Tag Archives: sayings of jesus

Jesus Speaks to Ears that Hear (villanelle)

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Tuesday was World Poetry Day, so I challenged myself to capture some of Jesus’ teachings in in the style of a villanelle.

Sermon of the Beatitudes
 James Tissot, c. 1890

If you have ears to hear, then hear
You are my salt and shining light
Yield not to temptation nor fear

Repent for the kingdom is near
Walk the path that’s not wide but tight
If you have ears to hear, then hear

Store treasures in heaven not here
A choice that requires foresight
Yield not to temptation nor fear

Do not hide beneath a veneer
The pure in heart give me delight
If you have ears to hear, then hear

High is the cost to follow near
But my yoke and burden are light
Yield not to temptation nor fear

Faith you must keep till I appear
Take hold of life, fight the good fight
If you have ears to hear, then hear
Yield not to temptation nor fear

Jesus and Scripture (Scripture and the Authority of God by N.T. Wright)

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This is part 5  of the series blogging through the book Scripture and the Authority of God by N.T. Wright. You might want to start with part 1 and work your way through the series.

Wright uses chapters 3 through 6 to examine the use of the Scriptures throughout the history of the church. This post will review Wright’s cursory examination of ‘Scripture and Jesus’, which he summarizes as follows:

at the heart of his work lay the sense of bringing the story of scripture to its climax, and thereby offering to God the obedience through which the Kingdom would be accomplished.

For Wright, the Kingdom is about God putting ‘the world to rights, judging evil, and bringing forgiveness and new life’.

N.T. Wright on Colbert Report

In emphasizing the Kingdom storyline and the climatic entrance of Jesus, Wright downplays two aspects of scripture. Continue reading →