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. 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.

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!
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[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.

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 left-handed.

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 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. 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:

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:

• Çünkü -- Because
  
• 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.

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[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. 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 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 self-obsessed 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.
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[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. 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 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-to-be-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 anti-philosophy 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.

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[1] Someone who is "bewildered" is, metaphorically at least, lost in the wild.

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 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.

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[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. 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."

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.

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[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. 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, '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 "no-brainer." 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.



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[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. 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?"

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.

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[1] to "strike one's fancy" is, I fear, an obsolete idiom, a "bookish" turn of phrase.

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 present-oriented. 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. 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.

Let's look at a few words:

• 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.

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[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 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

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.
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. 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 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. 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. 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.

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. 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 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!

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[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."