Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Luke 5 --

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.
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 pointy-headed 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 ... !

Monday, March 29, 2010

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.
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.
Let's look at a few words:
  • 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.

Friday, March 26, 2010

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.'"
Let's look at a few words:
  • 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.

_________________

[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!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

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:
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.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

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.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

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.
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 sht- came 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.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

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."

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

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 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."

Sunday, March 14, 2010

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 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.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

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
  • 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!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

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 Life, all are equal.

Monday, March 8, 2010

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,
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.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

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- . 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: -
    .
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.

Friday, March 5, 2010

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-and-blood 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. 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 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.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

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.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

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."
Let's look at a few words:
  • ellerini iyice yıkamadan yemek yemezler
  • ellerini -- their hands
  • 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.
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[0] I found an excellent dictionary site -- http://www.hazar.com/index.php. You will be seeing longer definitions.

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.
Let's look at a few words:
  • 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.
  • 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.