Sunday 29th October 2023 (’02) : 30thSUNinORDINARY : A
1. EXOD22:20-26
* Are these ‘laws’ (See 20:22 – 23:33!) extra to, or more important than, TheDecalogue?
* Which of these ‘laws’ are still significant? &How are they being perceived?
* ‘Yahweh>Moses>ThePeople!’: What about the ‘individual’ in this ‘Chain-of-Power’?
* &What about Yahweh’s threatening&intemperate language for those who disobeyed?
* Are ‘interest-free loans of money’ currently available to poor people?
* Why do ‘christians’, even nowadays, nurse fantasies about ‘Jews&Money’?
* ‘TheCloak-as-Pledge!’: So much emphasis! Perhaps oppression of the needy was rife!
* What ‘supplementary law’ (15words) would lead to radical shift in my local church?
2. THE PSALM : 17:2-4, 47, 51 (Why such an ungenerous scrap?)
* Read 17(18):1-50(51)! The king’s victory-paean to Yahweh-his-Protector!
* But, considering the narratives of the kings, is it more than a pious insurance policy?
* ‘RockFortressShield!’: Is Yahweh nowadays still seen in such military terms?
* ‘Foes!’: Were the king’s ‘foes’ Yahweh’sFoes too? &TheChurch’s foes God’sFoes also?
* Why were kings ‘anointed’? &In what sense were they ‘Yahweh’sAnointed’?
* In what ways do I imagine Yahweh’s ‘life’?
* Write 35words on ‘Yahweh-my-Strength’! &Then 35words on ‘Yahweh-my-Beloved’!
* How will women (not to mention ‘commoners’) hear&interact-with this excerpt?
3. 1THESS1:5-10
* To what extent is my local church a headline&inspiration for other local churches?
* Who are The5GreatRoleModels for adult christian disciples in my local church?
* How am I going-about becoming an ‘imitator-of-TheLordJesus’?
* &Why did Paul consider himself to be an ‘imitator-of-TheLordJesus’?
* In what 5Ways is it counterproductive to be born&baptised a ‘cradle-catholic’?
* How is my local church visualising&performing ‘Catechesis-of-Youth for the 21stC’?
* How did people in Greece distinguish ‘Faith-in-Christ’ from ‘Faith-in-Dionysus’?
* Can I imagine Paul’s deportment&selfpresentation&lifestyle in Thessalonica?
4. MT22:34-40
* Which question would I more easily understand&deal-with?
Which is the greatest commandment in the biblical legal tradition?
Which is the greatest commandment as reflected in your actual behaviour?
Which is the greatest commandment as reflected in your local church?
* What distinguishes ‘Love-of-Yahweh’ from ‘Love-of-God’? Or indeed, ‘Love-of-Self’?
* AllHeart&AllSoul&AllMind!: Will this vagrant&unquiet resource ever be harnessed?
* What 10Ingredients in my ‘love-of-self’? Whom do I love, &who loves me, like this?
* Equating ‘AllHeartAllSoulAllMind’ & ‘AsYouLoveYourSelf’, aren’t the two one-only! 5. The presence&action of the BlessedOne, is it like this?
FIRST&LAST OF YAHWEH-IN-JESUS! NINE-FACETS, HER-HARDNESS&BRIGHTNESS! Attend TheImmanentBreath that nurtures all! Seek&represent WisdomTheMother! Compassion for all that lives&struggles&ails! Midwife the coming-to-birth of truth's complexity! Unfold for all the richnes of soul-embodied! Heal by every means the pervasive wound! Reveal the ways that entrap, the ways the free! Engage with heart the poverty of self&others! Remember forever the fathers'&mothers' resource!
6. RIDDLE What’s the greatest commandment?
LoveYourself in DeepestTruth! Gain-TheAdvantage-in-EverySituation!
Transgress-AllCommandments! All-for-God’sGreaterGlory!
Refections and comments can be emailed to adbi@chokmah.ie