#his faith in Jesus was rewarded

[indianahal]

My new video looks at Jesus' second recorded miracle, the healing of a Royal Official's son who was dying 20 miles away in Capernaum. The Nobleman had traveled and found Jesus, and pleaded with him to come visit his son so that he could be healed.  The man's faith in Jesus was rewarded when eventually Jesus told him to depart, that his son would live.  The Royal Official took Jesus for his word, and returned home to find out that his ill son was totally healed.  The Nobleman was told that his son was healed at the seventh hour, the exact time Jesus had spoken to him that his son would live. 

[markmcole]

Knowing God

Knowing God is not merely an intellectual pursuit but a deeply personal and transformative journey. It’s about experiencing His presence, understanding His character, and aligning our lives with His will. The Bible, God’s Word, serves as our guide on this journey, revealing who He is and how we can draw closer to Him. Below are some key points to help you grow in your journey to knowing Him. 1.…

[yeslordmyking]

Psalm 8:1 — Today's Verse for Thursday, August 1, 2024

[infamousbrad]

I warned you.

About 15 years ago, I had a minor moment of Internet fame when I wrote a lengthy essay series on LiveJournal called "Christians in the Hand of an Angry God." In it, I argued that right-wing evangelical "Christianity" was literally Satanic by scriptural standards, was literally the cult of anti-Christ that Jesus prophesied in Matthew 25:31-46, that they were literally worshiping a made-up guy with the same name to justify cruelty, just like Jesus predicted they would the week before the crucifixion.

And at least half of the people who read it and praised it called it excellent satire. They saw my point, thought I was onto something, but couldn't take seriously that I literally meant what I literally said.

"Do not commit the sin of empathy."

Jesus' prophesy that these people were coming was not especially miraculous, in hindsight. No philosophy or theological movement becomes a large organized church, let alone a majority faith of a nation, without needing rich people's money, and/or government funding, to pay for it all.

And rich people in general, and right-wing governments in general, get to be the way they are by believing that the poor and the down-trodden can never be shown anything but cruelty, should never be rewarded, or else they'll lose all motivation to obey, to work hard, to be good. (By contrast, they believe that the same thing would happen to rich, powerful, popular people if they were ever punished in any way, if they were ever anything but rewarded.)

And rich people and governments are not going to subsidize your church foundation funds, your church repair funds, et cetera if you tell them that they're evil. But someone definitely will come along and offer to take that money. The people who take that money and conform won't even all be lying psychopaths; if you truly believe that your organization matters, is doing irreplaceable good in the world, you'll sacrifice any principle of your faith to keep the bills paid, you'll look away from or excuse any sin. It's that or see it all shrink and crumble into irrelevance.

I've come to the conclusion that it may not actually be possible to be a good person while practicing the majority faith of the land you live in. Or, if it is possible, well, like the man said, "straight is the gate and narrow is the way, and few there be that find it."

The Episcopal Church has its own legacy of sin, they've long overlooked a laundry list of crimes to pay their own bills, so don't rush to congratulate a mainline bishop for preaching mainline Christianity or take too much pleasure from Trump and his fascist followers being surprised that that happened. But do remember this:

From the mid-1970s to the present, right-wing billionaires have poured a LOT of money into church expansion and maintenance conditional on them distorting the Bible's teachings to make it appear that Jesus was pro-fascist. "To deceive, if it were possible, the very elect." So when honest theologians tell you that this is literally anti-Christ, literally checks every box in the Bible's description of the future cult of anti-Christ, you need to hear us.

The modern book and movie image of "the Antichrist" was a well-funded propaganda campaign to distract you from the plain language of the scriptures. The biblical anti-Christ is not some socialist liberal peacenik. The biblical anti-Christ is everyone who tells you that Jesus wants you to be cruel to "the least of these, my brethren" so that they'll straighten up and fly right.

[cassatine]

my conclave review i guess! i was going to gush in chat but then. too many words.

so literally all i knew about it going in was (1) a cardinal vapes in it (2) probably it's about a conclave?? (3) good vibes according to dashboard osmosis. the cinematography was a+, which i always appreciate. i liked that on one level it's a perfect comedy, really fucking funny in a sort of understated way. the beginning kinda reminded me of the death of stalin, what with the inciting event being the guy at the top of the hierarchy dying… somehow excellent comedy setup. at the very beginning, when lawrence & co struggle a bit to take the ring off the pope's corpse and it's all so ritualized, that's when i knew it was going to be Funny.

but beyond the fact that it was funnier than i expected... i liked the layers. most of all i think i liked the earnestness. ralph fiennes mid-crisis of faith, hating his job, trying to be a moral man in a system that is broken?? chef's kiss. the other cardinals of note were also nicely layered, like adeyemi? it would have been so easy to just stop at his being homophobic and treat his having had a kid being revealed as comeuppance but the way he cries and asks lawrence to pray with him… he sucks and it's a good thing he's taken off the race but it also happens for the wrong reason. bellini who's lying to himself and everyone else over not wanting to be the pope when he so clearly does and still letting himself be bought by the promise of a nice post… and yet he is not just an hypocrite. he sees he failed. he apologizes. he is only human. tedesco could have been a one note villain but he's the coolest dude around, and on a fundamental level that's part of what makes him dangerous: he's a reactionary and a bigot but he makes it kinda sexy. you want to like him; he's fun to watch and he has style, something the other cardinals probably wouldn't recognize if it hit them in the face. benitez. well. benitez is jesus. sister agnes was neat, it's a bit sad we don't really get to know her but she's indispensable and i love that for her. like. here's a bunch of dudes with all the decisional power who expect her to just exist in the background doing the menial work and then her printer expertise ends up being vital, and in general lawrence wouldn't have managed as well without her support… noice.

the end feels a bit easy, like lbr benitez being elected pope because he made a nice speech is ludicrous, but also… it works for me?

(1) on some level the film is about the difficulties of trying to be a moral person in a system that does not reward being moral. sure it's about faith and doubt and the limitations of organized religion. it's about catty bitches vying for power in a ritualized way that, on some level, speaks of an institution that ossified, that resists change (and on that note: benitez, obviously-the-best candidate only gets elected because people skirt the isolation rules, because the outside world intrudes. also because he is jesus.) it's stated near the beginning that the pope hadn't lost faith in god but in the church, and through the movie we can see why, all the machinations and the thirst for power and the fallibility of the men within the institution. through lawrence we see how much easier it would be to just… stop trying, to do the convenient thing, the easy thing, rather than the right thing, and to find justifications for that: better not make waves and better not make a scandal, for the sake of electing a blandly liberal pope rather than tedesco. and who would disagree? sure, better a bland liberal than reactionary tedesco. but then comes the ethical quandary: should the goal of avoiding one evil mean closing your eyes to another? should you forsake your sense of right and wrong for the greater good? too often i think we are told to prioritize the greater good, and maybe sometimes we should. but maybe sometimes we shouldn't. maybe sometimes we should hold to our principles. in the end, benitez being elected pope isn't going to miraculously make the catholic church and its agents unproblematic. but it is a win, and it happens because lawrence kept choosing to do (what he believes is) the right thing, the moral thing, even when it's not easy, even when it's inconvenient, even when he's told he's being naive and hurting the greater cause. and i appreciate that message.

(2) as i said: benitez is jesus. the film is a parable… it's a story about how jesus showed up, completedly unexpected, in the middle of the church his disciples built, and because the church is made up of people and people are flawed and faillible and too busy with things like power, they did not notice jesus walking among them. at least not until god (metaphorically) shone a light on him. like yes sure the way benitez ends up the one elected is ludicrous but!! it took an act of god. not the bombs per se. but the tragedy of it intruding into the isolated conclave? the windows exploding, the light coming in, this is what allows the true stakes to become clear again, and for benitez's love thy neighbour speech to take place at all - a speech contrasted with tedesco's own, all the style stripped from him, making it clear he is a man who reaches for hate and not compassion. it's a parable!! it takes a tragedy. it takes an act of god.

[all-pacas]

Okay need to make a post entirely about chase being insane about religion. Chase's endless religious cycling. how badly and desperately and clearly he wants to believe, how much he wants faith and god, and how he can never quite - make it. Never quite get there. How he openly admires and defends the faith of others, faith and prayer as concepts, how he turns to confession in a crisis, how he still has large parts of the bible committed to memory, how he never answers any questions about his faith, if he believes in God, if anything.

In Damned If You Do, he shares his favorite bible verse with the nun. The episode itself paraphrases it a little, but the verse he mentions reads:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(you will suffer. it will be so hard. you will be tested. gold can be melted and your faith is more valuable, and if you keep trying, you will be rewarded, you will.)

(AUGUSTINE: Why did you leave the seminary? CHASE: That test. You passed, I failed.)

Here Kitty:

PATIENT: Do you want to tell me what an idiot I'm being? CHASE: No. I really believe that there are things that science can't understand. That there is a role for faith and prayer. But it's in the waiting room. Not the O.R. PATIENT: There's a reason I got sick. There's a reason for all the bad things that have happened to me. I don't know what that reason is. But I know that if there isn't one… If there's no greater purpose in the world. Then it's not a world I want to live in. CHASE: I'll schedule an operating room.

House Training:

CHASE: You want to go get drunk? FOREMAN: No thanks. I’ve got paperwork. CHASE: Listen, I don’t… I don’t know what I believe, but sometimes I need to think there’s something out there paying attention. So when I can’t talk to anybody, I talk to God, and pretend somebody’s listening. We were all wrong, Foreman. Even House was wrong. FOREMAN: I know.

He leaves the chapel in Damned if You Do. He prays for the baby in Forever. He gives the woman in Here Kitty her risky surgery; he defends the faith healer and Wilson's girlfriend's faith in House vs. God.

House vs. God:

HOUSE: When you were in seminary, did God ever talk to you? CHASE: …No.

Chase:

I always wanted to believe. It would have made my life a lot easier. It never took.

(AUGUSTINE: You told me your favorite passage. Would you like to hear mine? “Celebrate and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again.” CHASE: …The prodigal son.)

[victusinveritas]

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Da Big JC

More below the cut.

From Rebecca Solnit:

Yeah, we've reached the state where Christian nationalists hate Jesus and anyone like him. "Sin of empathy." [Last] screenshot is Speaker Johnson having a hissy fit about that Episcopalian's sermon.

Some Bible passages on love and kindness, for the record:

John: 13:34

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Matthew:

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Zachariah, Old Testament

8Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,

9“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Execute true justice,

Show [g]mercy and compassion

Everyone to his brother.

10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,

The alien or the poor.

Let none of you plan evil in his heart

Against his brother.’

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Psalm 31:21

Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.

Colossians 3:11-13

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

2 Peter 1

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

[heartsings77]

Hold on to Your Crown...

It’s been a while since I have heard someone say, “Hold on to your hat!” It’s an old expression that signifies preparing for whatever might lie ahead. For me, it still points to a bumpy ride ahead, during which time I might lose my hat if I’m wearing one.

Jesus said something similar in His message to the church at Philadelphia: “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown” (Revelation 3:11).

A loose rendering of this verse might be, “Hold on to your crown.”

In the context, Jesus praises the church for its “patient endurance” (Revelation 3:10) and notes that He is “coming soon” or quickly. His message commends believers for holding fast to His word amid opposition as they waited expectantly for His appearing.

As 2024 ends, many of us wonder how much longer it will be until the Lord appears to take us home to glory. I know of many saints who suffer from various afflictions as they await meeting our Savior in the air. Many of us feel the effects of aging, which makes us long all the more for fulfillment of 1 Corinthians 15:47-55, our receipt of immortal bodies that will never grow old, get sick, or wear out.

It’s likely we don’t have a whole lot longer to wait. The events of 2024 have brought us to the brink of the start of the seven-year Tribulation and, thus, to the Rapture. Don’t let the start of yet another year diminish your expectation of our “blessed hope.”

If we are to keep our eyes on the prize that awaits us, we must not allow the following detours to derail our anticipation of Jesus’ soon arrival:

Don’t Give Up Hope

The longer we wait for the Rapture, the more I understand Jesus’ words in Revelation 3:11. He knew of all the temptations we would face to stop watching for His soon return. Perhaps that’s why He reminded the church at Philadelphia, and us, not to give up hope in these last days.

What is the crown that Jesus tells us to hold on to in Revelation 3:11? I believe it’s the one that Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy 4:8:  “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Keep looking up, and by all means, hold on to your hat, or in this case, your crown. The Lord will reward your continued faithfulness in eagerly watching for His appearing. Not only are we in the season of Jesus’ appearing, but we live during its end. If there ever was a time to watch for the Rapture, this is it! (by Jonathan Brentner/Harbinger's Daily)

[walkswithmyfather]

John 10:7-8, 10-11, 16-18 (ESV). [7] “So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. [17] For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

“The Mission of Christ.” By In Touch Ministries:

“Because of the Father’s great love, He sent Jesus to make a way for us to have eternal life.”

“Christ’s mission on earth was to do His Father’s will. Throughout His life, Jesus continually surrendered Himself to God. The King of kings came not to be served but to serve—even unto death (Matthew 20:28). His ultimate purpose was to become the sacrifice we needed: By means of His death on the cross, Jesus atoned for our sins so we could be reconciled to the Father.

To accomplish His mission, our Savior suffered greatly. But even in His darkest hour, He did not turn from His calling (Matthew 26:39). Ever the faithful Son, He gave us the only way to the Father and eternal life: Himself (John 14:6).

Jesus said that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father (John 14:9)—and that the two are in fact one (John 10:30). Today, He sits at the Father’s right hand, making intercession for us (Romans 8:34). One day He’ll return to judge sinners and reward the saints. To experience that, we must be prepared, and the only way to be prepared is to receive Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord.

Because the Father’s love for us is limitless, Jesus made it possible for every person to have eternal life. When you place faith in Christ as your Savior, you are united with the Father—now and throughout eternity.”

[tigrewithglasses]

An Analysis of Jorel and Jorge (Natal Macabro)

I think most of us can agree that Jorel and Jorge are the "catalysts" of all that happened in Natal Macabro. The first (technically second) group was tricked into going to the campsite by Jorel in order for him to find his brother Jorge. What's interesting about Jorel doing this is that it doesn't seem that Jorel and Jorge get along. Jorel is the "black sheep" of the family while Jorge seems to be the typical golden child. This dynamic is particularly interesting to me because of the religious motifs throughout the spin-off.

The fact that there were 12 initial players reminds me of Jesus and the twelve apostles. While I don't believe that there is a clear "Jesus" within the players, it's obvious that the "Judas" of traitor of the group is Jorel because he became the Caçador de Gente. This would arguably make Jorge "Jesus" since Jorel was literally following him and then betrayed him. However, I don't think that necessarily is the dynamic that Jorel and Jorge are retelling. Rather, I think that they are supposed to be Cain and Abel.

The story of Cain and Abel is a tale of two brothers, the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain murders his brother Abel out of jealousy because God had no regard for Cain and his offering to God but did so for Abel. Cain and Abel are framed as complete opposites. Abel is presented as the righteous brother and is believed to be the first martyr having been murdered due to God rewarding his faith. Cain on the other hand was rejected, ignored by God and doomed to live a life of suffering.

The difference between Jorge and Jorel is immediately apparent. Jorge dresses in a way similar to 1950's sportswear, a clear indicator of some sort of wealth. His appearance is extremely neat, making him appear like a Ken doll. On the other hand, Jorel emulates a grunge/punk aesthetic. He wears extremely casual, ill-fitting clothes, has multiple piercings and painted nails. Whether Jorel's way of dressing is considered "unusual" is subjective, but it is largely considered so by society. In addition, Jorel's "imperfection" is characterized by his own body; he has gap tooth, a broken arm, and some sort of injury on his nose- contributing to his appearance as someone "broken". Unlike Abel, Jorge is not a perfect person; however, what makes him Abel is not his purity or righteousness, but rather the blind truth and faith that he has in his brother. Jorge confidently hands Jorel the mask with little to no precaution, only warning his brother of the power that the mask holds. Jorge does not do this out of concern that his brother will put on the mask, but rather out of concern that the mask will harm his brother. Even after Jorel kills Melissa, Jorge still has complete confidence that he can plead with his brother, that the man that without hesitation put on the mask and shot their ally is still his brother who he can trust and love. It is this faith in his brother that get Jorge killed- just like it did Abel.

[gabebrodudeman]

Psalm 37 is a great chapter, it's all about patience and trust.

Being persecuted by some people who want to see you hurt? You look around and see all the 'evil' people "succeeding" and being rewarded with all the "nice" things life has to offer? Meanwhile, you're there and have practically "nothing"?

God says that's not your problem, you have your focus and it's as simple as being patient and trusting that in the end, somehow, it'll work out. That's why his yoke is easy (Matthew 11:28-30).

Psalms 37:13, 34-36 NLT

[13] But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming.

[34] Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed. [35] I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil. [36] But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

The word steadily really stood out to me here, it's definition is this:

in a regular and even manner, without change; continuously.

in a controlled or unwavering manner.

No matter what we're facing in this life, any trial or tribulation, any period of persecution, even if we're in a period of life where we're very much like Job who was stripped of everything, we are called to walk with him through it all steadily.

We are called to walk with him on a regular basis, continuously, without change in our faith based on our circumstances we are to walk with him in a controlled unwavering manner.

My dear brothers and sisters, no matter what we're facing in this life always remember to walk with him with a steadfast kind of love.

I love you my brothers and sisters, but always remember, there is no love like the love of Jesus Christ, Amen 🤍

[faithfullyfound]

In Order To Live You Must Die

My faith often fluctuates. Sometimes I'm on fire for Jesus while other times I don't read my Bible and forget the Spirit's presence. When things are going good in my life I tend to be more likely to read my Word, pray, listen to worship music, and spend time with God. However, when I face trials in my life I tend to not read my Bible, not pray with faithfulness, and forget to include Jesus in my life.

This year/month has been hard for me. I have struggled with many things that were often my fault, but sometimes the result of others' failures. As I felt more pain being added into my life the more I left God last on my To Do list. I began to make myself the front of my life, listening to my own voice instead of the Holy Spirit's.

But I was looking at these "trials" all wrong.

Matthew 16:25-28 states, "25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. 28 'Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.'”

The only way to save our lives and truly live is to give up our desires, wants, and control to allow God to control our lives. Anyone who wants to live according to the world will lose their life chasing after things that will never fulfill them. And anyone who is trying to control their own life will fail. What good would it be to have everything yet gain nothing? When you live for the world your soul lacks, you lack. What is better than gaining God's love and experiencing the Son of Man's glory.

James 1:2-4 showcases the joy that we should have in the midst of our suffering because it results in endurance/perseverance that strengthens our faith. "2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

When we are in the midst of suffering and we allow Christ in and make Jesus the center of our lives, we are creating something good out of our suffering. When we are acting according to our flesh we lack everything but when we act with the Spirit we lack nothing.

In order to truly live and experience Christ our vices and our wants must perish so that we can allow the Spirit of the Lord to increase.

I pray this week that you and I can strengthen our faith, as we go through hardships I pray that we put God at the center of it all. We go to Him for answers to our questions, not society, not parents, partners, friends, books, the internet, but God. I pray that through our sufferings we embrace God that we do not look to Him as a genie but a God that can grant wisdom and loves us more than we love ourselves. Amen.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.

8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. — Matthew 16 | King James Version (KJV) The King James Version Bible is in the public domain Cross References: Job 34:11; Psalm 42:2; Psalm 49:8; Psalm 129:2; Proverbs 26:5; isaiah 22:22; Isaiah 57:3; Jeremiah 1:1; Matthew 1:16; Matthew 3:7; Matthew 4:10; Matthew 5:20; Matthew 6:30; Matthew 8:20; Matthew 10:38-39; Matthew 12:40; Matthew 14:17; Matthew 14:20; Matthew 21:25; Mark 8:15; Luke 9:18; Luke 12:54; Luke 12:56; John 1:42; John 12;25; Revelation 3:7

Some Standing Here Will Not Taste Death

Key Events in Matthew 16

1. The Pharisees require a sign. 5. Jesus warns his disciples of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 13. The people's opinion of Jesus, 16. and Peter's confession of him. 21. Jesus foretells his death; 23. reproves Peter for dissuading him from it; 24. and admonishes those who will follow him, to bear the cross.

[yeslordmyking]

John 4:23-24 — Today's Verse for Tuesday, April 23, 2024

[nerdygaymormon]

Matthew 25:14-30 - Parable of the Talents

Jesus tells a parable that says the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a man going on a long trip. He calls together his servants and entrusts his money to them while he is gone. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents of silver to another, and one talent of silver to the final servant—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

The servant who received the five talents of silver began to trade the money and earned five more talents. The servant with two bags of silver also went and earned two more. But the servant who received the one talent of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

After a long time, their master returned and he wants an accounting of the funds he left with them. The servant who was entrusted with five talents came forward to say he used it to gain an additional five talents. The master replied, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Let's celebrate together."

The servant who had the two talents came forward to say he had used it to earn two more talents. The master also congratulates him and invites him to celebrate together.

Then the servant with the one talent of silver said, "Master, I knew you were a harsh man as evidenced by you harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering straw you didn't set out to dry. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth to keep it safe. Here is your money back." The master calls this servant wicked and lazy and asks if you knew that I'm such a harsh man because I take profits I didn't work for, why didn't you deposit my money and at least earn some interest on it?" Then the master ordered the one talent of silver taken away from this servant and given to the servant with the ten talents.

The master goes on to say that those who use well what they are given, will be given even more, and they will have an abundance. But for those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Kingdom of Heaven is like this.

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First thing we need to make clear in this story is that a talent of silver is a LARGE amount of money. Some scholars estimate a talent was worth 20 years of wages for the common worker. Let's imagine someone who earns $25,000/year today doing work like cleaning houses or doing yard work, using that comparison would make a single talent worth $500,000.

Right from the beginning, this story is not what we would expect, the master leaving huge amounts of money with his servants for them to manage on their own with no instructions or supervision.

It makes sense to us in a capitalist system that people use money to make money. An investor uses money to buy shares of a corporation and expects it to work to earn a profit and pay the investor a dividend. If the corporation doesn't make more wealth, then the investor will take their funds elsewhere. This is greed-driven, not a charity. This is how the master in the story operates, he uses his money to reap profits from others who do the work.

The servant who buried the money blames his master's ruthless craving for profits as the reason he didn't want to possibly lose the money and so he buried it. However, the master is not pleased because he has no profit and points out that depositing the funds at a bank and earning a low interest rate is low risk and at least earns some profit.

If this is what heaven is like, then God wants profitable servants, not excuses. There's many ways to use what God has given us. Success isn't rewarded with carefree living on the beach, instead you're given more responsibility.

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I've heard this parable used in two ways. One is to say we are each to work as hard as we can because we know God is harsh and demanding. The word "talent" in the story means an amount of money but in English the word "talent" means an ability or aptitude, and thus many say that whatever natural talents we have, we must develop and use them for Jesus (like he's the investor and we're the corporation that has to earn a profit), or else!

Another interpretation is that this isn't about working as hard as you can and only then are you valuable to the Lord, instead this is actually about grace. The Lord gave them huge sums of money and no rules about how to use it, they are enabled to act. The one who gets called lazy and wicked is the one who didn't try new things, who doesn't take risks, who does nothing but hide what he was given. Even if we have a fear of risk, there's low-risk options for us, but we must do something, even if not everything works out.

Let's take our body as an example of something given to us. We only have the use of it during this mortal life, then God takes it back.

In the first interpretation, we must exercise hard and eat right and care for our body, make it into the best, most-healthy version of itself so that we can use on doing good works for the Lord. In the second interpretation, we are given a body and it's up to us to experiment with it in different ways and in that way grow, like trying different sports, training our hands to play a musical instrument, experiencing the pleasures of sex and the pain of injury, we are to take risks, even if some of those risks don't pay off, because that's how we grow.

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What would be a queer interpretation of this story?

Telling queer people not to “act” on their queerness is akin to telling us to bury our talent and to go back to the Lord without doing anything with it.

Queer people are told to hide who they are. Gay, bi, and pan people have the capacity to love, but too often we're told we shouldn't, to bury that desire and instead return it unused to the Lord. Trans people are told not to explore their bodies and ways to change it to fit who they are on the inside, that God would rather we return our bodies unaltered and unexplored. This feels like the opposite of what this parable is teaching.

Also, we know Jesus uses the money in the story as a metaphor, elsewhere in the scriptures we're told accumulating riches is problematic, we're to use what money we have to help others. What would be examples of "investing talents" that God would view as profitable? How about helping queer people to overcome the shame they were taught? What about fighting for equity and justice for groups, like queer people, who are not treated fairly in our power structures?

[wormsngods]

The Gospels tell us that a rich young man who observed the Laws of Moses came to Jesus. Jesus told him to "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." [Mk 10:21] This passage always seemed to be to be extremely burdensome. However today I was thinking about the volumes upon volumes of medical textbooks I have memorised and how the people calling all the shots in our country or those living in the exorbitantly wealthy mansions that line the roads seem to have done little else besides being born to rich parents, denied their sisters inheritance, evaded taxes and taken advantage of exploitative systems. I know this seems like a "grapes are sour" type excuse and a cope for not working as hard as them but I am still looking for the self made man who did not lie, cheat and steal his way to the top. I look at my professors and the doctors in our hospital and at the end of the day they have to grovel before uneducated men who simply inherited their positions of power from their dad and grew their business by scamming and underhanded tactics.

Back to my point, It seems as if in this passage, Jesus was not burdening the young man but asking him to pick a side. You can either take up your cross and follow the path of Jesus or you can run after worldly riches.

Anyone you tries to run after both will gain neither.

And there are some who worship Allah on the verge ˹of faith˺: if they are blessed with something good, they are content with it; but if they are afflicted with a trial, they relapse ˹into disbelief˺,1 losing this world and the Hereafter. That is ˹truly˺ the clearest loss. [Q22:11]

The only cure to me viewing my (very cozy) circumstances as detestable and resenting the corrupt and powerful for having what they have is to pick a side. I do not have to sympathise with the rich nor do I have to resent them. It is easy for rich and famous people like Jim Carrey to turn around and say that money and fame are not the answer but it is significantly harder to not pursue or desire these two in the first place. To live a life where I am doing what I do, not to gain wealth or power, but because it is what God has decreed for me and is my means to earn a livelihood enough to put a roof over my head, food on the plate and clothes on my back.

If this is cause enough for people to deny me their company, love and good regard then that too is God's decree and we must accept that with patience and maybe he will reward us with something better than the worldly mansions and cars and fame that we so value. Would it not be better to be loved by your Creator than to be loved by humans? I accept His decree and place my hope in His mercy.