Thursday: Matthew 3
John the Baptist preaches water, fire, air and stone to the Pharisees and the Sadducees in today's portion of the Gospel (Evangelion in Greek, Besorah in Hebrew).
The water of the Jordan, and of baptism, is the merciful side of the Holy Spirit. The feminine side. The fire of judgment is the wrathful side of the Holy Spirit. The masculine side. From climate chaos to eternal damnation. The Sadducees and the Pharisees are not the Jews of today, but the clergy of today across all of the Abrahamic faiths. As we approach 2033 AD, the Holy Spirit is laying the axe to the root of the Abrahamic tree, holding every branch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to account. What is still providing healthy food for the people, and what is fuel for the furnace?
Our denominational branches of the Tree of Life will not escape God's judgment, will they, Duffy? Are we bearing fruit in keeping with our repentance, or are we resting on our laurels? Well, I for one find it necessary to rest on my laurels some of the time, reach for new heights some of the time, and prostrate in holy terror at others. I want a God who balances mercy and discipline in his relationship with me. Mostly I want mercy, of course, which is to say the complete acceptance, forgiveness, and love that God as made known to us through Jesus. But then I do also want some developmental chastening from God the Father, so that I grow in holiness. I think wanting that sanctification is part of the indwelling of Christ within me. It's definitely a balance. I don't want too much chastening, Abba!
So much for the water, air and fire. The earth element here refers to the stones of Abraham. We are called to be living stones in a living temple. But Matthew 3:1-12 can be read in two very different ways, depending on whether we are looking at it through a supersessionist Christian anti-Zionist lens or a post-supersessionist Christian Zionist lens. For a deep dive into this distinction, see this thread:
1. I'd like to compare readings of Matthew 3:1-12 from Christian anti-Zionist and Christian Zionist perspectives, respectively.
2. Some years ago, N.T. Wright and Mark Kinzer debated the meaning of "Israel." Would it be safe to say that Wright is a supersessionist anti-Zionist, and that Kinzer is a Messianic Jewish Christian Zionist?
3. Where does Professor Gavin D'Costa land on these two primary points of contention, coming at this from the perspective of a minimalist Catholic Zionism?
4. Say more about Mark Kinzer's view of the "Land" of Israel as an eschatological hub and sacramental reality. What does he mean by this?
"For Wright, the Land is a shell that is discarded once the nut (the Gospel) is extracted. For the Dispensationalist, the Land is a political right. For Kinzer, the Land is a sanctuary - a physical space that holds the promise of the resurrection of the entire cosmos."
Here's that debate between Kinzer and Wright for those of you who have time to listen to it this Lent. It was in 2019:
Have a blessed day.
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