The other day, in part one of this brief exploration of the Beatitudes of Jesus, we looked at the eschatological (i.e., ‘end-oriented’), apocalyptic, and wisdom assumptions lying behind Beatitude as a literary genre in the Ancient Mediterranean world, and saw how the first three of Jesus’ Beatitudes promote an ethic based in a radical acceptance … Continue reading The Beatitudes (Part II)
As we saw last time, the first teaching we get from Jesus in his public ministry is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” I’ve written extensively on repentance in the past, but to summarize, to repent is to undergo a change of mind, heart, and disposition such that one begins to see … Continue reading The Beatitudes (Part I)
This series is about the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ first major teaching discourse, which can be found Matthew 5-7. But before we get into that, it’s important to see how Matthew sets the stage for it. And that’s what today's post is about. The Gospel according to St Matthew begins — rather inauspiciously for … Continue reading Setting the Scene: A Survey of Matthew 1-4
As I write this, the question of power is all over the news — it can’t not be, with wars and rumours of war around the world, and major elections at home and abroad. The whole world seems to be grappling with the question of what power is. And that’s of course only talking about … Continue reading Jesus on Power: A Reflection on Mark 10.35-45
I’ve had a habit over the past couple years of my main Fall series here being about putting Christian theology up to an external lens to better understand ourselves through the face of another: Integral thought in 2021, Indigenous spiritualities in 2022, and principles of permaculture in 2023. But when I look at the state … Continue reading Back to Basics: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
Matthew Root 