key to transcendent, eternal life -- embodied in the Transcendent
One who became Immanent -- God with us -- Emmanuel.
_____________
[1] avatar is a Sanskrit word that originally referred to the embodied form of one of their
deities. This word is now more popularly used to denote the image one chooses to
represent himself in a virtual (computerized) "world."
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Luke 21 and prison novelists
Hard times were coming for Israel and its people. This was not welcome news to the
disciples of Jesus, who were Jewish, and who yearned to see their nation prosper. Still,
as is strangely frequent when the God of the Bible deals with people, there is a word of
encouragement in the middle of the bad news.
Luk 21:12 "Ama bütün bu olaylardan önce sizi yakalayıp zulmedecekler. Sizi havralara
teslim edecek, zindanlara atacaklar. Benim adımdan ötürü kralların, valilerin önüne
çıkarılacaksınız.
Luk 21:13 Bu size tanıklık etme fırsatı olacak.
Luk 21:14 Buna göre kendinizi nasıl savunacağınızı önceden düşünmemekte kararlı olun.
Luk 21:15 Çünkü ben size öyle bir konuşma yeteneği, öyle bir bilgelik vereceğim ki, size
karşı çıkanların hiçbiri buna karşı direnemeyecek, bir şey diyemeyecek.
• Bu -- This
• size -- to you
• tanıklık etmek -- to bear witness to something. to testify. attest. bear evidence. bear
testimony. bear witness. to give evidence. to state in evidence. to bear record. to
bear testimony.
• fırsatı -- opportunity
• olacak. -- will become.
• direnmek -- resist. stand. stand out against. fight back. refuse. withstand. hold out.
hold up. jib. jib at doing. persevere. offer resistance. make a stand for. stand out.
stick up to.
"Folks," Jesus was saying, "You'll be excluded from places where you want to be, and
confined to places where you would much rather not be. However, this will make you
miraculously eloquent."
It's strange how much great literature gets written in prison. Paul, who wrote more than
half of the New Testament books, wrote many of his letters from jail. John Bunyan's
allegory Pilgrim's Progress begins with a reference to his imprisonment for preaching an
unlicensed message:
As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a
Den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and as I slept, I dreamed a dream.
Thomas Malorie's Le Morte d'Arthur was, we believe, written while the author was
imprisoned for backing the losing side during England's War of Roses.
My favorite recent example is Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who found faith and a unique
voice while spending 13 years in Russian prison camps. One of his many novels one the
Nobel Prize for literature. His documentary of the camp system, The Gulag Archipelago,
is even more dramatic and vivid than his novels. The power of his words demoralized the
ruling class of the Soviet Union. They learned that they were the black hats of history, the
bad guys, parasites upon the good and decent folk, rather than heroic midwives of a
glorious new age.
My gentle readers, if you are wrestling with a dissertation in the middle of profoundly
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frustrating circumstances, take heart. God can miraculously make you eloquent and
prolific. Something about adversity can catalyze great literary achievement.
Luke 22 -- questions of status
How little we know of ourselves, our place in the order of things. In America, we have
things called "job interviews." You show up, make your best case, and hope to be
selected. Then sometimes find out afterward that the game was rigged, the chosen
candidate already selected before you even stepped in the door. But, forms must be
maintained ...
Let's look at two sentences that Luke juxtaposed in his report of the table talk around the
Last Supper:
Luk 22:22 İnsanoğlu, belirlenmiş olan yoldan gidiyor. Ama O'na ihanet eden adamın vay
haline!"
Luk 22:23 Elçiler, aralarında bunu kimin yapabileceğini tartışmaya başladılar.
Luk 22:24 Ayrıca aralarında hangisinin en üstün sayılacağı konusunda bir çekişme oldu.
Luk 22:25 İsa onlara, "Ulusların kralları, kendi uluslarına egemen kesilirler. İleri gelenleri
de kendilerine iyiliksever unvanını yakıştırırlar" dedi.
Luk 22:26 "Ama siz böyle olmayacaksınız. Aranızda en büyük olan, en küçük gibi olsun;
yöneten, hizmet eden gibi olsun.
In verse 23, the disciples are arguing about which of them is going to betray Jesus. In the
next verse, they are arguing about who among them is going to be most important in the
Big Days Ahead.
Then Jesus calls them back to reality. Animals are obsessed with the "pecking order." A
family dog will recognize the father as the "alpha dog" -- but will sometimes think it can
dispute the youngest child for the position of "omega dog." We of the Royal Household
have bigger fish to fry, better things to do with our lives, our energy, our attention. We
each have something we can be doing now, some way to serve one another, some way
to make life a little bit better for everyone. In a universe hard-wired to do us good, serving
a God who has our best at heart, status games are stupid.
At the Last Supper, Jesus was the waiter.
Luke 23 -- who ya gonna believe?
Nasrettin Hoca, the classical folk-hero of Turkish literature, was asked for the loan of his
donkey. "I don't have a donkey," he told the neighbor. At this moment, the beast brayed
loudly from the barn. When the neighbor asked what was braying, if he had no donkey,
Hoca replied, "Who are you going to believe? Me? Or some donkey?"
Here we have a carefully described death scene, with many witnesses:
Luk 23:46 İsa yüksek sesle, "Baba, ruhumu ellerine bırakıyorum!" diye seslendi. Bunu
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söyledikten sonra son nefesini verdi.
Luk 23:47 Olanları gören yüzbaşı, "Bu adam gerçekten doğru biriydi" diyerek Tanrı'yı
yüceltmeye başladı.
Luk 23:48 Olayı seyretmek için biriken halkın tümü olup bitenleri görünce göğüslerini
döve döve geri döndüler.
Luk 23:49 Ama İsa'nın bütün tanıdıkları ve Celile'den O'nun ardından gelen kadınlar
uzakta durmuş, olanları seyrediyorlardı.
Luk 23:50 Yüksek Kurul üyelerinden Yusuf adında iyi ve doğru bir adam vardı.
Luk 23:51 Bir Yahudi kenti olan Aramatya'dan olup Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ni umutla
bekleyen Yusuf, Kurul'un kararını ve eylemini onaylamamıştı.
Luk 23:52 Pilatus'a gidip İsa'nın cesedini istedi.
Luk 23:53 Cesedi çarmıhtan indirip keten beze sardı, hiç kimsenin konulmadığı, kayaya
oyulmuş bir mezara yatırdı.
In vs. 46, Jesus expires, uttering a Jewish bedtime prayer -- "Baba, ruhumu ellerine
bırakıyorum." Father, / my spirit / your hands to / I commit.
In vs. 47, another witness speaks up, a leader of 100 soldiers (centurion, yüzbaşı). "This
was a righteous man.
In vs. 48, the crowd who'd showed up for the show (seyretmek için to view / in order to.
Seyretmek is the verb you use when watching TV, or a movie. için is another of those
wonderful postpositions.)showed grief as they walked away, "Show's over, folks!"
In vs. 49, a gaggle[1] of older ladies who had followed Jesus all the way from Galilee, and
supported his ministry financially, watched him die.
Then, a high leader of Israel notes the death of Jesus, and goes to the governor asking
for the body. In one of the other gospels, we read that Pilate was surprised to learn that
Jesus was already dead, and sent for one of the Roman soldiers just to make sure this
was so.
All of these primary sources concurred that Jesus was well, thoroughly, and properly
dead. Luke, a careful and meticulous historian, talked to eye witnesses, including many
overlooked by the other gospel writers.
So who should we believe about this event that is so critical to our eternal welfare? The
folks who were there? Or a poet in another land, more than 500 years later?
________________
[1] Back when folks lived closer to the land, there were many collective nouns for the
creatures they shared the land with. A group of larks was an exaltation. A group of crows
was a murder. Sheep came in flocks, and cows in herds, and dogs in packs. A popular
domestic bird, the goose, was grouped in gaggles.
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Luke 24 -- astonishing gladness
Quite often, when people from Muslim backgrounds discover the İsa of the Bible, their
pilgrimage begins with a vivid dream. A glowing man dressed in white addresses them by
name, perhaps. Or, as this young Turkish student dreamed, a grave opened, a man
arose from it. Three ladies came to the grave, and were told that the one they sought was
no longer there.
Click HERE to hear the story for yourself.
Yuce takes issue with a popular misyoner tactic of telling folks, "God loves you and has a
wonderful plan for your life." In the context of his culture, those who embark upon the
Jesus Way are very likely to lose their jobs. Their families. Their friends. And sometimes,
their lives. And this is good news of a wonderful divine plan? [1]
Well, what makes it wonderful, Yuce said, is the person of İsa Mesih. The transcendent
joy of knowing God in person transforms the attendant trials into part of something truly
wonderful.
As German martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, true conversion, true grace, "is costly, as it
costs us our lives. It is grace, in that it gives us the only lives worth living."
This blog is motivated by a sincere affection for Turkish people, language, and culture.
The resurrection of Jesus meant new life, meaningful life for all who hear His invitation,
and come to the party.
______________
[1] Our family just finished reading the marvelous novel Byzantium, by Stephen Lawhead.
In the end, the narrator discovers the true power of the Christian message: not
deliverance from suffering and death, but fellowship with a God who understands
suffering and death, and has Himself suffered and died.
John 1 -- paradoxical salvation
Paradox is a wonderful word derived from the Greek, meaning two parallel thoughts,
apparently contradictory, yet both true. John frequently used this form of word play, and
reports on paradoxes Jesus taught. For example, whose idea is it for men to know and
walk with God? Let's look at a few lines from the prologue to John's gospel:
Joh 1:10 O, dünyadaydı, dünya O'nun aracılığıyla var oldu, ama dünya O'nu tanımadı.
Joh 1:11 Kendi yurduna geldi, ama kendi halkı O'nu kabul etmedi.
Joh 1:12 Kendisini kabul edip adına iman edenlerin hepsine Tanrı'nın çocukları olma
hakkını verdi.
Joh 1:13 Onlar ne kandan, ne beden ne de insan isteğinden doğdular; tersine, Tanrı'dan
doğdular.
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The Playwright walks onto the stage of his creation, but the best boys and key grips
rudely hustle him to the exit. He knocks on the door of his own relative's house, and they
don't know him. But that's all right -- whoever will recognize him can become his kin!
Even if they aren't blood relatives, even if they had other things in mind when he showed
up.
Salvation -- something we experience as we repent. Repentance -- something we do,
something that God gives us. A paradox? Indeed. Since we're not God we can't
understand how He works in our lives, let alone why. This little ditty (Deficient Grace)
mocks folks who assert that they saved themselves through heroic acts of will. After all, if
we are saved, ultimately, by sovereign acts of our divine will, then we can un-save
ourselves at a whim. If, however, salvation is a form of conscription, the One who calls us
will keep us.
He came to his own country, but his own people did not welcome him.
However, those who did embrace in faith his l\name all were given the authority to
become children of God.
John 2 -- thoughts on language learning
When studying a new language, I enjoy using İncil as my textbook. I start with John's
gospel, since the vivid imagery, and simple, repetitive poetic language make it the easiest
of the Biblical books to read, in any language.
This practice began when I was studying French in college. I'd barely passed 2nd year
French, and was looking down the barrel of 3rd year classes. SO, I started reading four
chapters a day of Bonnes Nouvelles Au'jourdhui that summer, a pace that got me through
the entire New Testament in two months. Rinse and repeat. That senior year in college, I
also took Biblical Greek. At the end of the year, I fulfilled a long-held dream, and began
reading John's gospel in the same language John had written it in.
Joh 1:1 ᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.
OK, so Greek is a bit further away from my native tongue than French, so I budgeted a
year to the task. By averaging 2.54 pages per day, I met my goal. The first time through, I
understood perhaps 30% of the words, and guessed at the rest. The second time
through, perhaps 40% of the words looked familiar. After 10 years, though, I could read
the Greek New Testament comfortably and with great pleasure.
After a few months of studying Italian, I downloaded the NT in that language from the
internet, and decanted the text, chapter by chapter, into a Microsoft Word document with
a two-inch (10 cm) wide left margin, for scribbling in definitions. I now have a loose-leaf
Italian NT, that I've read through twice.
I did not attempt reading İncil until after spending several years studying Turkish. For me,
the vocabulary is the hard part, since there are so few cognates between the two
languages. There's no substitute for brute-force memorization. It took me a bit over 13
months to read it this last time through, since I'm trying to blog more consistently. But, I
am now on my fifth pilgrimage through a familiar book in a fascinating, but challenging,
language.[1]
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For me, however, John 2 will always remind me of the time I read the New Testament in
Esperanto. I was wearing a hard hat that December, working at a sheltered industrial
workshop. The regular employees suffered from mental and physical impairments, but
rejoiced that they had a place to go, something to do, and someone to pay them for it. I
was measuring wire out to specified lengths, cutting it, and crimping on electrical
connectors. When I had a specified number of coils in a box, I would move it aside and
start on the next box. Normally, counting is an inefficient way of keeping track of where
you are. So, you convert the numeric information into some other form. For example,
stand the electrodes on their open ends in ranks of five. Number becomes length. A
visual check lets you know exactly where you are, and how far you have to go.
And, I read this story in John 2:
Joh 2:12 Bundan sonra İsa, annesi, kardeşleri ve öğrencileri Kefarnahum'a gidip orada
birkaç gün kaldılar.
Joh 2:13 Yahudiler'in Fısıh Bayramı yakındı. İsa da Yeruşalim'e gitti.
Joh 2:14 Tapınağın avlusunda sığır, koyun ve güvercin satanları, orada oturmuş para
bozanları* gördü.
Joh 2:15 İpten bir kamçı yaparak hepsini koyunlar ve sığırlarla birlikte tapınaktan kovdu,
para bozanların paralarını döküp masalarını devirdi.
Let's look at two words:
• para -- money
• masa -- table
When Jesus stormed into that marketplace and hurled over the tables, I saw with newly
informed eyes, he disrupted data processing systems, the carefully arranged and
positioned stacks of coins that made it possible for the moneychangers to work efficiently.
No wonder they wanted to crucify him! He'd broken their system!
_____________
[1] The Turkic family of languages ranks fifth in the world, behind Chinese, English, Hindi,
and Spanish. At least, in terms of the number of speakers.
John 3 -- dangling conversation
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What can you find to say about this chapter that is fresh? Well, since this is God's own
word, something new to think about comes into focus every time you read it. For
example, let's look again at the way the conversation got started:
Joh 3:1,2 Yahudiler'in Nikodim adlı bir önderi vardı. Ferisiler'den olan bu adam bir gece
İsa'ya gelerek, "Rabbî, senin Tanrı'dan gelmiş bir öğretmen olduğunu biliyoruz. Çünkü
Tanrı kendisiyle olmadıkça kimse senin yaptığın bu mucizeleri yapamaz" dedi.
Joh 3:3 İsa ona şu karşılığı verdi: "Sana doğrusunu söyleyeyim, bir kimse yeniden
doğmadıkça Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ni göremez."
A renowned religious scholar sneaks in to see Jesus at night. On the one hand, he's
intrigued by the miracles Jesus performs, kindly deeds of supernatural power that
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obviously had divine origin: "Unless someone comes from God, these miracles he would
not do." On the other hand, this visit happens at night. This new teacher did not come up
through approved channels, and those who visibly associate with him risk their own
reputations. "So, Jesus. We know you're something special. Shall we have a theological
discussion?"
The reply is startling: "Unless someone is born anew / from above, he can't even see
what's going on." Or, to paraphrase, Jesus is asking, "Is there any point to this
conversation?"
The point is not the credibility of Jesus and His claims. The point is the condition of the
person considering those claims. God, for reasons of His own, makes some His own.
Those who are His own, His elect, get the point. The rest -- don't. As a wise Jesuit once
said, "The Gospel is like a joke told to a circle of men. And one man smiles."
Human perceptions are maddening in their complexity. Ask anyone who is suffering from
autistic spectrum disorders. Such a person often has incredibly intense focus on some
matters -- but is oblivious to other real-world issues. By definition, we can not see our
blind spots. Some people consider the life of Jesus, and fall on their knees, knowing that
this one man's biography is the key that unlocks the riddles of the universe, and brings
the worshiper directly into the presence of the Creator. Other people are indifferent. And
only God ultimately knows why.
John 4 -- where the action is
John the Baptist shows up again, indirectly, in this chapter. As we learned earlier, John
catalyzed a renewal movement that taught the need for personal repentance, in
expectation of the end of the age. Messiah was coming, it was time to get ready. Jesus
showed up at the event, was recognized as the promised messiah, and began attracting
John's followers to his own ministry. When you see a spiritual movement in progress,
excitement in the air, the human temptation is to jump in with both feet. In 1992, for
example, when the former Soviet bloc was suddenly very interested in the Christian
gospel, a lot of "missionary tourism" happened. Americans poured in to hold meetings
and plant new churches. Who knows, maybe they even did some good!
In the USA, a lust for passive entertainment, especially when it's disguised as a spiritual
renewal, has led to many harmful "dog and pony shows" with bizarre emotional
outbreaks. People hear a rumor that God is at work in a new and wonderful way -- at the
Toronto Vineyard church, or in Lakeland, Florida -- and caravan to the latest circus to
swell the ranks of the rubes and clowns.
Jesus came to launch a new spiritual movement, to found a new Israel, a new people of
faith. You would expect him to capitalize on the groundwork John had started, to use
John's ministry as a foundation for his own. That's not what happened, though:
Joh 4:1-3 Ferisiler, İsa'nın Yahya'dan daha çok öğrenci edinip vaftiz ettiğini duydular
aslında İsa'nın kendisi değil, öğrencileri vaftiz ediyorlardı İsa bunu öğrenince
Yahudiye'den ayrılıp yine Celile'ye gitti.
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The official religious leaders hear that the followers of John are becoming the followers of
Jesus, and baptizing even more people into the snowballing movement. So, Jesus leaves
the scene of the ferment, and walks back home to Galilee, with just a handful of disciples
in tow. He finds himself in a village of Samaritans.
700 years earlier, when the Assyrians conquered and deported the land of Israel, they
had replaced the native inhabitants with population exchanged from other parts of the
empire. These people "feared the Lord, but served their own gods." When lions began
preying on them, they suspected that they had displeased the local deity in charge of that
piece of real estate, and asked their Assyrian overlords to send them Jewish rabbis. They
practiced a derivative form of the Jewish religion, but were not regarded as real
coreligionists. Yet, Jesus found an audience there. Apparently, his eyes saw
opportunities all around, wherever he went. As he told his disciples,
Joh 4:35 "Sizler, 'Ekinleri biçmeye daha dört ay var' demiyor musunuz? İşte, size
söylüyorum, başınızı kaldırıp tarlalara bakın. Ekinler sararmış, biçilmeye hazır!
The harvest is already ripe, for those with eyes to see.
John 6 -- addiction to the trivial
The main thing is -- knowing what the main thing is.
It is so easy to lose ourselves in trivia. Programmers have a term for it -- "Dogwash."
When an important project needs to be finished -- and you are up against the deadline -you suddenly remember other things you could be doing. Like washing the dog.
A wise daughter resists dogwash by telling herself: "Doing this will make me feel worse
by the end of the day." A quick game on the computer, for example, can provide a
moment's distraction from the anxieties of life. However, if you put too many of those
together, great big chunks of your day disappear forever, and you are not much closer to
getting where you need to be.
In Norton Juster's minor masterpiece The Phantom Tollbooth, the team is delayed on its
mission by an encounter with "the Terrible Trivium." They are set to pointless, endless,
tasks. Examine his argument:
Think of all the trouble it saves ... If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you'll never
have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You just won't have the
time. For there's always something to do to keep you from what you really should be
doing, and if it weren't' for that dreadful magic staff, you'd never know how much time you
were wasting. (Juster, p. 213)
Apparently, fixating on the trivial and ignoring the momentous is a typical human failing.
After Jesus fed thousands by blessing and multiplying a small lunch, the crowds wanted
to seize him and force him to be their king. He fled to the mountain, spent most of the
night in prayer, and took a short cut to the other side of the lake in the wee hours of the
morning. The next morning, as he taught in a synagogue, the crowds showed up again
with one thing on their mind:
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Joh 6:25 O'nu gölün karşı yakasında buldukları zaman, "Rabbî, buraya ne zaman
geldin?" diye sordular.
Joh 6:26 İsa şöyle yanıt verdi: "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, doğaüstü belirtiler
gördüğünüz için değil, ekmeklerden yiyip doyduğunuz için beni arıyorsunuz.
Joh 6:27 Geçici yiyecek için değil, sonsuz yaşam boyunca kalıcı yiyecek için çalışın.
Bunu size İnsanoğlu* verecek. Çünkü Baba Tanrı O'na bu onayı vermiştir."
Joh 6:28 Onlar da şunu sordular: "Tanrı'nın istediği işleri yapmak için ne yapmalıyız?"
Joh 6:29 İsa, "Tanrı'nın işi O'nun gönderdiği kişiye iman etmenizdir" diye yanıt verdi.
Joh 6:30 Bunun üzerine, "Görüp sana iman etmemiz için nasıl bir belirti
gerçekleştireceksin? Ne yapacaksın?" dediler.
Joh 6:31 "Atalarımız çölde man* yediler. Yazılmış olduğu gibi, 'Yemeleri için onlara
gökten ekmek verdi.'"
Joh 6:32 İsa onlara dedi ki, "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, gökten ekmeği size Musa
vermedi, gökten size gerçek ekmeği Babam verir.
Joh 6:33 Çünkü Tanrı'nın ekmeği, gökten inen ve dünyaya yaşam verendir."
Joh 6:34 Onlar da, "Efendimiz, bizlere her zaman bu ekmeği ver!" dediler.
Joh 6:35 İsa, "Yaşam ekmeği Ben'im. Bana gelen asla acıkmaz, bana iman eden hiçbir
zaman susamaz" dedi.
The conversation starts in vs. 25 -- "How did you get here?" And the retort of our Lord
gets tot the heart of the matter:
Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, doğaüstü belirtiler gördüğünüz için değil, ekmeklerden yiyip
doyduğunuz için beni arıyorsunuz.
A few words:
• Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim -- To you / straight, accurately / I say (Jesus says this
frequently in John's gospel)
• doğaüstü -- above that which is natural (extraordinary)
• belirtiler -- signs
• gördüğünüz -- you see
• için değil, -- because of not,
• ekmeklerden -- meals
• için -- because
• beni arıyorsunuz -- me / you are seeking
The most important event in world history was going on right in front of them -- and they
were obsessed with a free lunch. So much like you and me.
I think, though, that taking Jesus seriously lets us escape from the swamp of dogwash.
John 7 -- it's not the lack of information ...
Friday, June 04, 2010
How do you transform an "is" into an "ought?" How to you go from the indicative
(descriptive) mood in a statement to the imperative (command) mood? If you pile up
enough facts, do you get wisdom? In one of his brilliant little fables compiled in The
Cyberiad, Polish novelist Stanislaw Lem dealt with this question. An interstellar pirate
wanted data. The two constructors gave him a machine that spewed an unending stream
of random data, and quietly escaped.
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Modern education, a wiser man than me once said, places all information in a single file
drawer labeled Miscellaneous. [1]
Someone considering the claims of Christ can procrastinate, saying, "I'll make up my
mind when I have all the facts." Ain't gonna happen. The issue is something quite
different from lack of information:
Joh 7:17 "Eğer bir kimse Tanrı'nın isteğini yerine getirmek istiyorsa, bu öğretinin
Tanrı'dan mı olduğunu, yoksa kendiliğimden mi konuştuğumu bilecektir.
The religious leaders of Israel pleaded "insufficient data." Jesus called them on that
assertion. Those who wish to please the Father already have the means to evaluate the
claims of the Son. There is no conflict, ultimately, between "the True" and "the Good." A
love for the Good, for God and for His purposes, hones our instinct for distinguishing truth
from its seductive counterfeits.
_______________
[1] Of course, there's also the hidden curriculum. It doesn't matter what kids study, as
long as they learn the real lesson of public education: truth is what The State tells you,
when The State tells it to you, in the place and time The State provides, and under the
direction of a State employee.
John 8 -- witness to truth
I learned something interesting the other day. Love is an important word in John's
writings, occurring more than 90 times. However, so too is the word witness. It shows up
more than 80 times. In this chapter, Jesus begins by refusing to participate in a kangaroo
court[1] that's none of his business. He did not see the transgression, and had nothing to
say about it. So, he called for the witness for the prosecution to step up to the plate,[2]
and perform his legal obligation:
Joh 8:7 Durmadan aynı soruyu sormaları üzerine doğruldu ve, "İçinizde kim günahsızsa,
ilk taşı o atsın!" dedi.
And, let's unpack some of these words:
• İçinizde -- among you (iç -- inside. iniz -- your. de -- locative indicator)
• kim -- who
• günahsızsa -- sinless
• ilk -- first
• taşı -- stone
• o -- he
• atsın! -- show throw!
The legal problem here is, of course, that it's pretty hard to commit adultery by yourself.
Those who had arranged to entrap the accused were parties to her crime. This is, by the
way, the only time in the gospels when Jesus is shown to be writing something. An old
story suggests that he wrote down, one by one, the sins of the crowd, looking at each
sinner in turn. The final word -- "Adulterer" -- ended the event.
___________
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[1] Source of this metaphor unknown. Informal court, outside the bounds of the legitimate
legal system.
[2] Baseball metaphor. The batter steps up to home plate to fulfill his duties.
John 9 -- seeing and believing
One of the Marx brothers, famous comedians of 80 years ago, was caught in a
compromising situation with a young lady. Said he to the enraged father, "Who are you
going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes?"
A Nasreddin Hoca story has a similar punch line:[1] a neighbor wanted to borrow his
donkey. Hoca claimed not to have said beast. The donkey brays, the neighbor asks, "If
you have no donkey, what did I just hear?" Hoca replies -- "Who are you going to
believe? Me, or some stupid animal?"
In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind, to make several points. For example:
Joh 9:2 Öğrencileri İsa'ya, "Rabbî, kim günah işledi de bu adam kör doğdu? Kendisi mi,
yoksa annesi babası mı?" diye sordular.
Joh 9:3 İsa şu yanıtı verdi: "Ne kendisi, ne de annesi babası günah işledi. Tanrı'nın işleri
onun yaşamında görülsün diye kör doğdu.
Did the man sin in the womb? Or was it the sin of his parents that accounted for his
blindness?[2]
"None of the above," Jesus replies. Not him, neither his mother / father evil did. It is not
always wise to address a problem by looking for someone to blame. Many challenges in
life exist to be fixed. See G K Chesterton's comic nightmare novel The Man Who Was
Thursday. Or Johnny Cash's song A Boy Named Sue.
The man is healed, on the wrong day of the week. Thrown out of the fellowship of
worshiping Israel. And embraced by Jesus as one of his own. Jesus then declares that
the leaders of Israel had excommunicated the wrong party:
Joh 9:39 İsa, "Görmeyenler görsün, görenler kör olsun diye yargıçlık etmek üzere bu
dünyaya geldim" dedi.
Joh 9:40 O'nun yanında bulunan bazı Ferisiler bu sözleri işitince, "Yoksa biz de mi
körüz?" diye sordular.
Joh 9:41 İsa, "Kör olsaydınız günahınız olmazdı" dedi, "Ama şimdi, 'Görüyoruz' dediğiniz
için günahınız duruyor."
"What you talkin' about?" the Pharisees demand. "You sayin' we're also blind?"
"If you were blind, you'd be innocent," Jesus replies. "But because you say, 'we see,' your
sin remains."
It's the things we think we know, that ain't so, that get us in trouble!
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___________
[1] The "punch line" is the conclusion of a joke, the comic reversal or redirection that
makes the story funny.
[2] Gonorrhea, a "social disease," accounts for many cases of blindness in the "third
world." Parental sins affect offspring, sometimes in very tangible ways.
John 10 -- Baa, baa, His sheep
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sheep are strange animals. They can be affectionate and trusting towards their owners,
and nervous around strangers. My mother used to lure the flock to the barn with an
empty five-gallon plastic bucket. This bucket was sometimes used to carry sweet feed out
to them, you see. Once she had them penned, however, she provided some of the sweet
feed the sheep expected. Her conscience would not let her practice deceit, make false
promises, even to trusting animals. So they continued to trust her, and come when called.
Sheep are not the brightest animals. Real shepherds hate Psalm 23, since it compares
them to the stupid beasts they manage. Once, after the flock was shorn, a loud repeated
banging noise came from the pasture. The two rams, who'd lived amicably together, no
longer recognized each other without their wool, and were butting heads. One of the
rams died soon after.
The Jewish people were descended from a tribe of vagabond herdsmen. They were
frequently reminded that they, too, were the domestic cattle of the Lord. The prophet
Ezekiel castigated the useless rulers of Israel, calling them bad shepherds, who fed
themselves, rather than the flock. Jesus, who, like Ezekiel, called himself "the son of
man," probably had this parable in mind. Jesus had just sought out the man he'd healed
in chapter 9. This same man had been expelled from the worshiping community of Israel,
the synagogue. Let's look at the text:
Joh 10:1 "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, koyun ağılına kapıdan girmeyip başka yoldan
giren kişi hırsız ve hayduttur.
Joh 10:2 Kapıdan giren ise koyunların çobanıdır.
Joh 10:3 Kapıyı bekleyen ona kapıyı açar. Koyunlar çobanın sesini işitirler, o da kendi
koyunlarını adlarıyla çağırır ve onları dışarı götürür.
Joh 10:4 Kendi koyunlarının hepsini dışarı çıkarınca önlerinden gider, koyunlar da onu
izler. Çünkü onun sesini tanırlar.
Joh 10:5 Bir yabancının peşinden gitmezler, ondan kaçarlar. Çünkü yabancıların sesini
tanımazlar."
Joh 10:6 İsa onlara bu örneği anlattıysa da, ne demek istediğini anlamadılar.
Joh 10:7 Bunun için İsa yine, "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim" dedi, "Ben koyunların
kapısıyım.
Joh 10:8 Benden önce gelenlerin hepsi hırsız ve hayduttu, ama koyunlar onları
dinlemedi.
Joh 10:9 Kapı Ben'im. Bir kimse benim aracılığımla içeri girerse kurtulur. Girer, çıkar ve
otlak bulur.
Joh 10:10 Hırsız ancak çalıp öldürmek ve yok etmek için gelir. Bense insanlar yaşama,
bol yaşama sahip olsunlar diye geldim.
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Joh 10:11 Ben iyi çobanım. İyi çoban koyunları uğruna canını verir.
Joh 10:12 Koyunların çobanı ve sahibi olmayan ücretli adam, kurdun geldiğini görünce
koyunları bırakıp kaçar. Kurt da onları kapar ve dağıtır.
Joh 10:13 Adam kaçar. Çünkü ücretlidir ve koyunlar için kaygı duymaz.
Joh 10:14 Ben iyi çobanım. Benimkileri tanırım. Baba beni tanıdığı, ben de Baba'yı
tanıdığım gibi, benimkiler de beni tanır. Ben koyunlarımın uğruna canımı veririm.
Jesus is the good shepherd, Ben iyi çobanım. He calls his sheep by name, they
recognize his voice, and follow him. A stranger after they will not follow, but from him flee
(Bir yabancının peşinden gitmezler, ondan kaçarlar.) Somehow, Jesus was telling the
corrupt leaders of Israel, the people could see through their mask of piety. Somehow,
they lacked the credibility with the common people that he enjoyed.
It gets better. Not only were the Pharisees "strangers," they were all thieves and robbers
(hepsi hırsız ve hayduttu). Unreliable mercenaries ( ücretli adam -- the key term here,
ücret, means wages) who cut and ran, deserting flock in its moment of need.
A good shepherd gives his life for his flock. He also gives his flock life. This is in contrast
to the parasitic leaders of Israel who, like their master the devil, came around only to
steal, kill, and destroy (çalıp öldürmek ve yok etmek).
Some things never change. An American proverb / cliche asserts that the most terrifying
thing you can hear a stranger say is, "Hello. I'm from The Government, and I'm here to
help you!" Meanwhile, millions of grateful believers are not in the market for another
savior, since they already have one who died for them, and lives among them today.
John 11 -- Because He loved them, He neglected
them
Monday, June 14, 2010
A friend of mine wrote an article about a 70's book with the intriguing title The Gospel
According to Superman. You can click this link to read it. The human characters in the
Superman story could always count on the Man of Steel to swoop in to their rescue when
summoned. As the book's writer pointed out, however, none of these supporting
characters demonstrated any personal growth over the decades of the saga.
Bryan Davis, a software engineer and home-schooling father of seven, launched into a
new career as a young-adult fantasy novelist. He offers free writer's workshops around
the country for fans and other aspiring wordsmiths. (yes, you can also buy copies of his
books from a table in the back!) When you are writing a "hero's quest," Davis explained,
the story starts with an aspiring hero, and a mentor. At some point, however, the mentor
disappears from the scene. Obi Wan Kenobi dies. Gandalf fails to show up for his
appointment. There is a reason for this standard feature: the hero needs to put what he
has learned into practice, rather than continuously and thoughtlessly following the
mentor's advice.
Bob Mumford, a wise teacher, gave the example of a baby learning to walk. He balances
unsteadily on his two feet, looks at a parent holding out an encouraging hand, ponders
his options ... then drops to all fours and crawls to the parent, big smile on face,
anticipating approval. There are times when we need to grow up, do something new,
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293
accept a little more responsibility. Times when the familiar activities no longer suffice.
Sometimes in life, everything is working just as it should. All the pieces are falling into
place. Time after time, in an uncanny way, providential encounters move the story along.
Man, I could live like this forever!
Then, the sequence of adventures diverges from the anticipated script. The pollock is put
in a round room and told to sit in the corner.[1] "Burnout," they say in "the helping
professions," happens when prolonged and serious effort fails to bring about the
anticipated result, the reward you were doing it all for. The aftermath of this bruising
collision with reality can be profound depression -- and a renewed appreciation for John
11:
Joh 11:1 Meryem ile kızkardeşi Marta'nın köyü olan Beytanya'dan Lazar adında bir adam
hastalanmıştı.
Joh 11:2 Meryem, Rab'be güzel kokulu yağ sürüp saçlarıyla O'nun ayaklarını silen
kadındı. Hasta Lazar ise Meryem'in kardeşiydi.
Joh 11:3 İki kızkardeş İsa'ya, "Rab, sevdiğin kişi hasta" diye haber gönderdiler.
Joh 11:4 İsa bunu işitince, "Bu hastalık ölümle sonuçlanmayacak; Tanrı'nın yüceliğine,
Tanrı Oğlu'nun yüceltilmesine hizmet edecek" dedi.
Joh 11:5 İsa Marta'yı, kızkardeşini ve Lazar'ı severdi.
Joh 11:6,7 Bu nedenle, Lazar'ın hasta olduğunu duyunca bulunduğu yerde iki gün daha
kaldıktan sonra öğrencilere, "Yahudiye'ye dönelim" dedi.
Two sisters and a brother, probably orphans, were friends of Jesus. He and his
entourage enjoyed the hospitality of this home from time to time. As it tells us in 11:5, İsa
Marta'yı, kızkardeşini ve Lazar'ı severdi. (Jesus Martha, her sister, and Lazarus loved).
For this reason (Bu nedenle,), two days more delay afterward to his disciples, "to Judea I
return" he said.
The Turkish word kızkardeşini is interesting. kardeş means brother or sister. Prefix it with
kız to indicate female sibling, add the possessive suffix in, and the direct object suffix i,
and there it is!
While Jesus was out of the picture, Lazarus died. Those who had expected more of their
friend were heartbroken, devastated. The sorrow of his friends was so intense that, when
he arrived, İsa ağladı. Yet the end result of all this distress was a greater miracle than
anyone expected.
____________
[1] Half my genetics came from Slavic immigrants, so I can use a pollock joke! Actually,
it's in the form of a riddle. The question is: "How do you drive a pollock crazy?"
John 12 -- escape from autism
Someone who is wrapped up in himself is tied up in a very small package. A hero of
mine, Dr. Kurt Asperger, coined the term autism (self-ism) a year before the dude who
usually gets the credit. Dr. Asperger kept many of his young patients out of Hitler's gas
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chambers by pointing out to the Nazis that autism is a spectrum disorder, associated with
a wide range of abilities and disabilities. Kids with bizarre behavior problems might also
have extraordinary intellectual and artistic gifts.[1]
Everybody has their own troubling weakness. A drunk achieves sobriety one day at a
time, aware of the constant possibility of "hitting the skids," "falling off the wagon," and
losing everything if he gives in to the ever-present temptation. A famous Protestant
leader had a secret life, involving specialized massages from other men.
For someone wrestling with autistic-spectrum disorders, the ever-present temptation is
the urge to pull the plug, disconnect from the people, the world, and the obligations
around him, and hide out inside his own head. It's fun for a while, to suspend sanity and
lose oneself in triviality. But the inside of your head is also a very scary place to get lost.
Everyone has temptations. But a threshold can be crossed. When the temptation has
you, it will "take you where you don't want to go. Keep you longer than you want to stay.
Cost you more than you want to pay."
Archimedes said he could move the world if he had a long enough lever. What can offer
the autistic Christian the "leverage" he needs to get out of his own head, and into the joys
and challenges of real life? I think Jesus provides a key concept in this chapter:
Joh 12:24 "Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, buğday tanesi toprağa düşüp ölmedikçe yalnız
kalır. Ama ölürse çok ürün verir.
Joh 12:25 Canını seven onu yitirir. Ama bu dünyada canını gözden çıkaran onu sonsuz
yaşam için koruyacaktır.
Unless a grain of wheat surrenders its own identity, it remains barren, alone. But if it
"gives it up," this same grain can bear much fruit (çok ürün verir - much production it
gives).
His life / the one who loves / it / loses. (Canını seven onu yitirir.) But the one who writes
off his life in this world (sonsuz yaşam için koruyacaktır. ) endless / life / thereby / he will
gain.
The only way to overcome a passion is with a greater passion. The only way someone
excessively in love with himself can become and act human is by loving something more
than himself. Ultimately, only the love of God, and the expectation of an amazing and
eternal reward, can motivate the autistic Christian to deny himself, quit piddling with trivia,
and get on with his life and assignments.
_________
[1] For further reading on this topic, see Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary
Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet and Look Me In The Eye: My Life with
Asperger's by John Elder Robison. If your autistic child is approaching college age, you
must download the free, compassionate, and very helpful handbook Towards Success in
Tertiary Study: Asperger’s Syndrome published by the University of Melbourne.
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John 13 -- a vivid tableau
Friday, June 18, 2010
This chapter presents the interactions between Jesus, Judas, and the rest of the
disciples. Let's look at the verses that set the stage:
Joh 13:1 Fısıh Bayramı'ndan* önceydi. İsa, bu dünyadan ayrılıp Baba'ya gideceği saatin
geldiğini biliyordu. Dünyada kendisine ait olanları hep sevmişti; sonuna kadar da sevdi.
Joh 13:2 Akşam yemeği sırasında İblis, Simun İskariot'un oğlu Yahuda'nın yüreğine
İsa'ya ihanet etme isteğini koymuştu bile.
• Dünyada -- in the world
• kendisine -- his personal stuff
• ait olanları -- those who were his own
• hep -- always
• sevmişti -- he had loved. This is the "narrative / dubative" form of the verb.
• sonuna -- to the end
• sevdi -- he loved
On the other hand, İblis (Satan) had already put it in the heart of Yahuda (Judas) to
betray Jesus. Judas knows it, Jesus knows it, but no one else is aware of this behind-thescenes drama. Jesus begins by washing the feet of his disciples -- a menial service, one
they were probably waiting for a menial servant to perform. This acted-out parable is
even done for Judas. There is a moment of comic dialog between Jesus and Peter,
where Jesus insists upon performing this service. "If you do not let me wash your feet, we
have nothing to do with each other." "If that's the case, Jesus, wash my head and hands
as well!"
Jesus hints at the coming breaking of the fellowship: You are not all clean. He then
explains his reason for what he did:
Joh 13:13 "Siz beni Öğretmen ve Rab diye çağırıyorsunuz. Doğru söylüyorsunuz,
öyleyim.
Joh 13:14 Ben Rab ve Öğretmen olduğum halde ayaklarınızı yıkadım; öyleyse, sizler de
birbirinizin ayaklarını yıkamalısınız.
Joh 13:15 Size yaptığımın aynısını yapmanız için bir örnek gösterdim.
Joh 13:16 Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, köle efendisinden, elçi de kendisini gönderenden
üstün değildir.
Joh 13:17 Bildiğiniz bu şeyleri yaparsanız, ne mutlu size!"
Thus (öyleyse), you all (birbirinizin ) one another's (birbirinizin ) feet (must wash
(yıkamalısınız).
Jesus explains again that one of the people sitting at that table is about to betray him.
Some immediately react -- "Are you talking about me?" Peter loudly asserts that he, for
one, would never dream of doing such a thing -- and is informed that he will deny Jesus
three times, before the rooster crows. His curiosity devours him, so Peter asks John, who
is sitting a bit closer to Jesus, to find out who the betrayer is. Jesus discretely satisfies his
curiosity, then dismisses Judas to hurry up, do what he planned to do, get it over with.
Finally, Jesus explains that, since he is about to exit the world, the disciples needed to
take good care of each other:
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Joh 13:35 Birbirinize sevginiz olursa, herkes bununla benim öğrencilerim olduğunuzu
anlayacaktır."
Real people, having a real meal together, and interacting with each other.[1] The gospels,
composed by people with first-hand knowledge of the events, or by those who could
interview the actual participants, have that sense of reality about them that competing
texts, such as the "gospel" of Judas, lack.
______________
[1] As a contrast to this vividly described real-world, real-time event, consider this
meditation on The Jesus of Nazareth vs. the Jesus of Neverland:
Jesus is considered a great prophet by Muslims, but one has to wonder why, seeing as
he has almost nothing to do or say in the pages of the Koran. He only speaks on six or
seven occasions and then, very briefly, and primarily to deny that he ever claimed to be
God. ... Thus, whenever Jesus is mentioned in the Koran, it’s almost always for the
purpose of whittling him down in size. ...
The Jesus of the Koran appears mainly in the role of a counter to the Jesus of the
Gospels, but “appears” is really too strong a word. This Jesus doesn’t attend weddings,
or go fishing with his disciples, or gather children around him. He has practically no
human interactions, and what he has to say is formulaic and repetitive. He is more like a
disembodied voice than a person. And, to put it bluntly, he lacks personality. The Jesus
of the New Testament is a recognizable human being; the Jesus of the Koran is more like
a phantom. When did he carry out his ministry? There’s not a hint. Where did he live?
Again, there’s no indication. Where was he born? Under a palm tree.
John 14 -- comings and goings
"Mommy, is it true that we were made from dust, and to dust we shall return?"
"Why yes, little Timmy."
"Come quick! Under the bed! Someone's either coming or going!"
This chapter discusses a number of comings and goings, as well as the way to get from
Point A to Point B.
First, Jesus is returning to the Father to accomplish a specific task:
oh 14:2 Babam'ın evinde kalacak çok yer var. Öyle olmasa size söylerdim. Çünkü size
yer hazırlamaya gidiyorum.
Joh 14:2 Babam'ın evinde kalacak çok yer var. Öyle olmasa size söylerdim. Çünkü size
yer hazırlamaya gidiyorum.
My Father / in His house / will remain / many / places / there are. If that were not so, I
would have told you. Because for you a place in order to prepare I go.
Thomas then feeds Jesus the perfect straight line:
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Joh 14:5 Tomas, "Ya Rab, senin nereye gideceğini bilmiyoruz, yolu nasıl bilebiliriz?" dedi.
But / Lord, / your / where to / going / we do not know, / the road / how / are we able to
know? (you can pack a lot into a Turkish verb! English verbs are rather puny by
comparison, and need to be escorted with an entourage of "helping" words.)
And Jesus gets right to the bottom line:
Joh 14:6 İsa, "Yol, gerçek ve yaşam Ben'im" dedi. "Benim aracılığım olmadan Baba'ya
kimse gelemez.
Jesus, / "The Way, / the truth / and / the life / I am," he said.
Jesus is the only way to get from Point A (where we are) to Point B (where we all,
Christian or Muslim, aspire to be). Think about it.
John 18 -- in broad daylight
Saturday, July 03, 2010
I'm a big fan of open-source software. For example, anyone who wants to can download
the source code for Linux, and adapt it to his unique situation. The deal, of course, is -you let other members of the community profit from your work. IBM is a major fan of open
source software, and invests, I believe, somewhere north of $250M / year in these kinds
of projects. The word has gone out to IBM staff -- use Mozilla Firefox, the open source
alternative to Microsoft's proprietary Internet Explorer.
In the open source universe, volunteer coders, testers, and documenters keep the
momentum going for continuous improvement. You have fewer concealed flaws popping
up later -- "given sufficient eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." If enough people are working
on a program, flaws in logic and design are easier to find.
One of the more appealing aspects of Christianity is its open-source convictions. True,
every now and then you'll get a Dan Brown trying to beat an old dead horse, and claiming
to disclose a secret core to public Christianity, something known only to a relative handful
of initiates. Many of the later gnostic "gospels" contained little history, little narrative -- just
a collection of saying Jesus allegedly passed on to his inner core of intimates.
Freemasonry attracts adherents with its pageantry and ritualism, true. But the main
drawing card is the sense of participating in a secret, a select brotherhood with a nonpublic agenda.
Yet, what did Jesus say, when on trial for his life?
Joh 18:20 İsa onu şöyle yanıtladı: "Ben söylediklerimi dünyaya açıkça söyledim. Her
zaman bütün Yahudiler'in toplandıkları havralarda ve tapınakta öğrettim. Gizli hiçbir şey
söylemedim.
Joh 18:21 Beni neden sorguya çekiyorsun? Konuştuklarımı işitenlerden sor. Onlar ne
söylediğimi biliyorlar."
Gizli hiçbir şey söylemedim. In secret / not one / thing / I never said.
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The Latin translation (in occulto locutus sum nihil) has one easily-recognized word, the
root of the English word "occult."
Or, in the words Jesus Himself used, ἐν κρυπτῷ ἐλάλησα οὐδέν. κρυπτῷ , of course, is
the root of our word "cryptic."
Those who love Jesus are the children of the day, living openly and joyfully in terms of
insights they are glad to share. 2B1 ask 1.
John 19 -- Sezar'dan başka kralımız yok!
Friday, July 09, 2010
This is a key verse for understanding the Kingdom of God, and the plight of Israel. In the
book of judges, several times, we read the following explanation for Israel's misbehavior:
"There was no king in Israel in those days, and every man did that which was right in his
own eyes."
First of all, they refused to have God as their king, and drifted into all kinds of immorality.
In the Kingdom of God, we govern ourselves, reign over and rein in[1] our own unruly
appetites, leave our neighbors at peace, and sit "every man under his own vine, and
under his own fig tree, and none can make them afraid."
As things got dicey, Israel could have repented, and come under God's gentle yoke
again. Instead, they opted for Plan B -- "We want to have a (human) king, to rule over us,
and to lead us in warfare against our enemies." Samuel warned Israel about the
consequences of what they were demanding -- see I Samuel 8. A human king would
eventually start demanding more than God Himself requires of us, a tithe on our
"increase." God required Israel to kick back and loaf for one year out of every seven. A
human king would demand his taxes, seven years out of seven.
Jesus, God's messiah, came along and took up the message John the Baptist: "Repent,
for the Kingdom of God is at hand." We can find all that is most wonderful in this life and
the next if we start with personal submission to the Heavenly King. The title of today's
post reflects Israel's answer then -- and, all too often, today:
Sezar'dan başka kralımız yok!
Caesar than / other / our king / there is not!
We can govern ourselves. Or, we can be ruled by tyrants. As John Wycliffe, an early
translator of the Bible into English explained, "This Bible is for the government of the
people, by the people, and for the people." An American tyrant, who deliberately
provoked the bloodiest war in our nation's history, a war that left 600,000 combatants and
innumerable civilians dead, perverted that sentiment in his Gettysburg Address. Forget
God. Forget the Bible. We have a new deity -- "This government of the people, by the
people, and for the people."
_____________
[1] Reign (to rule) and rein (noun: strap attached to a bit used to control a horse. Verb: to
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govern, to curb, to control.) both are pronounced like the word rain. Reign has more
expansive, positive connotations.
John 20 -- things that go bump in the night
Saturday, July 17, 2010
"Things that go bump in the night" is a wry cliche in English. As this site explains, it
means "Frightening but imagined supernatural events." Apparently, this phrase comes
from an incantation that was well-known in the Cornish region of western England a
century ago:
From goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night
Good Lord, deliver us!
A 19th century cynic and poet wrote,
From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free,
We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be
That no life lives for ever; That dead men rise up never;
That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea.
Charles Algernon Swinburne does not sound like a happy camper,[1] now, does he?
Fortunately for humanity, Swinburne was a pompous fool, and dead wrong about dead
men. We know what lies on the other side of the grave, for One has been through death,
come back to tell us about it, and lives still to assuage our fear of the final adventure we
all must face.
Yet, when we read the gospels, they have nothing in common with the typical ghost story.
Jesus does not "go bump in the night." He shows up in broad daylight, solid and
exuberant with vibrant life. Catering a breakfast, and enjoying a snack himself. Sounds
too good to be true? Thomas thought so:
Joh 20:25 Öbür öğrenciler ona, "Biz Rab'bi gördük!" dediler. Tomas ise, "O'nun ellerinde
çivilerin izini görmedikçe, çivilerin izine parmağımla dokunmadıkça ve elimi böğrüne
sokmadıkça inanmam" dedi.
Joh 20:26 Sekiz gün sonra İsa'nın öğrencileri yine evdeydiler. Tomas da onlarla
birlikteydi. Kapılar kapalıyken İsa gelip ortalarında durdu, "Size esenlik olsun!" dedi.
Joh 20:27 Sonra Tomas'a, "Parmağını uzat" dedi, "Ellerime bak, elini uzat, böğrüme koy.
İmansız olma, imanlı ol!"
Joh 20:28 Tomas O'na, "Rabbim ve Tanrım!" diye yanıtladı.
Joh 20:29 İsa, "Beni gördüğün için mi iman ettin?" dedi. "Görmeden iman edenlere ne
mutlu!"
The last sentence in the bottom line. Tomas saw and believed -- but how much more
blessed are those of us who have not (yet) seen the risen Jesus, but still believe in Him.
___________
[1] "Happy camper" is another sarcastic cliche, and refers to artificial, coerced
cheerfulness. The idiom is rooted in summer camps where children would spend a week,
or longer, away from their families and sometimes desperately homesick. The adult camp
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counselors demanded cheerful dispositions, and required their charges to be "happy
campers."
Acts 1, 2 -- a new catalogue of nations
In Acts 1, as I've pointed out before, we encounter "the stupidest question in the Bible."
Act 1:6 Elçiler bir araya geldiklerinde İsa'ya şunu sordular: "Ya Rab, İsrail'e egemenliği
şimdi mi geri vereceksin?"
Let's see -- Israel had just repudiated God's Kingdom, by orchestrating the brutal murder
of the King. Jesus had already told all who would hear what to expect in their immediate
future: a destruction so total that "not one stone will be left upon another." Maybe, though,
Jesus didn't really mean it this time. After all, Israel was the special nation. The idea that
the birth of the new order might require the discarding of the old was just a bit too much
to wrap their minds around. Jesus must have sighed at their stubborn unwillingness to
face the facts and get with the program. Then, he offered a compassionate answer:
Act 1:7 İsa onlara, "Baba'nın kendi yetkisiyle belirlemiş olduğu zamanları ve tarihleri
bilmenize gerek yok" karşılığını verdi.
Act 1:8 "Ama Kutsal Ruh üzerinize inince güç alacaksınız. Yeruşalim'de, bütün Yahudiye
ve Samiriye'de ve dünyanın dört bucağında benim tanıklarım olacaksınız."
(a) God knows, you don't, leave that question alone. Let that sleeping dog lie, for now.
(b) Think bigger. Think beyond this city, this nation, and your immediate neighbors. I will
equip you to take on the whole world, to all four corners.
On the day of Pentecost, in chapter two, we see a a cinematic trailer, a sneak preview of
coming attractions:
Act 2:6 Sesin duyulması üzerine büyük bir kalabalık toplandı. Herkes kendi dilinin
konuşulduğunu duyunca şaşakaldı.
Act 2:7 Hayret ve şaşkınlık içinde, "Bakın, bu konuşanların hepsi Celileli değil mi?" diye
sordular.
Act 2:8 "Nasıl oluyor da her birimiz kendi ana dilini işitiyor?
Act 2:9-11 Aramızda Partlar, Medler, Elamlılar var. Mezopotamya'da, Yahudiye ve
Kapadokya'da, Pontus ve Asya İli'nde*, Frikya ve Pamfilya'da, Mısır ve Libya'nın
Kirene'ye yakın bölgelerinde yaşayanlar var. Hem Yahudi hem de Yahudiliğe dönen
Romalı konuklar, Giritliler ve Araplar var aramızda. Ama her birimiz Tanrı'nın büyük
işlerinin kendi dilimizde konuşulduğunu işitiyoruz."
In Genesis 11, in the account of the Tower of Babel, we see how humanity went in a
moment from speaking one language to chattering away at each other in mutually
incomprehensible dialects. This chapter goes on to list the founding nations of humanity.
In Acts 2, we see how people from a variety of nations can all, supernaturally, hear the
same message of God's greatness. Let's unpack one sentence:
Ama her birimiz Tanrı'nın büyük işlerinin kendi dilimizde konuşulduğunu işitiyoruz."
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But / every / one of us / of God's / great / his works / his own / in our own languages /
being described / we hear.
Turkish is fun, since it lets you assemble big thoughts from small syllables. dilimizde
combines the word for tongue, language (dil) with the first person plural possessive (imiz)
and the locative (de -- in, on, at) suffixes.
For many years, the number 1 hymn in the Methodist hymnal was Charles Wesley's
"Pentecost Carol." Note how the themes of that event are celebrated in these verses:
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.
He speaks, and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.
Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.
Glory to God, and praise and love
Be ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and heaven.
Look unto Him, ye nations, own
Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.
See all your sins on Jesus laid:
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The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.
Awake from guilty nature’s sleep,
And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep,
And wash the Æthiop white.
Harlots and publicans and thieves
In holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.
Murderers and all ye hellish crew
In holy triumph join!
Believe the Savior died for you;
For me the Savior died.
With me, your chief, ye then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.
Acts 2, July 20, Tisha B'Av
Today, observant Jews around the world commemorate the destruction of their two
temples on this date, the Ninth of Av. Solomon's temple temple fell beneath the heels of
the Babylonians about 2,500 years ago, and Herod's temple fell nearly 2,000 years ago.
It's traumatic when the heart of your religious identity and practices is violently
desecrated. "That's a hard thing to bounce back from." Every time a Jewish couple marry,
the groom breaks a goblet underfoot, as yet another reminder that something bad went
down.
I wish these dear people would get the point, and get with the program. I mean, their
greatest Prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, told them ahead of time that their clock was
running out.[1] Soon after our Lord's resurrection, Peter explained again what had
happened:
Act 2:31 Geleceği görerek Mesih'in ölümden dirilişine ilişkin şunları söyledi: 'O, ölüler
diyarına terk edilmedi, bedeni çürümedi.'
Act 2:32 Tanrı, İsa'yı ölümden diriltti ve biz hepimiz bunun tanıklarıyız.
Act 2:33 O, Tanrı'nın sağına yüceltilmiş, vaat edilen Kutsal Ruh'u Baba'dan almış ve
şimdi gördüğünüz ve işittiğiniz gibi, bu Ruh'u üzerimize dökmüştür.
Act 2:34,35 Davut, kendisi göklere çıkmadığı halde şöyle der: 'Rab Rabbim'e dedi ki, Ben
düşmanlarını Ayaklarının altına serinceye dek, Sağımda otur.'
Act 2:36 "Böylelikle bütün İsrail halkı şunu kesinlikle bilsin: Tanrı, sizin çarmıha gerdiğiniz
İsa'yı hem Rab hem Mesih yapmıştır."
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Let's unpack one chunk of this message, a quotation from Psalm 110. It's obviously an
important point, since this is the Old Testament chapter that is most frequently quoted
from, or referred to, in the New Testament.
'Rab Rabbim'e dedi ki, Ben düşmanlarını Ayaklarının altına serinceye dek, Sağımda otur.'
The Lord / to my Lord / said / this, / I / your enemies / your feet / below / placed / until, / by
My side / sit.
The people of Israel crucified the Lord of life -- who disagreed with their verdict so
passionately that He overturned it by rising from the dead. Jesus was right. The Jews
were wrong. And still are, til this day.
So, they do well to mourn the loss of their temple, and to ponder the reasons thereof.
May God grant that, as time moves on, an ever-growing number of the Jewish people will
find in the Messiah they spurned the true Sacrifice, and the ultimate Temple.
_________
[1] "Running out the clock" is an idiom from American sports. When a game is nearly
over, the team that holds the lead sometimes slows down the pace of play, seeks to
control the game, and simply prevent the other team from scoring any points.
Acts 3 -- resourceful people
The best tasks seem humanly impossible, shortly before they are accomplished. I am
wondering, for example, how to finish my dissertation within the next few weeks, when
time, energy, and focus all seem to be in short supply. Yet, time and again in the Bible,
we read of supernatural resourcefulness in the face of apparent lack. For example, when
Peter and John encountered a beggar at the door of the temple:
Act 3:4 Petrus'la Yuhanna ona dikkatle baktılar. Sonra Petrus, "Bize bak" dedi.
Act 3:5 Adam, onlardan bir şey alacağını umarak gözlerini onların üzerine dikti.
Act 3:6 Petrus, "Bende altın ve gümüş yok, ama bende olanı sana veriyorum" dedi.
"Nasıralı İsa Mesih'in adıyla, yürü!"
Peter with / John / at him / carefully / looked. / Afterward / Peter / "To us / look" / said.
The guy looks at them, hoping to get something.
Peter, "On me / silver / and / gold / there is not (amazing how much mileage you can get
out of that three-letter word yok!) / but / on me / that which I have / to you / I give," / he
said.
And a miracle happened. The power found in the name of the Nazarene, Jesus, enabled
a life-long cripple to leap up and walk. That same power makes us equal to our assigned
tasks and opportunities today.
Believing Christians who home-school their kids for a few hundred dollars per year
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achieve better results than secular schools that pour more than $10,000 / year into each
child.
Jesus makes a difference. Scrupulously screen him out of a project, and you get the
results America is experiencing. Honor Him from day one, and the world will marvel.
Acts 4 -- putting toothpaste back in the tube
The rulers of Israel are worried. They can't admit that they badly misread the situation,
and blundered on a history-making scale, when they got rid of one noisy troublemaker.
This troublemaker, however, has friends. And a power to grip allegiances and
imaginations. This troublemaker is out of their reach, now that he's dead -- but he's also
alive, making more news, making more trouble.
Act 4:15 Kurul üyeleri onlara dışarı çıkmalarını buyurduktan sonra durumu kendi
aralarında tartışmaya başladılar.
Act 4:16 "Bu adamları ne yapacağız?" dediler. "Yeruşalim'de yaşayan herkes, bunların
eliyle olağanüstü bir belirti gerçekleştirildiğini biliyor. Biz bunu inkâr edemeyiz.
Act 4:17 Ama bu haberin halk arasında daha çok yayılmasını önlemek için onları tehdit
edelim ki, bundan böyle İsa'nın adından kimseye söz etmesinler."
Act 4:18 Böylece onları çağırdılar, İsa'nın adını hiç anmamalarını, o adı kullanarak hiçbir
şey öğretmemelerini buyurdular.
Act 4:19 Ama Petrus'la Yuhanna şöyle karşılık verdiler: "Tanrı'nın önünde, Tanrı'nın
sözünü değil de sizin sözünüzü dinlemek doğru mudur, kendiniz karar verin.
Act 4:20 Biz gördüklerimizi ve işittiklerimizi anlatmadan edemeyiz."
Censorship clamps down. The disciples are threatened (tehdit emek) and told to shut up.
To say nothing more about this troublemaker, to do nothing else in his name. The
beginning of the West's tradition of political liberty appears in their words: God on the
front side of (Tanrı'nın önünde, ), God's word not (Tanrı'nın sözünü değil) but your word
to listen to/heed (de sizin sözünüzü dinlemek) is / is not right, (doğru mudur, ) of
yourselves a verdict give. (kendiniz karar verin. ) Or, as the King James puts it, "Whether
it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. "
The early Christian leaders refused to be silenced. "We, those things that we have seen
(gördüklerimizi ) and those things that we have heard (işittiklerimizi ) must be made
known.
At the moment, the people of the lie hold the upper hand. It is sad that the lies the Jewish
leaders told to protect their own stinking careers closed the doors of paradise to their
children for thousands of years.
May God grant us the grace to live in truth, for the sake of those who will come after us.
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Acts 5 -- a puzzling miracle
Some ancient Christian writers took the position that Ananias and Sapphira served as
good bad examples for the early church, and we can look forward to meeting them in the
life to come. It is true that stuff that goes on early in the life of an organism, organization,
or family has incredible power to shape future interactions. A former pastor counseled us
to do all within our power to keep the wife home for those critical early years. Even if we
had to go into debt. After all, parents don't mind borrowing money to send their kids to
college, and the first 4 years of a child's life are far more crucial than his college years.
Early in our marriage, we promised God and one another that we would not go to bed
with unresolved offenses. There were some nights when bedtime came in the wee hours
of the morning -- but today, that bed is still a place of refuge and safety.
Perhaps, sins that later Christians could take in stride were more dangerous to the
church in its early, vulnerable, first few days. Ananias and Sapphira certainly found
themselves on the wrong side of God's justice, when they tried to lay claim to unearned
prestige.
Act 5:1,2 Hananya adında bir adam, karısı Safira'nın onayıyla bir mülk sattı, paranın bir
kısmını kendine saklayarak gerisini getirip elçilerin buyruğuna verdi. Karısının da olup
bitenlerden haberi vardı.
Act 5:3 Petrus ona, "Hananya, nasıl oldu da Şeytan'a uydun, Kutsal Ruh'a yalan söyleyip
tarlanın parasının bir kısmını kendine sakladın?" dedi.
Act 5:4 "Tarla satılmadan önce sana ait değil miydi? Sen onu sattıktan sonra da parayı
dilediğin gibi kullanamaz mıydın? Neden yüreğinde böyle bir düzen kurdun? Sen
insanlara değil, Tanrı'ya yalan söylemiş oldun."
Act 5:5 Hananya bu sözleri işitince yere yıkılıp can verdi. Olanları duyan herkesi büyük
bir korku sardı.
Act 5:6 Gençler kalkıp Hananya'nın ölüsünü kefenlediler ve dışarı taşıyıp gömdüler.
Act 5:7 Bundan yaklaşık üç saat sonra Hananya'nın karısı, olanlardan habersiz içeri girdi.
Act 5:8 Petrus, "Söyle bana, tarlayı bu fiyata mı sattınız?" diye sordu. "Evet, bu fiyata"
dedi Safira.
Act 5:9 Petrus ona şöyle dedi: "Rab'bin Ruhu'nu sınamak için nasıl oldu da sözbirliği
ettiniz? İşte, kocanı gömenlerin ayak sesleri kapıda, seni de dışarı taşıyacaklar."
Act 5:10 Kadın o anda Petrus'un ayakları dibine yıkılıp can verdi. İçeri giren gençler onu
ölmüş buldular, onu da dışarı taşıyarak kocasının yanına gömdüler.
Act 5:11 İnanlılar topluluğunun* tümünü ve olayı duyanların hepsini büyük bir korku sardı.
In the previous chapter, we notice how Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus, sold his farm and
donated the proceeds to the church. This was one, of many, reasons that Barnabas
received honor and recognition among the leaders. Every one of us has a need for
recognition, and faces the temptation to take short-cuts to achieve it. As this notable act
of God demonstrates, however, short-cuts can lead to unanticipated dead ends.
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Acts 6 -- in a strange land
Imagine being an American and a party in Sweden. The people around you speak
flawless English, an English that is noteworthy for its lack of identifying regional accents.
They graciously include you in the festivities. But, when they think you're not listening,
among themselves they lapse back into their own foreign, unintelligible language. They
don't mean to exclude you -- but it takes an effort on their part to include you, and it's
easier to revert to their mother tongue at those moments when you're not "in the loop."
In the first chapter of this verse, we encounter the split that later threatened to destroy the
early church. We meet the Grekçe konuşan Yahudiler -- "Greek-speaking Jews." These
were the guests, the folks from other countries whose native language was the lingua
franca[1] of that half of the Roman world. They were swept up in the excitement
surrounding the birth of the church on Pentecost -- but they were starting to overstay their
welcome.
Act 6:1 İsa'nın öğrencilerinin sayıca çoğaldığı o günlerde, Grekçe konuşan Yahudiler,
günlük yardım dağıtımında kendi dullarına gereken ilginin gösterilmediğini ileri sürerek
İbranice konuşan Yahudiler'den yakınmaya başladılar.
Act 6:2 Bunun üzerine Onikiler, bütün öğrencileri bir araya toplayıp şöyle dediler:
"Tanrı'nın sözünü yayma işini bırakıp maddi işlerle uğraşmamız doğru olmaz.
Act 6:3 Bu nedenle, kardeşler, aranızdan Ruh'la ve bilgelikle dolu, yedi saygın kişi seçin.
Onları bu iş için görevlendirelim.
Act 6:4 Biz ise kendimizi duaya ve Tanrı sözünü yaymaya adayalım."
Act 6:5 Bu öneri bütün topluluğu hoşnut etti. Böylece, iman ve Kutsal Ruh'la dolu biri olan
İstefanos'un yanısıra Filipus, Prohoros, Nikanor, Timon, Parmenas ve Yahudiliğe dönen
Antakyalı Nikolas'ı seçip elçilerin önüne çıkardılar. Elçiler de dua edip ellerini onların
üzerine koydular.
In those days, it was a "no-brainer" for a godly community to take care of widows. The
İbranice konuşan Yahudiler (Hebrew-speaking Jews) probably did not intend to neglect
the widows from out of town -- but there were communication breakdowns. Perhaps,
some of these needy ladies simply did not "get the message" when a charitable
distribution was announced.
The inspired solution was to select "deacons," people who used church resources to help
out the destitute members of the community. Every one of them was -- a Greek-speaking
Jew. Many years later, we see the tide turning, and the Greek-speaking Christians
providing aid to a desperate, isolated, and harassed community of Jewish-cultured
Christians.
Acts 7 -- Treason is the reason
In this chapter, Stephen is on trial for his life, charged with "speaking against Moses and
the Temple." The people who could not resist his logic now called in the heavy artillery,
and leveled false charges of political (Moses) and religious (the Temple) treason against
this bold deacon.
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Stephen is obviously facing a hostile audience, a kangaroo court. The verdict has already
been decided on, but formalities must be observed. Stephen addresses his hearers in
Greek, and quotes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. He is
obviously a gifted speaker, he engages his audience and holds their attention with one
tale of betrayal after another. After all, treason is the reason he's standing before them
that day! And there are so many accounts of people who were betrayed by family (like
Joseph) and tribe (like Moses) who nevertheless ended up having in the last laugh.
Finally, in a brilliant turn of phrase that turns the tables, Stephen makes it plain who the
real traitors are:
Act 7:51 "Ey dik kafalılar, yürekleri ve kulakları sünnet edilmemiş olanlar! Siz tıpkı
atalarınıza benziyorsunuz, her zaman Kutsal Ruh'a karşı direniyorsunuz.
Act 7:52,53 Atalarınız peygamberlerin hangisine zulmetmediler ki? Adil Olan'ın geleceğini
önceden bildirenleri de öldürdüler. Melekler aracılığıyla buyrulan Yasa'yı alıp da buna
uymayan sizler, şimdi de Adil Olan'a ihanet edip O'nu katlettiniz!"
A key term here is dik kafalılar: the obstinate, pigheaded, bull headed, headstrong folks.
You are like your fathers, always resisting the Holy Spirit. Your fathers[1], the prophets,
which of them did they not persecute? Melekler aracılığıyla -- angels by the means of.
buyrulan Yasa'yı alıp da buna uymayan the law you received, but have not kept.
Judges hate it when the defendant puts them on trial, and convicts them so convincingly.
We know that Stephen's defense made a powerful impression on at least one hearer,
since he remembered the details so clearly, and long enough to convey the whole story
to Luke.
____________
[1] In synagogues throughout the Roman Empire, when non-Jewish people came to
worship the God of Israel, they addressed the Lord as the "God of their fathers."
Acts 8 -- beyond the comfort zone
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Our family owns a Welsh Corgi. Even though the herding instinct has been dialed back
for the pet version of the breed, it's still there. Given certain triggers, especially timerelated, Pippin erupts in a frenzy of barking, as he seeks to herd the family in the
anticipated direction. Suppertime. Reading time. Whenever a time-word, like ready, or
now, is uttered by the alpha dog (me). Then, when everyone is where they ought to be, a
doggy grin rests on his countenance. All is right with his strange little world.
We all enjoy predictability. However, the God of the Bible is whimsical. We know what He
will do -- over generations, reward the faithful and disinherit the wicked and unbelieving.
The how, though, is another story. Or actually, a whole life filled with unanticipated events
which add up, over time, to high adventure and rich satisfaction.
The Church in Jerusalem got pushed out of their comfort zone:
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Act 8:3 Saul ise inanlılar topluluğunu kırıp geçiriyordu. Ev ev dolaşarak, kadın erkek
demeden imanlıları dışarı sürüklüyor, hapse atıyordu.
Act 8:4 Bunun sonucu dağılan imanlılar, gittikleri her yerde Tanrı sözünü müjdeliyorlardı.
Ah, here are a few interesting words!
• Ev ev -- House to house
• dağılmak -- to scatter
• her yerde -- at every place
On the one hand, we see a "great disturbance in the force." People are running for their
lives. Escaping familiar homes and neighborhoods. Apparently, there's always been a lot
of that going on in this fallen world. However, these people are also proclaiming the word
of God everywhere they go. A disaster has become an opportunity.
For those with the right attitude, times of transition -- moving to a new city for a new
opportunity, taking classes abroad -- are also times that create an intensification of life,
and the most memorable pictures in the family scrapbook.
Acts 9 -- Şam'a yolda
A common English idiomatic expression, "a Damascus Road experience," traces back to
this chapter. This phrase describes a sudden and inexplicable change in a person's
attitudes, allegiances, and actions. Synonyms are conversion,[1] and seeing the light.[2]
Act 9:1,2 Saul ise Rab'bin öğrencilerine karşı hâlâ tehdit ve ölüm soluyordu. Başkâhine
gitti, Şam'daki havralara verilmek üzere mektuplar yazmasını istedi. Orada İsa'nın
yolunda yürüyen kadın erkek, kimi bulsa tutuklayıp Yeruşalim'e getirmek niyetindeydi.
Act 9:3 Yol alıp Şam'a yaklaştığı sırada, birdenbire gökten gelen bir ışık çevresini
aydınlattı.
Act 9:4 Yere yıkılan Saul, bir sesin kendisine, "Saul, Saul, neden bana zulmediyorsun?"
dediğini işitti.
Act 9:5 Saul, "Ey Efendim, sen kimsin?" dedi. "Ben senin zulmettiğin İsa'yım" diye yanıt
geldi.
Let's look at those highlighted phrases, a question and an answer:
• Why, for what reason / to me / persecuting are you?
• I / your / persecuting / Jesus am.
One of the most moving books I've read recently is Esra Özüryek's memoir of a nation's
mood, Nostalgia for the Modern. In many parts of the world, the 20th century began with
eager anticipation, and ended in nostalgia. Some of us, who grew up in the afterglow of
"the golden age of science fiction" still feel cheated, since we don't have our household
robots, flying cars, or excursions to the moon. Özüryek, however, describes the role
played by Kemal Ataturk in the transformation of the Ottoman Empire into the Turkish
Republic, and of the national mood of Utopian optimism that memory has imbued that era
with.[3]
One thing Özüryek studied was the iconography of the era. The most common
photograph of Ataturk, the one displayed in every classroom and public office, is a
floating head looking directly at the viewer. This accurately portrays, she writes, the
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sense the Ataturk is the "head" of the body politic, the visible face of the Turkish
corporate identity. He is the head, the nation is his body. A nationalist poem recited by
school children goes Atatürk ölmedi yüreğimde yaşıyor – Atatürk didn’t die, he lives within
my heart …).
Of late, however, a diminished Ataturk has become a more popular image. Homes are
more likely to feature photos of the whole man, in a group, looking at someone else in the
photograph.
Time has not, however, diminished the stature of the One who encountered Saul Şam'a
yolda -- on the road to Damascus. Jesus viewed Saul's violent assaults upon Christians
as a personal attack upon himself. Like many persecutors since, Saul discovered that he
had taken on a bigger Adversary than anticipated.
The God of Christianity can destroy the enemies of His people. Sometimes, He destroys
enemies by turning them into friends.
___________
[1] Conversions typically have a supernatural component, a sense that one has been
apprehended, and transformed, by a reality beyond oneself.
[2] A political maxim: most politicians see the light when they feel the heat (of voter
concern).
[3] The Latin language has a phobia about putting propositions at the end of sentences.
Since I'm writing English, not Latin, I'll put prepositions where they belong, rather than
mangle my sentence in the interests of snobbery.
Acts 10 -- cross-cultural excursions
This story begins with a military man, an officer charged with managing a subjugated and
restless province. Somehow, he has come to prefer the God of this conquered people to
the mob of gods he grew up with.[1] He surrounds himself with people who also prefer
the God of Israel, he prays, but he has not undergone the painful, and somewhat risky,
surgical procedure of circumcision. When he goes to the synagogue to hear God's Word
read, he is among those who pray "O Lord, God of their fathers ... "
Act 10:1 Sezariye'de Kornelius adında bir adam vardı. "İtalyan" taburunda yüzbaşıydı.
Act 10:2 Dindar bir adamdı. Hem kendisi hem de bütün ev halkı Tanrı'dan korkardı. Halka
çok yardımda bulunur, Tanrı'ya sürekli dua ederdi.
One quick note on Turkish grammar. The verb korkmak, to fear, requires you to use the
"genitive" case ending to indicate the object of fear, rather than the usual direct-object
case ending. To speak of one who feared dogs, you would say köpekten korkardı. To
speak of one who feared God, you would say Tanrı'dan korkardı.[2]
Kornelius gets a visitor from a far country indeed, an angel of God:
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Act 10:3 Bir gün saat üç sularında, bir görümde Tanrı'nın bir meleğinin kendisine geldiğini
açıkça gördü. Melek ona, "Kornelius" diye seslendi.
Of course, Kornelius is terrified. That's the normal human response to angelic visitations.
And attentive. He is told to cross an ethnic boundary, and invite a Jewish guy into his
house.
So, this Roman invader receives a vision of God's angel. The Jewish guy also has a
vision -- of a tablecloth filled with detestable and unclean beasts! And a command to
party hearty on buzzards and snakes and lobsters and nasty stuff life that.
Act 10:12 Çarşafın içinde, yeryüzünde yaşayan her türden dört ayaklı hayvanlar,
sürüngenler ve kuşlar vardı.
Act 10:13 Bir ses ona, "Kalk Petrus, kes ve ye!" dedi.
Act 10:14 "Asla olmaz, ya Rab!" dedi Petrus. "Hiçbir zaman bayağı ya da murdar
herhangi bir şey yemedim."
Vs. 13 has short words. A voice to him, "Rise, Peter, slaughter and eat!" it said. Peter's
response to God's command is emphatic.
"No way never, but Lord!" said Peter. "Nothing at any time vulgar or unclean whatsoever
on thing did I eat." Dietary restrictions are part of the Jewish identity. When you have
Muslim guests over for dinner, kosher food also meets their dietary code. This was, and
is, a big deal. One of the books of the in-between testament, the Greek apocrypha,
recounts the story of an entire family that chose painful death rather than tasting roast
pork.
God replies to Peter's terrified reaction to this vision with a cryptic admonition:
Act 10:15 Ses tekrar, ikinci kez duyuldu; Petrus'a, "Tanrı'nın temiz kıldıklarına sen bayağı
deme" dedi.
The voice again, a second time spoke; to Peter, "That which God clean has made you
vulgar do not call," it said. Peter saw this vision three times, and was thoroughly puzzled.
There was a knock at the door[3] ...
and we'll read the rest of the story in our next post.
__________
[1] I just finished another romp through Augustine's City of God. One man, a porter, can
guard a door, since he is a man. The Romans assigned three gods to the same task!
[2] Be sure to remember the k in korkmak, unless you wish to suggest that your Turkish
friends smell (like) dogs! The verb kormak means to smell.
[3] A very short horror story goes like this:
The last man on Earth sat alone in his room.
There was a knock on the door ....
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Acts 11 -- crossing picket lines
The driver was a dork. The chief loader was a charismatic, charming guy who decided he
didn't like the driver. "You can teach a chimpanzee to load boxes in 15 minutes," old
Spen would say, a big grin on his dark face, "But loading furniture takes real skill." On this
night, not much furniture was getting loaded.
And one college boy, with a liberal arts degree that prepared him for low-wage dead-end
jobs, had a decision to make. Cooperate with the dorky driver, a stranger? Or with his
crew mates? Well, since the furniture van driver is the king of the enterprise, he broke
ranks, and crossed that invisible picket line.
Somehow, the house got emptied and the truck got loaded. Last impression that night -the driver turns to the one loader who'd cooperated with him and asked, "Do you know
where I can get some herb?" and pantomimed toking a joint.[1]
The next day, the loader was wearing a different color shirt, and working for the
competition across the road. He'd been fired, for getting between the driver and the crew,
and between the driver and the customer. This latter offense was intolerable.
ANYHOW: in the last chapter, we saw how Peter had learned through a vivid, disgusting,
and unforgettable vision that he was not to disdain any man made in the image of God.
He goes, he preaches, they hear, they respond to the message, and God demonstrates
His favor and presence upon an occupation soldier's household. This news did not sit
very well with the good Jewish folks back in Jerusalem:
Act 11:1 Elçilerle bütün Yahudiye'deki kardeşler, öteki ulusların da Tanrı'nın sözünü kabul
ettiklerini duydular.
Act 11:2 Ama Petrus Yeruşalim'e gittiği zaman sünnet yanlıları onu eleştirdiler.
Act 11:3 "Sünnetsiz kişilerin evine gidip yemek yemişsin!" dediler.
People from other nations were hearing the Good News of the Great King -- and the big
issue in the home boys' minds was -- "you went into their home and ate with them! With
unclean human swine!" Peter repeated his account of God's supernatural guidance
through the entire event, and won their grudging acceptance.
Act 11:18 Bunları dinledikten sonra yatıştılar. Tanrı'yı yücelterek şöyle dediler: "Demek ki
Tanrı, tövbe etme ve yaşama kavuşma fırsatını öteki uluslara da vermiştir."
Well. So even those folks over there can be saved. That's nice.
This experience had to have left a mark, however. Imagine Peter walking into the naked
hostility and cold, accusing glares of the home town crowd, after he "broke taboo." Years
later, when Peter was visiting Christians from non-Jewish cultures in the area of Galatia,
now a part of Turkey, a delegation came from Jerusalem. They were friends of James, a
hard-core advocate of the notion that good Christians had to be good Jews first. These
emissaries, or perhaps spies, so intimidated Peter that he began shunning those who
had treated him as an honored guest.
The Jewish Christians of that day, perhaps the majority of them, had not gotten the
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memo. They were betting on the wrong horse. They had hitched their wagon to the wrong
star, a falling star, a culture and nation under a pending death sentence.
______________
[1] Sorry, I'm stuck with the idiom I grew up with, with the vocabulary that leaked
osmoticly across from the prominent parallel drug culture.
Acts 12 -- peeking over the edges
Acts 12 is jammed full of action, and colorful personalities. It begins and ends with an
angel -- the first visitation liberates Peter, who is in jail awaiting execution. The second
time an angel shows up, it is to put an end to Herod, the enemy of Peter and the church,
who seeks to curry favor with the quisling ruling class of Israel by acting against the
church.
And, in the middle of the chapter, a church that could not believe God had just answered
their prayers, and a scatterbrained maid. You have to read the whole chapter for yourself
to savor the richly detailed narrative. It sounds so much like reportage of first-person
narratives, that the inquiring mind wonders where the information came from.
Well, since you asked, we'll look at the last part of chapter 11, and the first part of chapter
13!
Act 11:28 Bunlardan Hagavos adlı biri ortaya çıkıp bütün dünyada şiddetli bir kıtlık
olacağını Ruh aracılığıyla bildirdi. Bu kıtlık, Klavdius'un imparatorluğu sırasında oldu.
Act 11:29 Öğrenciler, her biri kendi gücü oranında, Yahudiye'de yaşayan kardeşlere
gönderilmek üzere yardım toplamayı kararlaştırdılar.
Act 11:30 Bu kararı yerine getirip bağışlarını Barnaba ve Saul'un eliyle kilisenin
ihtiyarlarına gönderdiler.
Jesus had warned that the last days of Israel would experience wide-spread shortages.
That world was running out of gas, running down. The root word here is kıt, which means
"insufficient. inadequate. exiguous. penurious. poor. scant. scanty. scarce. spare. sparse.
stingy. in short supply."[1] Add the -lık suffix, and you have a condition of all of the above
-- a famine.
More germane to this post, however, is the last verse. This gift was taken to Jerusalem by
Barnabas and Saul, who apparently were eye-witnesses to the events surrounding
Peter's deliverance, and heard the story from his lips.
The chapter ends with Herod's spectacular demise, while in the course of giving a
presumptuous oration. OK, so we want to know, who had first-hand knowledge of the
doings inside this opulent royal court? Turn the page to Acts 13, and we have a hint:
Act 13:1 Antakya'daki kilisede peygamberler ve öğretmenler vardı: Barnaba, Niger
denilen Şimon, Kireneli Lukius, bölge kralı Hirodes'le birlikte büyümüş olan Menahem ve
Saul.
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Ah. I think we've spotted our source! A guy names Menahem. More specifically, bölge
kralı Hirodes'le birlikte büyümüş olan Menahem. Let's look at a few of those words!
• bölge -- area. zone. region. district. division. section. belt. circumscription. climate.
corner. department. latitude. phase. precinct. quarter. sector. sky. territory. tract.
ward. parts.
• kralı -- king
• Hirodes'le -- with Herod
• birlikte -- at one with, together with
• büyümüş -- he grew up / he got bigger
• olan -- he was
• Menahem -- Menahem
Talk about a fascinating leadership team! Saul and Barnabas are there. A black guy
names Simon. And a dude who had been raised in the royal court of Herod. And who
may very well have been standing there when Herod bit the dust.
___________
[1] Do not confuse this word with kit, which means such things as:
• a kitten
• a small violin
• a large bottle
• A wooden tub or pail, smaller at the top than at the bottom; as, a kit of butter, or of
mackerel.
• A straw or rush basket for fish; also, any kind of basket.
• Anything implied by the English word kit
A dot makes a big difference! When you immerse yourself in Turkish for a bit, you'll find
yourself wondering whether or not to dot the iii when writing English!
Acts 13 -- manger dogs
It must be something in the water.[1] Anatolia seems to breed storytellers. A few
centuries before Nasrettin Hoca showed up to delight and instruct, an earlier resident of
the area, Aesop, created animal tales with morals. Including the one attributed to him that
comes to mind this morning (short form):
There was a dog lying in a manger who did not eat the grain but who nevertheless
prevented the horse from being able to eat anything either.
Here's the "dictionary definition," courtesy of Wikipedia: " Interpreted variously over the
centuries, it is used now of those who spitefully prevent others from having something
that they themselves have no use for."
Well, let's take a look at today's İncil reading:
Act 13:42 Pavlus'la Barnaba havradan çıkarken halk onları, bir sonraki Şabat Günü aynı
konular üzerinde konuşmaya çağırdı.
Act 13:43 Havradaki topluluk dağılınca, Yahudiler ve Yahudiliğe dönüp Tanrı'ya tapan
yabancılardan birçoğu onların ardından gitti. Pavlus'la Barnaba onlarla konuşarak onları
devamlı Tanrı'nın lütfunda yaşamaya özendirdiler.
Act 13:44 Ertesi Şabat Günü kent halkının hemen hemen tümü Rab'bin sözünü dinlemek
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için toplanmıştı.
Act 13:45 Kalabalığı gören Yahudiler büyük bir kıskançlık içinde, küfürlerle Pavlus'un
söylediklerine karşı çıktılar.
Act 13:46 Pavlus'la Barnaba ise cesaretle karşılık verdiler: "Tanrı'nın sözünü ilk önce size
bildirmemiz gerekiyordu. Siz onu reddettiğinize ve kendinizi sonsuz yaşama layık
görmediğinize göre, biz şimdi öteki uluslara gidiyoruz.
Act 13:47 Çünkü Rab bize şöyle buyurmuştur: 'Yeryüzünün dört bucağına kurtuluş
götürmen için Seni uluslara ışık yaptım.'"
Act 13:48 Öteki uluslardan olanlar bunu işitince sevindiler ve Rab'bin sözünü yücelttiler.
Sonsuz yaşam için belirlenmiş olanların hepsi iman etti.
Act 13:49 Böylece Rab'bin sözü bütün yörede yayıldı.
Act 13:50 Ne var ki Yahudiler, Tanrı'ya tapan saygın kadınlarla kentin ileri gelen
erkeklerini kışkırttılar, Pavlus'la Barnaba'ya karşı bir baskı hareketi başlatıp onları bölge
sınırlarının dışına attılar.
Act 13:51 Bunun üzerine Pavlus'la Barnaba, onlara bir uyarı olsun diye ayaklarının
tozunu silkerek Konya'ya gittiler.
Act 13:52 Öğrenciler ise sevinç ve Kutsal Ruh'la doluydu.
You won't mind if we take your Messiah, will you? After all, you guys didn't want him.
The Christian message of salvation remains an acute embarrassment to people of the
Jewish faith. If Jesus was who he said he was, and did what he said he did (died for our
sins, then rose again from the dead) -- then the people who were right there missed the
most important event in all of recorded history. They had the first chance to hear and
believe, in Israel. Now, in Anatolia, Paul offers them the first opportunity again -- and
once again, it is rejected. Let's look at one key sentence:
Tanrı'nın sözünü ilk önce size bildirmemiz gerekiyordu. Siz onu reddettiğinize ve kendinizi
sonsuz yaşama layık görmediğinize göre, biz şimdi öteki uluslara gidiyoruz.
And let's take it apart word by word:
• Tanrı'nın -- of God
• sözünü -- His word
• ilk önce -- first, formerly
• size -- to you
• bildirmemiz -- should be made known
• gerekiyordu -- it was proper.
• Siz onu -- You (to) it
• reddettiğinize -- reject, deny
• ve kendinizi -- and of yourselves
• sonsuz yaşama -- endless life
• layık görmediğinize göre -- worthy that you might not appear
• biz şimdi öteki uluslara gidiyoruz -- we / now / other / to nations / we go
Hey, I'd love to see more Jewish people get with the program. After all, Jesus was
Jewish, and their nation brought us the Old Testament, and our Savior. In the era
described in this book, however, Jewish leaders were ferocious and implacable foes of
the Good Tidings of the Great King's reign. They took special umbrage at the thought that
this Gospel might let "human swine," the other nations, run to the front of the line they'd
been waiting in for so many centuries.
Sadly, too many still wait, for what God has already done.
____________
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[1] The idiomatic use of this phrase is more focused. In an office filled with women, you
frequently see several pregnancies in progress at the same time. The joke is to attribute
the coincidence to "something in the water."
Acts 14 -- "they serve me tea."
What is it about Paul and his message that stirred up such strong feelings? No one
seemed to be neutral where he was concerned. And the longer he preached, the more
intense the feelings grew:
Act 14:4 Kent halkı ikiye bölündü. Bazıları Yahudiler'in, bazıları da elçilerin tarafını tuttu.
Act 14:5 Yahudiler'le öteki uluslardan olanlar ve bunların yöneticileri, elçileri hırpalayıp
taşa tutmak için düzen kurdular.
The city is divided into two parties. To defuse the tensions, the Christians send Paul out
of town. He preaches again, works a few miracles, and irritates the Jews again.
Act 14:19 Ne var ki, Antakya ve Konya'dan gelen bazı Yahudiler, halkı kendi taraflarına
çekerek Pavlus'u taşladılar; onu ölmüş sanarak kentin dışına sürüklediler.
Act 14:20 Ama öğrenciler çevresinde toplanınca Pavlus ayağa kalkıp kente döndü. Ertesi
gün Barnaba'yla birlikte Derbe'ye gitti.
An Australian bishop once said, "Wherever Paul went, they had a riot. Wherever I go,
they serve me tea."
What was it about Paul that triggered such powerful antipathy? And profound loyalty?
Acts 15 -- trouble-shooting problems to their roots
Paul, the "viewpoint character" of so much of Acts, is back home in Antioch. He has
enjoyed great success preaching a streamlined, culturally-sensitive Christian message.
Because of what God did in Jesus, Jews and non-Jews alike can rejoice in divine grace
and find power to live comely lives. Antioch, however, is too close for comfort to
Jerusalem. Jewish Christians, born and steeped in Jewish culture, have a reflex to
assume that Jewish ways are the right ways. In time, this love for their traditions will
overwhelm their love for Jesus, and lead the vast majority into eternal damnation. That's
still down the road. At this point, they are simply making nuisances of themselves:
Act 15:1 Yahudiye'den gelen bazı kişiler Antakya'daki kardeşlere, "Siz Musa'nın töresi
uyarınca sünnet olmadıkça kurtulamazsınız" diye öğretiyorlardı.
Act 15:2 Pavlus'la Barnaba bu adamlarla bir hayli çekişip tartıştılar. Sonunda Pavlus'la
Barnaba'nın, başka birkaç kardeşle birlikte Yeruşalim'e gidip bu sorunu elçiler ve
ihtiyarlarla görüşmesi kararlaştırıldı.
Let's unpack a few words, here.
• töre -- law. custom. accepted practice. customs. mores. ethics. morals.
jurisprudence.
• uyarınca -- in accordance with.
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• kurtulamazsınız -- you can not be saved. kurtula - to save. maz - subjunctive. a
potential condition that exists in the minds of the speakers and listeners. sınız - you
all (plural).
• çekişmek -- contend. contest. dispute. haggle. quarrel. scramble. strive. vie. to pull in
opposite directions. to quarrel. to argue. to compete. to contest. to contend.
This was a complicated moment in history. Jesus, a Jew, came to the Jewish people and
preached a message rooted in the Jewish scriptures. He also rudely condemned some of
the "bells and whistles"[1] that had entered Jewish life from outside sources. For example
the Romans believed that salvation was a function of dutiful law-keeping. Their subject
people, the Jews, thought that sounded like a good idea, and came up with a whole
structure of "improvements" to God's law that allowed people to save themselves, apart
from any need for a Savior. This is just one more appearance of the sin in the garden -the desire for autonomy.[2] For being one's own law. For determining good and evil for
oneself.
Yet, how do you dissect a living culture, determining what's useful, and what's toxic?
American "freedom of speech" is wonderful -- but what do you do about pornography?
How do you make the good parts of Jewish culture available to the rest of the world,
while leaving out the bad parts? Not an easy task -- many of them failed that test. Many
of us fail the unique tests presented by our cultures. However, God gives us tests with the
anticipation that we will eventually pass them. Or, serve as spectacular examples of how
to get things wrong, so that others get then get things right.
_________________
[1] "Bells and whistles" refers to superfluous features added to a product that have
nothing to do with its core purpose. For example, Windows Vista imposed such a heavy
load of digital rights management (DRM) "features" that the core purposes of an
operating system were overwhelmed. A plausible hypothesis suggests that Microsoft
wished to get in bed with content providers -- movie studios, music publishers, etc. -- and
shaped Vista to meet their concerns, rather than the needs of the end users. Apple
Computers picked up a lot of business as a result, and the culture was enriched by a
whole series of "I'm a Mac. I'm a PC" commercials.
[2] Autonomy comes from the Greek words for self (auto) + law (nomos).
Acts 16 -- guidance by bloody noses
Friday, September 10, 2010
In the early part of this chapter, we see Paul floundering around Anatolia, looking for his
missing mojo[1]:
Act 16:6 Kutsal Ruh'un, Tanrı sözünü Asya İli'nde yaymalarını engellemesi üzerine
Pavlus'la arkadaşları Frikya ve Galatya bölgesinden geçtiler.
Act 16:7 Misya sınırına geldiklerinde Bitinya bölgesine geçmek istediler. Ama İsa'nın
Ruhu onlara izin vermedi.
Act 16:8 Bunun üzerine Misya'dan geçip Troas Kenti'ne gittiler.
Act 16:9 O gece Pavlus bir görüm gördü. Önünde Makedonyalı bir adam durmuş, ona
yalvarıyordu: "Makedonya'ya geçip bize yardım et" diyordu.
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Act 16:10 Pavlus'un gördüğü bu görümden sonra hemen Makedonya'ya gitmenin bir
yolunu aradık. Çünkü Tanrı'nın bizi, Müjde'yi oradakilere duyurmaya çağırdığı sonucuna
varmıştık.
People who communicate the gospel recognize the spooky, supernatural element to the
process. For some reason, it's not a job we can do on our own. When we encounter a
receptive ear, we bow before the awesome God who has prepared that heart, and that
ear, for what we have to share.
And sometimes, people just don't want to hear. Their hearts are either hardened,[2] or not
ready to hear. The evangelist gets the sense that God isn't doing His work on the other
end of the process, so it's time to move on. Let's look at a few words:
• Ama -- But
• onlara -- to them
• İsa'nın Ruhu -- The Spirit of Jesus (Turkish has a "belt-and-suspenders" way of
dealing with possessives. Both the thing possessing, and the thing possessed, have
specific endings.)
• izin -- license, liberty, freedom
• vermedi. -- did not give.
Paul's example here is significant for job hunters and anyone else engaged in a
frustrating process. He does not sit still and wait for something to happen. He is on the
move, seeking to find the place where stuff is happening. And it is because he is on the
move, that he receives supernatural guidance.
An old pastor of ours called this "guidance by bloody noses." You bang into a locked
door, get a bloody nose, and pick yourself up to charge at another door. Sooner or later,
something will "turn up."
_________
[1] Mojo is an idiomatic American word, derived from voodoo, and refers to personal
power, elan, virility.
[2] It is possible for a whole people group to do something so heinous that several
generations of their descendants experience a judicial hardening of the heart, and tumble
into eternal hell. Hitler came to power by popular vote, and had the approval of the
German people for most of his programs, and their willingness to look the other way for
the rest. Today, the percentage of Germans with active Christian lives is in the single-digit
percentiles. The stuff we do changes the lives of our grandchildren.
Acts 17 -- the world turned upside down
When the surrounded British army surrendered to the upstart colonials at Yorktown,
Virginia, the imperial Darth Vader was unhappy. Lord Cornwallis -- a strange guy with a
harem of boyfriends who sometimes rode horseback through the troops in his altogether - was mildly put out. Claiming illness, he sent his sword to George Washington by the
hand of a servant. As the British forces stacked up their Brown Besses,[1] the musicians
played a tune The World Turned Upside Down.[2]
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Ah, but where does that phrase come from? Today's chapter of Acts, of course!
Act 17:6 Onları bulamayınca, Yason ile bazı kardeşleri kent yetkililerinin önüne
sürüklediler. "Dünyayı altüst eden o adamlar buraya da geldiler" diye bağırıyorlardı.
Act 17:7 "Yason onları evine aldı. Onların hepsi, İsa adında başka bir kral olduğunu
söyleyerek Sezar'ın buyruklarına karşı geliyorlar."
Interestingly enough, this riot happens in the birthplace of Kemal Atatürk, the father of
modern Turkey, Selanik. Paul and his team show up, and begin teaching at the local
synagogue. People are excited by the message. The Jewish leaders are driven insane
with jealousy, and haul several of the prominent members of the new faction before the
city court. Their charge is intriguing:
• Dünyayı -- the world
• altüst eden -- they invert
• o adamlar -- this men
• buraya da geldiler -- here, indeed, they have come
• Onların hepsi -- They all
• İsa adında -- Jesus by name
• başka bir kral -- another a king
• olduğunu söyleyerek -- he is they say
There are several different ways to spin this story. A tradition in fundamentalist
Protestantism "gets off on"[3] wallowing in guilt. The apostles turned their world upside
down, you see, and if we were any kind of Christians, we'd be doing the same. Well,
there might be something to that woeful plaint. Jesus assured his disciples that they
could expect hostility -- and if life is too good, are we truly living our faith?
As I age, however, I tend to see things more frequently in holistic, whole-system terms.
Yes, Paul was a dynamic, charismatic speaker who provoked strong reactions. To put an
end to riots, the disciples had to ship Paul out of town, again and again.[4] Yet, would he
catalyze such violent turmoil in normal times? The key issue was one of authority. The
peace of Rome was brutally instituted, brutally enforced. Yet Caesar did provide a real
peace by exterminating brigands on the amazing Roman roads, and pirates on the seas.
Underneath this superficial tranquility, however, other trends were in motion.
Resentments simmered. A sense that all was not well with the world needed only
something concrete to crystallize around. In this case, the proclamation that another King
ruled, one to whom even Caesar owed fealty.
It took a few hundred years, but Caesar did eventually bow before Christ. And the
message of the gospel -- a Great King sits enthroned in heaven, and rules today -- still
resonates with those who seek a better way.
___________________
[1] A .75 caliber gun fires a 3/4-inch diameter bullet. Since F=MA, it took a sizable slug to
do the job at the relatively slow acceleration you get with black powder.
[2] Click on the link to enjoy the tune and read the complete ballad. The first verse is as
follows:
If buttercups buzz'd after the bee,
If boats were on land, churches on sea,
If ponies rode men and if grass ate the cows,
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And cats should be chased into holes by the mouse,
If the mamas sold their babies
To the gypsies for half a crown;
If summer were spring and the other way round,
Then all the world would be upside down.
[3] A little hippy lingo, an idiom that was contemporary 40 years ago. To "get off on"
something meant to become affected by it, and usually referred to drug experiences. It
might take repeated exposure to pot (marijuana), for example, before the desired effects
happened. Before you got off on the drug.
[4] "Sooner or later, you have to shoot the engineers and start production," goes a
manufacturing aphorism.
Acts 18 -- "May God bless and keep the Czar ... "
Even a powerhouse like Paul got discouraged from time to time. That may explain why
God provided him with an encouraging vision: [1]
Act 18:9 Bir gece Rab bir görümde Pavlus'a, "Korkma" dedi, "Konuş, susma!
Act 18:10 Ben seninle birlikteyim; hiç kimse sana dokunmayacak, kötülük yapmayacak.
Çünkü bu kentte benim halkım çoktur."
Act 18:11 Pavlus, orada bir buçuk yıl kaldı ve halka sürekli Tanrı'nın sözünü öğretti.
Let's unpack a few words here:
• Bir gece -- one night (bir = one)
• Rab -- The Lord (Turkish does not have a definite article, like that single hardest
word to use in idiomatic English -- the)
• bir görümde -- in a vision (bir also = a)
• Pavlus'a -- to Paul
• "Korkma" dedi, -- "Do no be afraid,[2] He said,
• "Konuş, susma! -- "Speak, do not be silent!
• Ben seninle birlikteyim; -- I / with you / I am united.
• hiç kimse sana dokunmayacak, -- None / no one / to you / will touch you,
• kötülük yapmayacak-- harm will do
• Çünkü bu kentte -- Because / this / city in
• benim halkım çoktur." -- My / my people / there are many."
This divine promise was fulfilled a year and a half (bir buçuk yıl) later, when Jewish
rabble-rousers showed up again, as usual, to make trouble for the Christians. This time,
they made the mistake of trying to get the government to do their dirty work for them,
rather than just relying upon their own hired thugs:
Act 18:12 Gallio'nun Ahaya Valisi olduğu sıralarda, hep birlikte Pavlus'a karşı gelen
Yahudiler onu mahkemeye çıkardılar.
Act 18:13 "Bu adam Yasa'ya aykırı biçimde Tanrı'ya tapınmaları için insanları kandırıyor"
dediler.
Act 18:14 Pavlus tam söze başlayacakken Gallio Yahudiler'e şöyle dedi: "Ey Yahudiler,
davanız bir haksızlık ya da ciddi bir suçla ilgili olsaydı, sizleri sabırla dinlemem gerekirdi.
Act 18:15 Ama sorun bir öğreti, bazı adlar ve kendi yasanızla ilgili olduğuna göre, bu
davaya kendiniz bakın. Ben böyle şeylere yargıçlık etmek istemem."
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And Gallio had sense enough to wash his hands of the whole controversy: Ben böyle
şeylere yargıçlık etmek istemem. -- I / this / things about / judge / to be / I do not want.
Best-case scenario! I'm reminded of the exchange in the musical Fiddler on a Roof.
When asked if there was a blessing for the Czar the village rabbi said there was. And
what was it?
"May God bless and keep the Czar -- far away from us!"
In the West, nations with state churches have nations with weak, ineffectual churches,
churches that lack influence and credibility and members. The American solution -- make
the churches rely upon their own resources -- has generated a profoundly religious
society[3].
__________________
[1] Frequently, when a Muslim takes another look at Jesus, it is because of a vivid dream
or vision.
[2] Korkma -- do not be afraid -- is the most frequent command in the New Testament, I
believe. In a world filled with things to fear, we serve a God who is bigger than our fears.
[3] Don't believe what Hollywood tells you -- most Americans do indeed respect God and
love their families. The media magnates who generate popular culture -- many of whom
have Jewish roots -- try to conceal this reality from their viewers.
Acts 19 -- "Life, the universe, and everything."
In the farcical fantasy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe,[1] intelligent beings spend
billions of years creating the ultimate computer to answer the ultimate question: "What is
the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?" And the ultimate computer gives them
the answer: 54. They should have asked what the ultimate question was first, you see.
Does your message sell itself? Does it "have legs?"[2]
Once again, Paul goes to the synagogue, and presents the message of the King, the
Messiah who has come. Once again, within a few months envious rivals cause trouble,
so he goes somewhere else.
Act 19:9 Ne var ki, bazıları sert bir tutum takınıp ikna olmamakta direndiler ve İsa'nın
yolunu halkın önünde kötülemeye başladılar. Bunun üzerine Pavlus onlardan ayrıldı.
Öğrencilerini de alıp götürdü ve Tiranus'un dershanesinde her gün tartışmalarını
sürdürdü.
Act 19:10 Bu durum iki yıl sürdü. Sonunda Yahudi olsun Grek olsun, Asya İli'nde yaşayan
herkes Rab'bin sözünü işitti.
Contemporary records suggest that Paul taught for an hour or two around lunchtime, day
after day. Since Ephesus was a commercial and banking center for Anatolia, people who
came and heard his message took it elsewhere throughout the subcontinent. Within two
years, the Good News of the Great King had reached everyone.
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As a communications scholar, I have to wonder what Paul taught for those two years. Did
he repeat the same "Four Spiritual Laws" day after day? Expound on John 3:16 every
time he got up? Obviously, he didn't preach a long course of study over the course of the
two years, since those who heard his message were able to run with it, taking it back
home and applying it where they lived. My guess? Paul had a central point that explained
everything else in a new and fresh way. King Jesus rules. Therefore ...
People probably came to Efese on business, stayed a few days, and returned home.[3]
During this time, those who responded to Paul's message could pledge their allegiance to
it, by accepting baptism, and watch Paul's approach to exposition.
I suspect Paul followed a liturgical calendar, a pre-existing series of specified readings
from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. No need to re-invent the wheel. If it ain't
broke, don't fix it.[4] His perspective on these readings, however, was different, now that
the divine intervention they pointed to had happened. His new perspective was exciting
enough to engage the passions of those who embraced it, and to transform them into
ambassadors of the Great King, and agents of His Kingdom.[5]
_____________
[1] This was originally a series of half-hour radio broadcasts, that later became a series of
books, losing something in the translation process, and finally audio files of the books
being read, losing a bit more. Does anyone know where I can find MP3 files of the
original radio series?
[2] Journalists say a story "has legs" if it has enduring interest, beyond the current day's
edition or broadcast.
[3] If you travel through a rural area, you will normally find a crossroads village every 10
miles, and a somewhat larger urban center every 30 miles. If a country store is always
within a five-mile distance, you can get there on foot and back in the same half of a day.
For seasonal items, you can go to the county seat, stay overnight, and come back the
next day.
[4] As a gifted Methodist profession rhetorically asked a class of aspiring preachers, "Do
you find the text? Or do you let the text find you?" A successful American denomination,
Calvary Chapel, has a policy of preaching through the entire Bible. Topical sermons tend
to settle down into the half-dozen or so topics that excite a preacher. Expository sermons
perpetually bring fresh insights, fresh challenges, to the pulpit.
[5] I love Turkish people, language, food, and culture, and hope to see that nation
transformed into a globally significant center of Christianity. I think there are elements in
the Turkish heritage that point in that direction. It is a courtly tradition with an imperial
heritage. The idea of serving in the court of a majestic King fits both this tradition, and the
message of the Bible, better than the American popular notion of Christianity being a
religious experience, a nicer gnosis.
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Acts 20 -- chiastic turn of events
The Book of Acts, like many pieces of ancient literature, was meticulously and carefully
structured.[1] Today's fancy word, chiastic, refers to the Greek letter chi, which looks like
our letter X. Let's say you have two plots going in your story. Character A goes from Point
1 to Point 2, while Character B goes from Point 2 to Point 1.
Luke liked to use geography as a technique for pacing his narratives. As the story moved
along, its characters moved from point to point. One of the major moves in the Gospel of
Luke was the last voyage Jesus made to Jerusalem, where he suffered, died, and was
buried. After that, of course, Jesus rose again from the dead, and ascended to heaven,
enthroned beside the Father and governing the universe.
Here, in the course of Paul's restless quest to take the gospel further and further afield, to
places where it had not been heard before, we see a turn:
Act 20:16 Pavlus, Asya İli'nde vakit kaybetmemek için Efes'e uğramamaya karar vermişti.
Pentikost Günü Yeruşalim'de olabilmek umuduyla acele ediyordu.
Let's look at that second sentence. On the day of Pentecost (Pentikost Günü) in
Jerusalem[2] (Yeruşalim'de) to be able to be (olabilmek) with the hope of (umuduyla)
diligence, zeal, energy (acele) he exerted (ediyordu).
Jerusalem, it seems, was the place prophets, and dreams, go to die. Like his master,
Paul suddenly turns his back upon a successful and purposeful ministry life, to go back to
Jerusalem.[3] He knew trouble awaited him, but "set his face like flint" to march directly
into adversity. He was taking with him gifts collected from Gentile churches for the Jewish
Christians, who were beginning to suffer ostracism and financial penalties for their faith.
Perhaps, he hoped to avert irreparable schisms (fitna) between Jewish and Gentile
Christians. Or, maybe he wished to strengthen the identity of the Jewish Christians with
Christ, and hence with Gentile believers, in a culture that was suicidally and stubbornly
insistent on pretending that Jesus had never happened, or in any case did not matter.
__________________
[1] That reminds me -- I took a one-semester course in aesthetics while pursuing a BA.
The textbook was James Joyce's Ulysses, a book that maps the Bloomsday life of a
Dublin man against Homer's Odyssey. The professor told us to re-read it in a few
decades, when so many of our youthful dreams had failed, just to appreciate how
robustly funny it is.
[2] I don't know how it happened. Once upon a time, an initial letter i in an English word
acquired a little "foot." Somehow, the letter i with a bigger base to stand upon became our
letter j, and acquired the same phonetic value as the Turkish letter c. The Latin names
Iesus and Ierusalem became the English words Jesus and Jerusalem. I'm sure my Lord
heeds those who call upon Him as Jesus today, even if He would not have recognized
that name while walking the earth!
[3] The "back to Jerusalem" movement in China consists of Chinese Christians who wish
to complete the westward movement of the Gospel by taking this message all the way
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back to its source. Many are studying Arabic, in the expectation of doing business with
some of the intervening people groups ...
Acts 21 -- when in Rome ...
An old cliche goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." It's generally a good idea to
conform to local norms. A political maxim holds that members of Congress should "Go
along to get along." Vote for your fellow congress critters' raids on the public treasury,
and they will help you dip into the pork barrel[1] as well.
Yet, is it always wise to cooperate? You're sitting in a park on a lovely summer night with
new friends -- and you value friendship. Then, the bong comes around. Toke? Don't
toke? The cop pulls you over, and politely asks, "Mind if I take a look in your car?"
Cooperate? Resist? The customs agent asks if the trip you just completed was for
"business or pleasure." Answer? Tell him it's none of his business? As this article points
out, a cooperative attitude can cost you, big-time, far more than you gain in the short run.
Paul faced that quandary. He shows up in Jerusalem with a hefty chunk of change,
collected at great personal effort and expense from gentile churches. He shows up with
stirring testimonies of what God has done throughout the known world to bring people
into allegiance with the risen King, Jesus. And the leaders of the church say -- "Well,
thanks. That's all very nice. But what really matters is ... " And before you know it, Paul
gets railroaded into a hare-brained scheme to placate his implacable foes.
Act 21:18 Ertesi gün Pavlus'la birlikte Yakup'u görmeye gittik. İhtiyarların* hepsi orada
toplanmıştı.
Act 21:19 Pavlus, onların hal hatırını sorduktan sonra, hizmetinin aracılığıyla Tanrı'nın
öteki uluslar arasında yaptıklarını teker teker anlattı.
Act 21:20 Bunları işitince Tanrı'yı yücelttiler. Pavlus'a, "Görüyorsun kardeş, Yahudiler
arasında binlerce imanlı var ve hepsi Kutsal Yasa'nın candan savunucusudur" dediler.
Act 21:21 "Ne var ki, duyduklarına göre sen öteki uluslar arasında yaşayan bütün
Yahudiler'e, çocuklarını sünnet etmemelerini, törelerimize uymamalarını söylüyor,
Musa'nın Yasası'na sırt çevirmeleri gerektiğini öğretiyormuşsun.
Act 21:22 Şimdi ne yapmalı? Senin buraya geldiğini mutlaka duyacaklar.
Act 21:23 Bunun için sana dediğimizi yap. Aramızda adak adamış dört kişi var.
Act 21:24 Bunları yanına al, kendileriyle birlikte arınma törenine katıl. Başlarını tıraş
edebilmeleri için kurban masraflarını sen öde. Böylelikle herkes, seninle ilgili
duyduklarının asılsız olduğunu, senin de Kutsal Yasa'ya uygun olarak yaşadığını anlasın.
Act 21:25 Öteki uluslardan olan imanlılara gelince, biz onlara, putlara sunulan kurbanların
etinden, kandan, boğularak öldürülen hayvanlardan ve fuhuştan sakınmalarını öngören
kararımızı yazmıştık."
The 1951 book Christ and Culture by H. Richard Niebuhr considered several
perspectives on the relationship between the eternal King of the Ages, and the everyday
contemporary culture. Possibilities he described included:
• Christ Against Culture
• Christ Of Culture
• Christ Above Culture
• Christ and Culture in Paradox
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• Christ the Transformer of Culture
This is not a new conundrum. People who had actually spent years in the presence of
Jesus, like Jacob, still blundered. Their attempts to appease the passionate devotees of
Jewish cultural norms failed, of course, and only brought disaster upon the head of the
guy who'd just showed up to do them good.
____________
[1] The Pork Barrel,[2] in American political idioms, is taxpayer money directed to specific
projects in the legislator's home district. This game can continue until the currency is
destroyed. As Rudyard Kipling's famous poem, The Gods of the Copybook Headings
explains,
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selective Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: 'If you don't work you die.'
The the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew,
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four--And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man--There are only four things certain since Social Progress began:--That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
[2] In the days before refrigeration, meat could be preserved through various techniques
that resisted the activity of decomposing bacteria. If you had time, you could hang the
meat in a smoke house until it was thoroughly dessicated, or "cured." If you were in a
hurry, you could cut up the pig, and pack the pieces in a barrel. Each piece had to be
surrounded by salt, top, bottom, and all sides.
Acts 22 -- and talking dogs
A Jewish guy from the United States became a devotee of Japanese martial arts. He
moved to Japan, and learned to speak their language with native fluency. He had no
problems communicating with people on the phone, but had to repeat himself when
meeting people in person. "It's like listening to a talking dog," he explained. "You are too
surprised by the fact that the dog can talk to understand at first what it is saying!"
Here's an old joke that my Turkish friends appreciate:
• If someone who speaks three or more languages is poly-lingual, and
• If someone who speaks two languages is bilingual,
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• What do you call someone who speaks one language?
• American
At the top of the steps leading into the Roman garrison fortress, Paul, a Greek-speaking
native of Anatolia, begins to speak to the mob that had just been trying to tear him to
pieces. And, they listen:
Act 22:1 "Kardeşler ve babalar, size şimdi yapacağım savunmayı dinleyin" dedi.
Act 22:2 Pavlus'un kendilerine İbrani dilinde seslendiğini duyduklarında daha derin bir
sessizlik oldu.
A "more deep a silence they made." (daha derin bir sessizlik oldu) In the last chapter, the
Roman officer in charge of the garrison had been surprised when Paul addressed him in
Greek, the administrative language of that part of the world.
Your language is a very deeply embedded part of your identity. When you make an effort
to learn another language, you open the doors to friendship, since you are showing
respect for something very near and dear to the other party. Here are some resources
you may find helpful:
• This newsletter from a friend describes his experience with a crash-course in selftaught Italian. You can do it -- very quickly -- if you simply make it the most important
project in your life for an intensely focused season.
• This web site, livemocha.com, is a free global community of people who are eager to
learn, and eager to help each other learn, additional languages.
Acts 23 -- mob psychology
Jesus said, "The time will come when those who kill you will think they are doing God a
service." This chapter includes a cameo appearance from the Lord Jesus Christ, and an
example of insane fanaticism:
Act 23:11 O gece Rab Pavlus'a görünüp, "Cesur ol" dedi, "Yeruşalim'de benimle ilgili
nasıl tanıklık ettinse, Roma'da da öyle tanıklık etmen gerekir."
Act 23:12 Ertesi sabah Yahudiler aralarında gizli bir anlaşma yaptılar. "Pavlus'u
öldürmeden bir şey yiyip içersek, bize lanet olsun!" diye ant içtiler.
Act 23:13 Bu anlaşmaya katılanların sayısı kırkı aşıyordu.
Act 23:14 Bunlar başkâhinlerle ileri gelenlerin yanına gidip şöyle dediler: "Biz, 'Pavlus'u
öldürmeden ağzımıza bir şey koyarsak, bize lanet olsun!' diye ant içtik.
A few key words:
• O gece -- That night
• "Cesur ol" -- Brave, courageous / be (imperative)
• bir şey -- any thing
• yiyip içersek -- eat or drink if we
• bize lanet olsun! -- upon us / a curse / be!
• ant -- covenant
There's an old cliche: to estimate the intelligence of a mob, divide the average I.Q. by the
number of members. Can you see a solitary person talking himself into this extreme
commitment? Evidently, something about Paul's message threatened them on a very
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deep level. Imagine investing your whole life in building, adorning, and defending the
scaffolding around a magnificent building. Then along comes this guy who says, "OK, this
construction project is over. The scaffolding can come down." The Jewish culture, which
Paul simply refused to view as normative, as essential, defined the lives of these
maddened plotters. Even as the Jesus who called Paul on the road to Damascus, and
encouraged him by night here, defined his life.
Quite often, when people around the world resist the Good News that a great King reigns,
what they are resisting is the American culture that defines the lives even of Christian
people in this country: a culture characterized by hedonism, easy tolerance of immorality,
and a glib superficiality before ultimate mysteries. Even "family-values" Christians are
mostly silent on the issue of divorce, for example.
Acts 24 -- a little word play
I use several translations of the İncil. For my first four trips through, I used a loose-leaf
version painstakingly downloaded from the web and reformatted, one chapter at a time. I
had a special place to sit while I read it, with a footstool, so I could lean back in my chair
with the three-ring binder on my lap. A bookshelf with several dictionaries was at my
elbow. My library now includes several professionally-printed "real book" versions, which
are convenient for taking out on to the front porch and reading while my wife works on a
crossword puzzle.
The version I rely upon most heavily, however, is provided free by the marvelous web site
http://e-sword.net. One mouse click, and I can read a selected chapter on screen in
Turkish, Italian, French, English, or Greek. And, I can copy passages from this electronic
version, and paste them in this blog. Such as the following extract:
Act 24:1 Bundan beş gün sonra Başkâhin Hananya, bazı ileri gelenler ve Tertullus adlı bir
hatip Sezariye'ye gelip Pavlus'la ilgili şikâyetlerini valiye ilettiler.
Act 24:2, 3 Pavlus çağrılınca Tertullus suçlamalarına başladı. "Ey erdemli Feliks!" dedi.
"Senin sayende uzun süredir esenlik içinde yaşamaktayız. Aldığın önlemlerle de bu
ulusun yararına olumlu gelişmeler kaydedilmiştir. Yaptıklarını, her zaman ve her yerde
büyük bir şükranla anıyoruz.
Act 24:4 Seni fazla yormak istemiyorum; söyleyeceğimiz birkaç sözü hoşgörüyle
dinlemeni rica ediyorum.
As Matthew Henry pointed out (yes, e-sword also lets you download and use the
complete Bible commentaries from this great scholar), the chief priest Hananya sat as
Paul's judge in the previous chapter, and ordered him to be beaten in a court of law. Now,
this same "judge" shows up as prosecutor. The trial was rigged, and the verdict given,
before Paul even opened his mouth. Paul escaped with his life only by provoking a riot
among those who had convened to hear his case.
Today's reading, at least in the on-the-porch translation, provided several opportunities to
look at two charming Turkish suffixes:
• -ca, -ce, -ça, -çe (this is one suffix, in its four possible flavors.)
• -cı, -ci, -çı, -çi, -cu, -cü, -çu, -çü (this is the other suffix)
As I just learned last week, Turkish has a suffix you tack on to the end of a nationality in
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order to denote the language spoken by members of that nationality. If you are a Türk,
you speak Türkçe. If you are İngiliz, you speak İngilizce. Alman, Almanca. Rus, Rusça.
Or, in today's reading, to speak briefly, you speak kısaca. I was disappointed to see that
my e-sword version did not employ that exquisite little word, but had the orator speaking
of his desire not to fazla yormak (make excessive) his presentation.
The second suffix given above is the "agent ending." Tack it into the end of a noun, and
you have the practitioner associated with the noun. A guy who catches fish (balık) is,
obviously, a balıkçı. Or, in the passage above, the hatip ( orator. public speaker. a good
speaker. preacher. elocutionist. public orator.) could also be, in the other translation, a
man of words: sözcü.
Learning a foreign language is like going on a treasure hunt. You never know when you'll
encounter a fresh and fascinating way of packaging a thought.
Acts 25 -- without a clue
OK, if you have to explain a joke, it probably isn't very funny -- but at the risk of puzzling
my myriad fans, I'm going to start today's essay with a comic SQL[1] dialogue.
SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0;
0 rows returned
How many users have a clue about what's going on? Zero.
Felix kept Paul incarcerated for two years hoping for a bribe. He was a political prisoner,
whose captivity served the career goals of a corrupt local politician. When Festus came
into office, he tried to please both Jewish prejudice and Roman legalism. As a Roman
jurist, he recognized that there was no legal reason for holding Paul captive. So why not
give him a Roman show trial -- but have it in Jerusalem, where the restless natives could
show and demonstrate to their hearts' content outside the courtroom? Festus, however,
did not understand the insane hatred of these restive natives. A Paul sent to Jerusalem
would be a Paul sent to his death -- and Paul's reaction was a polite, but firm, "No way
Jose!" As a Roman citizen, he appeals to Caesar. And Festus is at a loss. He asks
another bureaucrat for advice, someone who is more familiar with Jewish culture. After
all, how can I send someone to Caesar's court without an accusation against him?
Act 25:27 Bir tutukluyu İmparator'a gönderirken, kendisine yöneltilen suçlamaları
belirtmemek bence anlamsız."
Let's just look at one word (anlamsız), and its variations:
• anlam -- meaning. sense. point. explanation. acceptation. construction. content.
denotation. effect. hang. import. inference. purport. purview. significance.
significancy. signification. sound. strain. tenor.
• anlama -- understanding. knowledge. comprehension. apprehension. appreciation.
drift. fathom. grasp. grip. insight. intelligence. prehension. realization. sense. uptake.
• anlamak -- understand. comprehend. figure out. get a grip. get a grip on. be
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Al ve oku
knowledgeable about. see. get. feel. absorb. accept. appreciate. apprehend.
ascertain. catch. catch on. click. compass. conceive. cotton on to. dawn on. deduce.
dig. discern. discover.
• anlamsız -- devoid of all of the above. Without a clue.
_____________
[1] SQL = Structured Query Language, a simplified way of talking to a database.
Acts 26 -- a spoonful of sugar makes the
medicine go down ...
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Robert A. Heinlein was an influential writer of a half-century ago. He turned his back upon
the God of his Baptist family at the age of 13, upon discovering Charles Darwin's
alternate reality. The character and discipline of the faith he was raised in continued to
influence his thinking and writing until the late 1960s, when the restrained perversion and
narcissism were finally unleashed.[1] When he wanted to lecture his readers on the
libertarian politics of his current wife,[2] he wrote The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. One of
the central characters is full of wise aphorisms. When Heinlein wished to expound at
length, he put this character in a classroom, giving a lecture.
Someone has argued that the twin books of Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles
comprise a single legal brief, prepared for Paul's trial at Rome. Much of Acts consists of
narrative, anecdotes strung together in a carefully chronological order. From time to time,
however, Luke inserts a major sermon. This chapter is almost completely taken up with
one of those addresses. The stage is set -- visiting dignitaries want to hear this famed
and eloquent prisoner. He stands up and delivers his presentation, complete with a
challenge to the hearers then, and the readers now:
Act 26:22 Ama bugüne dek Tanrı yardımcım oldu. Bu sayede burada duruyor, büyük
küçük herkese tanıklık ediyorum. Benim söylediklerim, peygamberlerin ve Musa'nın
önceden haber verdiği olaylardan başka bir şey değildir.
Act 26:23 Onlar, Mesih'in acı çekeceğini ve ölümden dirilenlerin ilki olarak gerek kendi
halkına, gerek öteki uluslara ışığın doğuşunu ilan edeceğini bildirmişlerdi."
Act 26:24 Pavlus bu şekilde savunmasını sürdürürken Festus yüksek sesle, "Pavlus,
çıldırmışsın sen! Çok okumak seni delirtiyor!" dedi.
Act 26:25 Pavlus, "Sayın Festus" dedi, "Ben çıldırmış değilim. Gerçek ve akla uygun
sözler söylüyorum.
Act 26:26 Kral bu konularda bilgili olduğu için kendisiyle çekinmeden konuşuyorum. Bu
olaylardan hiçbirinin onun dikkatinden kaçmadığı kanısındayım. Çünkü bunlar ücra bir
köşede yapılmış işler değildir.
Act 26:27 Kral Agrippa, sen peygamberlerin sözlerine inanıyor musun? İnandığını
biliyorum."
Act 26:28 Agrippa Pavlus'a şöyle dedi: "Bu kadar kısa bir sürede beni ikna edip Mesihçi
mi yapacaksın?"
Act 26:29 "İster kısa ister uzun sürede olsun" dedi Pavlus, "Tanrı'dan dilerim ki yalnız sen
değil, bugün beni dinleyen herkes, bu zincirler dışında benim gibi olsun!"
Festus, the Roman governor exclaims, "Paul, you're crazy! Too much knowledge has
Al ve oku
329
driven you mad!" Paul replies, "Sayın Festus, Ben çıldırmış değilim. Gerçek ve akla
uygun sözler söylüyorum. "O noble Festus, I mad am not. True and / conceivable.
palatable. reasonable. sensible. (akla uygun) / words I speak."
Paul then turns his attention to the visiting minor king: Kral Agrippa, sen peygamberlerin
sözlerine inanıyor musun? King Agrippa, you / of the prophets / the words / believe / do
you not?
These events did not, as Paul explained, happen "in a corner." Or, as the Greek has it, ἐν
γωνίᾳ: in a corner.[3] The resurrection of Jesus was something everyone in Israel knew
about. Most of them tried hard not to think about it. They were a lot like Agrippa. A lot like
us.[4]
_____________________
[1] If that sentence were an equation, or perhaps SQL statement, it would have at least
three parenthetical expressions: (character + discipline ) ... (thinking + writing ) ...
(perversion + narcissism ). In English, we find it easy and natural to use coordinating
conjunctions. Lots of and statements. Other languages, such as Greek, prefer to array
phrases in elegant hierarchical structures, using subordinating conjunctions.
[2] It was Isaac Asimov who said that Heinlein's politics depended on who he was
married to at the moment.
[3] A triangle has three gonia. A dia-gonal line runs through opposite gonia.
[4] If there was a single button in the universe that fallen man could press to shut out the
knowledge of God, that is is the one button he would press continuously. So wrote
Cornelius Van Til, a grimly realistic American thinker.
Acts 27 -- a man on a mission
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was one of the more colorful figures of the American War
Between the States. A pious Presbyterian, he taught a Sunday School for local slaves
before the war, affectionately calling them his "colored militia."[0] He was a beloved
teacher at Virginia Military Academy, and a demanding leader of his "foot cavalry." Mary
Johnston's novel The Long Roll[1] accurately depicts the miseries of the new recruits as
they learned to cover incredible distances by forced marches. Jackson defeated armies
of aggressors that outnumbered his by several multiples in his beloved Shenandoah
Valley by finding, and defeating, one weak spot after another.
General Jackson was a Calvinist, who asserted that this conviction made him a good
soldier. Until God's assignment for his life was complete, Jackson said, he was as safe
on the battlefield as he was in his own bed.[2]
We see something of this same confident security in today's reading from Acts 27. Paul is
on his way to Rome by sea. A violent and prolonged typhoon[3] buffeted the ship, and
after nearly two weeks of fighting the elements, people gave themselves up for lost. At
this point, Paul has another of his periodic visions, and shares it with his shipmates:
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Al ve oku
Act 27:22 Şimdi size öğüdüm şu: Cesur olun! Gemi mahvolacak, ama aranızda hiçbir can
kaybı olmayacak.
Act 27:23, 24 Çünkü kendisine ait olduğum, kendisine kulluk ettiğim Tanrı'nın bir meleği
bu gece yanıma gelip dedi ki, 'Korkma Pavlus, Sezar'ın önüne çıkman gerekiyor. Dahası
Tanrı, seninle birlikte yolculuk edenlerin hepsini sana bağışlamıştır.'
Act 27:25 Bunun için efendiler, cesur olun! Tanrı'ya inanıyorum ki, her şey tıpkı bana
bildirildiği gibi olacak.
Cesur olun! (Courageous be!) Tanrı'nın bir meleği (Of God an angel) bu gece yanıma
(this night by my side)
gelip dedi ki, (came and said) 'Korkma Pavlus, Sezar'ın önüne çıkman gerekiyor. (fear not
Paul, Caesar in front of to go it is necessary.) Dahası Tanrı, seninle birlikte yolculuk
edenlerin hepsini sana bağışlamıştır.' (What's more, God, those with you together
travelers who are all to you will be spared.)
Paul had a task to achieve, a divine assignment to carry out. The protection God gave
him on this errand spilled over to shelter those who were traveling with him.
A word of encouragement to an unemployed scholar, seeking to find a job, finish a
dissertation, and prosper in an uncertain economy!
____________
[0] After the war, a Second Presbyterian Church, comprised of people of color, took up a
collection for a costly stained glass window. The theme? Stonewall Jackson kneeling in
prayer.
[1] Mary was the niece of the General Johnston who negotiated the surrender of more
than 90,000 southern patriots at Bennett Springs, in Durham North Carolina, several
weeks after General Robert E. Lee's more famous surrender at Appomattox. Mary grew
up steeped in the tales of valor, hardship, and chaos from that era. It is profoundly
disturbing to read realistic battle scenes, set in familiar bucolic landscapes. Since "the
winners write the history books," discriminating readers are well advised to read Mary
Johnston's account for "the rest of the story."
[2] In fact, he did not die in battle, but was shot by his own sentries when returning from a
scouting expedition. "Let us cross over the river, and rest beneath the trees," he said as
he died several days later.
[3] Yep, typhoon. That's literally the word used here: τυφωνικὸς .
Al ve oku
331
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