A quick reminder of two big issues in the background of Romans. First, we have the large problem of all creation discussed in chapter 1. Secondly, Paul talks often about God's righteousness/justice; merely turning a blind eye to sin would be an abdication of God's righteousness. So, what is God going to do so that his righteousness/justice may come to bear upon this terrible situation?

This brings us to another large theme: justification. This is not just forgiveness, but is a judicial term meaning to find someone in the right. How can humanity, of whom Paul describes as having sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (3:23) be justified? They're clearly guilty! In the first half of chapter 5, Paul begins to explain how this comes through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. It is not just that we are forgiven, but we are also justified, declared to be innocent, in the right, through Jesus, the faithful son of God. Being "justified by faith" (5:1) is then to trust in this verdict, to trust in the reality of what Christ has done. Furthermore, not only are we forgiven, not only are we justified, but "through [Jesus] we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God" (5:2). At the beginning, having turned away from God, turning our worship to things of creation, we "exchanged the glory of the immortal God" for lesser images, further degrading ourselves, tarnishing the image of God imprinted upon humans (Gen. 1:27). Now, through Christ, we have hope in yet again sharing in the glory of God. What had once been ruined is being renewed again; life as God intended it is real and our hope "does not disappoint us" (5:5). And all of this bears witness to God's love: "God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us" and "For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life" (5:8, 10). We are saved by Christ's death and resurrection. What salvation looks like, and what death and resurrection look like for us and for the whole creation will become clear in Chapters 6 and 8.

So, we are justified by Christ's obedient sacrifice: his death and resurrection. Good for Jesus; what does that mean for us, though? We start to get an answer in the second half of Chapter 5.

It seems like a strange idea to a culture of individual responsibility, but we stand as guilty from the legacy of the first man. For Paul, sin is not just the aggregation of individual sins, but also a condition. Furthermore, sin is also a power that allows death to exercise dominion (a word used 5 times in just these 10 verses) over the creation. Humanity not only abdicated the glory of God's image by turning from God, but also abdicated the dominion which God had entrusted to humans (Genesis 1:28-30). All are guilty in the original sin and cannot help themselves; they can only be justified if another representative human can live obediently to God on their behalf. This is Jesus Christ (5:15-19). Now grace has the final word, grace exercises dominion, "leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (5:21). In short, there has been a changing of the guard on our behalf; God and life now have dominion where sin and death once held sway. But eternal life? What is that? Is that merely living forever in a disembodied spiritual state? What does it look like

A quick close-reading note on 3:22--A part of this often reads "faith in Jesus Christ." I'm not sure why so many Bibles insist on this, when the straight reading of the original Greek is "the faith/faithfulness of Christ."  This might initially seem nit-picky (especially as Paul will talk about the importance of our faith), but as Paul goes on to talk about sin coming through Adam's faithlessness, it is important to note that any hope we have is in Jesus' faithfulness FIRST, standing as a representative for all humanity (but we'll get there in Chapter 5).
 
The Gospel is first and foremost about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, not what we have done; even our faith is nothing to brag in compared to being "justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith" (3:24-25). Grace is the receiving of something that one has not earned or deserves. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; not much of a position to toot our own horn, even in our faith, which is only possible because of Jesus Christ's faithful obedience to the righteousness of God, both in a life of obedience and in a death to fulfill God's purposes. And through his death, "[God] did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previous committed" (3:26). Go back to the original problem of disobedience and sin. Mere forgiveness does not solve the problem, but under God's righteousness, all are found guilty and fall under condemnation. The death of Jesus Christ somehow satisfies both righteousness and mercy. How? Stay tuned!

So we have seen what is wrong with the world (and perhaps got a reminder of the first few chapters of Genesis). God is just and righteous; surely God will do something!

Chapters 2-3 make it clear that God is not indifferent to the corruption and suffering of the world. It is also made clear that God will not play favorites. There is a special group, the children of Abraham, who are in covenant with God, as we recall in Genesis. The point, though, is not that they may be a special exception "for God shows no partiality" (Rom. 2:11), but so that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). Somehow, God's work of making things right shall be done through a particular family/nation.

And as God takes this nation under care, God also blesses them with a law (as we shall see in Exodus!) to guide them as the people of God. When they fail to take its guidance to heart and into practice, they are accountable to the law. The law is good, holy, and a guide to righteous living, but simply being the people who have the law is not going to create a special privilege. Those who do not have the law but instinctively do what the law ordains are found to be in the right (2:14-16). Those who boast in being those who possess the law, but fail to actually live up to it bring God's name into disrepute (2:23-24). Both the law and circumcision are signs of a covenant that calls Israel into righteous living; they are not grounds for honoring that particular nation above others, especially when they are part of the same mess as the rest of the nations. The advantage of the Jews is that they have a great privilege--they were "entrusted with the oracles of God" (3:2)--but have not been good stewards of what was meant, all along, to be a blessing to the whole world.

And Paul introduces a big question on which God's dilemma hinges: "Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?" ( 3:3b). God is righteous. And God is faithful. God has made a covenant with Israel so that his righteousness may come to bear upon the world. What happens when the covenant people do not live up to this, when even the people of God can be justified before God? Will God break the covenant with Israel or will God compromise righteousness? What if the answer is NEITHER? Through verse 20, Paul affirms both God's righteousness/justice and God's truthfulness/faithfulness.

Exodus
Through the book of Genesis, we have seen a world created good fall into sin and violence, and a God who establishes a covenant with an obscure man named Abraham so that in him "all the families of the earth will be blessed" (12:3). Exodus is about God's faithfulness to this covenant with Abraham and his family, and about a new covenant that will set the people of Israel apart as a holy nation.

Some things for which to look out:
-How do the promises of Genesis come to bear upon this story? How does God remain faithful?
-What kind of covenants does God establish with Israel in the wilderness? What designs does God have for this nation?
-Forgetting and Remembrance. How are the Israelites forgetful? What does God establish to help them remember not only the past, but to remember their true identity as a people set apart?

Romans
Paul's epistle to the Romans is one of the most comprehensive presentations of the Christian faith in scripture. It can be pretty dense, so here are a few guiding questions:

-What is the big problem? What is wrong with creation? What is wrong with humanity? What are the roots of the problem? And can we do anything about it?
-What is the connection between what happened to Jesus and what happened to us? How is his death relevant? How is his resurrection relevant? How do they manifest in the lives of people and in creation?
-This will bring us to Chapter 8: What is God's intention for all creation?

And an important note: Romans is about the corruption of all creation and the renewal of all creation. We as individuals are important and the Gospel is meaningful to our lives, but only insomuch as it is part of God's providential plans to renew all things. This is an exposition of the world's rightful Lord making all things right again; find yourself in that bigger story and ask how it impinges upon our lives. This is bigger than us!

And as Romans is pretty dense, I will try my best to perhaps put up some more frequent posts about it for those of you following along at home.

Some thoughts as we head towards the end of Mark's Gospel:

Chapter 13: Many footnotes talk about this as a prophecy of the end times. Is it? One does not need to go to the end of the ages to find false Messiahs, rumors of war, abuse of the disciples, and  a "desolating sacrelige," but only to 70 AD when a failed Jewish uprising leads to the destruction of the Temple (which Jesus foretells at the beginning of this chapter, setting up this prophecy). This might not be the end of the world, but was as cataclysmic an event as could be imagined by many Jews. And at the end, Jesus says that the Son of Man will come with great power and glory, and "he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth..." The same Greek word for angels is also "messenger." So, there will be these catastrophic events, a Son of Man being glorified, and messengers being sent out...sounds familiar.

The Crucifixion
We have a developed theology of what the cross means. Look carefully to see if this text connects to that or does not connect. Featured strongly is the allegation of Jesus being "King of the Jews," which comes with a whole package of expectations (which we'll get into later).

The Resurrection
New Testament writings have been translated from ancient manuscripts. Here's the tricky part for the Gospel of Mark: a lot of its manuscripts stop at chapter 16, verse 8: "So they [the women] went from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." A rather abrupt ending, but just as abrupt as the beginning of Mark, leaving readers a little uneasy. Perhaps the resurrection is a wild and amazing thing that  can inspire "terror and amazement," and somehow this story did get told even with the women's initial fearfulness. How do we handle and feel about such an amazing but abrupt ending?

As we go through scripture and say certain things about these stories or about God, exercise the discipline of asking, "Is my assertion actually in the text?" Some thoughts about stories may be more reflections of ourselves and our traditions than the scripture themselves, so keep going back to the scripture and be aware of whether or not we are importing something that is not actually written.

Some thoughts on the first week of discussion:

 The big transition from Genesis 11 to Genesis 12. The book has been telling the story of how things have gone wrong in, and then suddenly the whole narrative shifts to this one man Abram and his family. The hinge on which this swing happens is 12:3: "and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Somehow, what happens through Abram and his family will come to bear upon the problems of creation. As we follow this family, what kind of people is God working with? How does this reflect upon God's grace?

Keep your eye out for sentences that establish some purpose or reason. In Mark 1, there is one instance in which the purpose of Mark's Gospel is laid out, and another in which the purpose of Jesus' ministry are laid out. 

For Mark's Gospel, the first verse of the first chapter reads, "The beginning of the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." The term gospel, from the Greek word euangellion, was actually a Roman imperial term, proclaiming "good news" for the empire that was sent out rapidly such as a military victory or the ascension of a new emperor. Is the Gospel of Mark doing something subversive by proclaiming its own euangellion? Especially one who is Christ (anointed one, evoking the kingdom of Israel), and who is "Son of God"? Take into consideration that "Son of God" in the Old Testament was often a way of referring to the king of Israel (2 Sam. 7, Psalm 2) or to Israel itself; we tend to approach some terms casually and it is important to know how they are used in the rest of scripture.

As for Jesus' ministry, "Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." In the next post, we will unpack that statement, especially "the kingdom of God" and see how it sets the stage and purpose for Jesus' ministry in the Gospel of Mark. 

Thanks to all who have attended so far. Don't be afraid to come with any questions that emerge in the reading.  It is such a blessing to explore God's word together.

Genesis
Genesis can be broken into roughly two parts. Chapters 1 through 11 are about God's relationship with creation. Chapters 12 through 50 move from this universal scope to God's relationship with a particular family. Here are some things to look out for and think about:

1.) What are the differences between the creation accounts of Chapters 1 and 2? What kind of relationship does God have with the creation in these two accounts?

2.) What did humans do wrong in chapter 3? What was their temptation?

3.) God calls Abraham in Chapter 12. For what purpose? How does this purpose seem to work or not work in his life and in the rest of Genesis?

4.) What kind of people is God working with? Do these seem like the kind of people to be trusted with the Lord's grand purposes for creation? Do not play down the strangeness of this book!

Mark
Mark is a "Gospel," from the Greek word for "good news," which was also the term used for an imperial proclamation for events such as a newborn emperor or a military victory. Mark is known as one of the "Synoptic Gospels" along with Matthew and Luke, meaning they have a similar approach and view of Jesus (distinct from John). Many believe that Mark was the first Gospel written since it seems to be the foundation of Matthew and Luke, who add additional teachings, parables, and sayings of Jesus.

Jesus seems to come out of nowhere in this Gospel; there is no birth narrative, and the question hanging around is "Who is this man?" Jesus also seems to be a more cryptic and wild prophetic figure wrestling with spiritual powers, compared to the other Gospels.

Starting this Monday, many in our congregation will take up the challenge of reading the Bible in a year. We have broken the reading down into daily assignments for 10 months and we have discussion groups Mondays at 9am at the Create Café (starting Sept. 16th) and Tuesdays at 7pm (starting Sept. 17th).

We will also be posting background information about the assigned reading for each week. In this first post, I wanted to make a few remarks about the Bible as a whole.

1.) The Bible is one book, and many different books at the same time. In many ways, the whole of Scripture is one unit, telling one large and grand narrative of God's interaction with creation and with a particular people (Israel and the early Church). In other ways, each book stands as its own perspective. Some are written as histories, some as poetic prophecies, some are letters to different churches, some are law. We have four gospels talking about the same Jesus Christ, but with their own focuses. Each book was written independently and in different contexts, and for the first few centuries of the Church, different communities had access to different works. But over time, certain works consistently  emerged as authoritative throughout the Christian world, and around the end of the 4th century, the Church recognized and canonized these books. Our challenge will be to acknowledge and respect each book's individual  and unique witness and their place in the whole of Scripture.

2.) Reading vs. Reference. Scripture has a larger story and purpose and is not just available as a reference. We cannot treat the Bible as something to be consulted when we have a particular issue, but as something to be read, appreciated, and have a formative influence on our lives. One of the best and worst things to happen to the Bible was the introduction of chapters and verses. The Bible is easier to navigate, but now we have the practice of plucking out verses independently. Each verse is in the context of a paragraph, each paragraph is in the context of their book, and each book is in the larger context of the biblical canon, which is not always in one neat, singular voice.

There is a difference between being shaped by the constant engagement and exposure to a book and merely pulling it out when we have a question or need to pull out a verse to win an argument. We live in a society that treats books as reference resources and must learn what it means to read the Bible.

3.) Be gracious to yourself and open to questions. You may fall behind and get sidetracked. You won't be the only one. Don't be embarrassed, but continue in the journey, especially as you have the opportunity to do it in community. And also know that you will have questions and confusion in this process, many of which will not be resolved, but even the questions are a sign of seeking God. Know this up front and know that it will not only be part of the journey of this particular exercise, but of the life of faith for all of us. Let us do so in prayer, openness to the Holy Spirit, in community, and in obedience to God.