Month: August 2020

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life [Matthew 16:21, NIV]. Back in my Wake Forest undergraduate years, now half a century ago, I had a favorite Ancient History professor with an unusual first name and several idiosyncrasies. His name: Cyclone Covey. “Cyclone” was not a nickname, but rather the name given him by his parents. He had two PhDs: one in Music, the other in Ancient History.…

“But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” [Matthew 16:15] When the Roman authorities forcefully put down the abortive Jewish revolt against Rome in 70 A.D., they leveled Jerusalem, and destroyed the Temple. Some reports even say the Romans sowed salt in the ground so as to prevent crops from being subsequently grown. Having rid themselves of the Jewish menace, or so they thought, the Romans went to a special place to celebrate: Caesarea Philippi — the seat of Roman power in the area, the spot where the temple to the pagan god, Pan, has been constructed, the place that represented all the trappings and powers…

The Gospel reading appointed for this upcoming Sunday [Matthew 15:10-20, 21-28, RCL, the 11th Sunday After Pentecost] provides us with, by my count, the third consecutive “withdrawal” narrative about Jesus. Two weeks ago, we learned that, prior to feeding the multitude, Jesus had attempted to withdraw, perhaps to process the death of John the Baptist. In last week’s narrative, in which Jesus miraculously walks on the water, He had retreated to the mountain for centering prayer and communion with Yahweh. This week, following a heated argument with some Pharisees and “teachers of the law,” He withdraws to Tyre and Sidon [15:21]. No sooner has he done so, than he runs…