Reflections For Renewal » Bible

Fearing His Power, Drawn by His Goodness

Michael Walker — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:30:22 +0000

The Gospel lectionary text for today is Mark 5:1-20. It’s the story of Jesus healing the demoniac who is possed by “Legion” — many evil spirits. Jesus sends the evil spirits into the nearby herd of swine, who then charge into the lake and drown themselves. At this surprising display of power, the residents don’t give thanks for the healed man but are rather terrified by Jesus and ask him to leave.

There are a variety of ways to explain why the residents ask Jesus to leave. Were they just distraught over the loss of their possessions, their swine? Was this unleashing of spiritual power too much to handle, perhaps fearing what Jesus might do to or require of them? Calvin remarks that their fearful request for Jesus to leave reflects the basic quality of their present relationship with God: (more…)

Faith and Fear

Michael Walker — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:14:12 +0000

The Gospel lectionary text for today is Mark 4:35-41, the story about Jesus calming the storm out on the sea, after the disciples wake him up and implore him to do something, for fear that they will drown. After calming the storm, Jesus says to them: “Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith?”

Jesus obviously takes their fear to be evidence of their lack of faith. It is easy to be struck with dread in the face of the dangers of this world, especially in our terror-hyped times. But is fear ever appropriate for someone with confident faith in God? Can a proper fear ever serve our faith rather than evidence our lack of faith? John Calvin reflects on these questions in his commentary on this passage: (more…)

Material Offerings, Eucharist, and Our Vision of the Future Life

Michael Walker — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:29:19 +0000

The future life envisioned by Holy Scripture involves a restored physical universe, a “renewal of all things” — a New Heavens and New Earth (e.g. Rev. 21). It’s true, however, that if we were to take a poll of western Christians about their views on what the future life will be like, we’d likely get a very different prevailing view: something like a disembodied existence, a “heaven” that is an immaterial existence. Critics of that prevailing western view have often laid the blame on the influence of a Platonic dualism (where immaterial “spirit” and material “flesh” are juxtaposed as higher and lower modes of existence). This criticism is mostly right. (more…)

The Drama of Redemption in the Conquest of Canaan: Considering Biblical Genocide

Michael Walker — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 21:31:10 +0000

The “Holy War” passages in the Bible that describe the Israelite Conquest of Canaan are surely some of the most disturbing – and disturbingly misused – passages in all of Scripture.

In Deuteronomy 7:2, for instance, Moses tells the Israelites that when they enter the Land of Canaan, which God had promised to give them, they will encounter its current inhabitants whom they “must destroy totally.” And then in the description of the conquest in Joshua we find these instructions carried out in a sweeping manner. For instance, in Joshua 6, after God collapses the walls of Jericho, the Israelites “devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.” The Hebrew word here translated “devoted” is herem and it’s a technical term in a variety of such Old Testament passages describing things (and people) that Israel was supposed to “devote” to the Lord, often devotion through destruction: “Herem War.” (more…)

A Sermon on “Heaven” - Or, the New Heaven and New Earth

Michael Walker — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:18:51 +0000

The following is the text of a sermon I preached on July 15, 2007, at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. For the contemporary worship service we’re doing a series called “You Asked For It,” where the pastors are taking turns preaching on topics the congregation expressed a special interest in. “Heaven” was my assignment. The primary text was Revelation 21:1-5.

The idea of Heaven is fascinating. It’s actually one of the few universal human fascinations. Everybody thinks about heaven. Even if it’s your own made-up, private version of “heaven,” you think about it. C.S. Lewis once described heaven as that remote music we’re born remembering. I think that captures it really well. The whole human race has a kind of deep memory of paradise lost, a faint but powerful awareness that there must be a better, different world that we were designed for. (more…)

Teaching the Bible in Public School: A Modest Proposal

Michael Walker — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:40:40 +0000

I read with interest the latest cover story of Time Magazine on “Why We Should Teach the Bible in Public School.” On the whole, it’s a very sensible article and it argues that many public schools should offer courses on biblical literacy, on account of the Bible’s formative influence on western civilization and because of the role it continues to play in contemporary politics.

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Unity and Purity, Humility and Moral Striving: Listening to Ephesians “In Christ”

Michael Walker — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:56:35 +0000

A couple weeks ago I promised to continue a series of reflections on the theme of “Yearning for Unity and Purity” in the PC(USA), commenting on the state of the church, looking at Ephesians and then a few books on the topic of church unity. This post looks at Ephesians. I’ll pick up on the other sources in subsequent posts. I’ll also try to interact with some of the comments that have been submitted.

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