If Jesus was/is a Jew, then what are we?

After last week's discussion, I realized that one of the things we are going to run into in our discussion is the nature of the current relationship between Judaism and Christianity.  It would not be surprising at all to find that we have differing answers to that question. Various denominations of Christianity have taken different positions on this issue over time.

Some of the discussion we had was in response to ideas drawn from this article: If Jesus Was a Jew, Then Why are We Catholic? Namely:

The term Jew is used in at least two senses in Scripture: to refer to those who are ethnically Jews and to those who are religiously Jews. Jesus was a Jew in both senses. In fact, he completed the Jewish religion by serving as the Messiah (Christ) whom the prophets had long foretold. 

And this:

Christians are those who Paul refers to as being inwardly (religiously) Jewish, while non-Christian Jews are those who he refers to as being outwardly (ethnically) Jewish. The former condition, he stresses, is the more important.

From Hebrew For Christian article "Israel and the Church" by John Parsons:

When studying the Jewish roots of Christianity, certain questions often arise regarding the nature of the "Church," the nature of "Israel," and the relationship between them. Do Gentile Christians become "Jewish" on account of their relationship to Jesus?  Does the "Church" somehow replace the Jewish people in God's plan as the "new Israel"?  Exactly how should we understand the relationship between the Church and Israel today?

I recommend a full reading of the above article (Israel and the Church) to sort through the 3 different theological positions in response to those questions:

1) Replacement/Supercessionism/Fulfillment/Covenant Theology
2) Separation/Dispensationalism Theology
3) Remnant Theology

The article is long and includes a history lesson on Israel and the Church before getting into the relationship between the two. I recommend clicking on the "Printer Friendly PDF" link above the article's title and printing it if you don't like to read on the computer screen. Also note that the article takes a strong position in favor of remnant theology.

If by Rudyard Kipling

Ava shared with us last week her transformative experience this Easter, and she mentioned the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling. Such great words, they warrant repeating: 

If  by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

From This One Place by Sara Groves

I wanted to share with all of you the Sara Groves song that Starr has mentioned over the last few weeks...for those moments when we feel "square in the dark..."

 
"From This One Place"

I was about to give up and that's no lie
cardinal landed outside my window
threw his head back and sang a song
so beautiful it made me cry

took me back to a childhood tree
full of birds and dreams

from this one place I can't see very far
in this one moment I'm square in the dark
these are the things I will trust in my heart
you can see something else
something else

I don't know what's making me so afraid
tiny cloud over my head
heavy and grey with a hint of dread
I don't like to feel this way

take me back to a window seat
with clouds beneath my feet

from this one place I can't see very far
in this one moment I'm square in the dark
these are the things I will trust in my heart
you can see something else
something else

Sabbath and The Shema

Central to the celebration of the Sabbath among Jews and Messianic Chistians is the recitation or singing of the Shema. It is a prayer that Jesus would certainly have recited countless times in his life and a prayer that affirms the nature of the One true Creator God. The Shema is drawn from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which begins, "Hear Oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." Many Jews recite (or sing) the Shema twice a day, in addition to recitations as part of holidays, such a Sabbath, and services at the synagogue.

A transliteration of the Shema in Hebrew:

Shema Yisrael, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai echad.
Barukh shem kevod malkhuto le-olam va’ed.

And English translation of the Shema:

Hear O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD.
Blessed be His name, whose glorious kingdom is
forever and ever.

A beautiful version of the Shema, as performed by Anna Brooks, of Temple Israel in Bloomfield, MI:

Yet another rendition of the Shema by a Messianic group called 3b4jHoy:

PBS: Jewish Jesus; Huffington Post: Jesus 'Used to Be Jewish'?

In preparation for Session 1 of Mudhouse Sabbath, Judaism and Christianity, I recommend checking out this 7-minute PBS video interview with Professor Amy-Jill Levine (co-editor of the Jewish Annotated New Testament), Rabbi Schmuley Boteach (author of Kosher Jesus), and Professor Brad Young (of Oral Robert University):

Jewish Jesus

An especially poignant piece of the interview regarding the Jewishness of Jesus:

PROFESSOR LEVINE: He teaches like a Jew. He talks in parables, and Jews then knew that parables were not simple banal little stories. They were designed to shake us up, to get us to see the world in a new way, to challenge us. And Jesus is just a fabulous Jewish storyteller.

LAWTON (Correspondent): She says his teachings, such as in the famous Sermon on the Mount, are expansions of teachings in the Torah.

PROFESSOR LEVINE: He’s going to the law and bringing out the heart of it, which is also what Jewish teaching does. So he says not only don’t murder; he actually says you have to love your enemy, and he’s the only person in antiquity I’ve found who says that. But I think that gets to the heart of scripture.

An article in the Huffington Post by the author of Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew, Bernard Star, provides still more fodder for the discussion on Judaism and Christianity:

Jesus 'Used to Be Jewish'? That's Not What the Gospels Say

Of note:

When I interviewed Christians and Jews for my book "Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew," I heard over and over "everyone knows Jesus was Jewish." But when I dug a little deeper I discovered that "everyone knows he was Jewish" really means "he used to be Jewish."

And...Something that has come up numerous times in our discussions during the Animate studies:

I even took a walking tour of the Renaissance galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. To my astonishment, Jesus, his followers and his Jewish community were consistently pictured as blond, fair-skinned, northern European latter-day Christians, often surrounded by latter-day saints, Christian clergy and Christian artifacts -- images totally at odds with biblical facts and without a trace of any Jewish connections.

Mudhouse Sabbath Book and Study Guides

Just to have these listed in one place...

Here is a short study guide to accompany the DVD sessions: http://site.paracletepress.com/samples/mudhouse-sabbath-study-guide.pdf

Here is a more complete study guide with quotes and discussion questions from the book, Mudhouse Sabbath: https://marshill.org/pdf/hc/books/mudhouseSabbathCompleteGuide.pdf

For fans of audio books, Mudhouse Sabbath is available for audio download! It is only 2.5 hours long and costs $10.98 here: http://christianaudio.com/mudhouse-sabbath-lauren-f-winner

Graitude List - Week 9

This list is an extension of our study of One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. To see earlier parts of the list, click the label at the bottom of the post that says "Gratitude List."

Morning Blend Gratitude List:
310. Thanks for the release, strength, and desire to bring order to our basement
311. Thanks for the LOA so I could be with my sisters!
312. The camaraderie of this group
313. Tesha & Amy visiting Ceola
314. Courage from Jesus to do what we do
315. That Jesus gives us ALL that we need
316. Walking with me and talking to me
317. People praying for my specific needs
318. A pantry and freezer full of food
319. A working car
320. Birds singing in the morning
321. Hearing frogs singing
322. Getting a surprise tax return
323. An evening with family
324. Finding a place to replace a watch battery
325. Finding out what a great little watch it is!
326. A wonderful Seder with good friends
327. The opportunity to study and learn more about Jesus and Jewishness and theology
328. The many answers to prayer our group has seen this year
329. Such a trustworthy group to share our concerns
330. Fun planning a Hobbit feast

Brené Brown: Listening to Shame

We've been having some talks about regret, guilt and shame in our follow up discussions of One Thousand Gifts, and Beth sent me the link to the following TED Talk:

Brené Brown: Listening to shame
http://on.ted.com/i0AwA


From the website:

Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown, whose earlier talk on vulnerability became a viral hit, explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.

It's a struggle when we realize that we have not been living in the moment the way we could have been, that we have not responded to people out of a place of grace and thanks. The Bible, though, is very clear that we aren't meant to live in regret:

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.   2 Corinthians 7:10

OpenBible.com has a list of suggested scriptures for those struggling with regret: http://www.openbible.info/topics/regret

What's Brewing at Morning Blend April-May 2014? Mudhouse Sabbath!

Beginning April 23rd, the women of Morning Blend will be studying  Mudhouse Sabbath: Seven Ways of Christian Formation Inspired by the Jewishness of Jesus by Lauren Winner. We heard from Lauren Winner in our previous study, Animate: Faith, in the 6th session, Bible: A Book Like No Other. Here's a quick video of Ms. Winner describing Mudhouse Sabbath:

The product description says this about her DVD workshop:

"Its not just that Jesus was a Jew, Jesus still is a Jew. Engaging Jewish practice and tradition is one important way of overcoming the gaps that we sometimes feel exist between Jesus and ourselves." So begins Lauren Winner on the powerful new Mudhouse Sabbath DVD. Designed to be a course in Christian formation all by itself, or as a companion to her bestselling book, this resource will challenge you to:

* Encounter the Jewish context that nurtured Jesus
* Explore spiritual practices of hospitality, mindful eating, prayer and fasting, and mourning
* Deepen your Christian faith by incorporating these things into your life

See the study guide PDF here: Mudhouse Sabbath Study Guide

And a link to a previous blog post: Interview with Lauren Winner.

Gratitude List - Week 8

Our group is collectively writing a list of things we are grateful for as we work our way through the study One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. The list will be numbered from the bottom to the top, with the most recent additions added to the top. To see earlier parts of the list, click the label at the bottom of the post that says "Gratitude List."

Morning Blend Gratitude List:
309. Working on a tile project with my aunt
308. A walk at twilight around a quiet Stillwater lake
307. Rocks, twigs and pinecones - The Girl's treasure trove after a nature walk
306. Excitement that comes with looking forward to something
305. Easy-to-cut travertine tiles
304. Rice bowls
303. Morning cuppa tea (or two)
302. A child's all out there style of love
301. New public art created by students at the high school
300. Peace coffee
299. Sunny afternoons
298. Watching the kids play outside
297. Opening the back door and letting the spring air in
296. A successful community meeting
295. Orange Spice Black Tea
294. Crayola twistable pencils
293. Clean air to breathe
292. Health clnic
291. Geese flying north
290. Scripture memorization
289. Laughter in class
288. A bill paid on time when I thought it was late
287. Moonflowers sprouting
286. Praying with sisters in Christ
285. A great women's retreat
284. Resting in bed
283. Feeling loved

Gratitude List - Week 7

Our group is collectively writing a list of things we are grateful for as we work our way through the study One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. The list will be numbered from the bottom to the top, with the most recent additions added to the top. To see earlier parts of the list, click the label at the bottom of the post that says "Gratitude List."

Morning Blend Gratitude List:
282. Walker
281. Wheelchair
280. Recliner
279. Family and friends willingness to help
278. Birds through the window
277. Paints
276. Turtles
275. Nature centers near the Twin Cities that are free and open to the public
274. Thank you notes
273. An article about an artist
272. People who pray
271. A gratitude list that just keeps getting longer and longer
270. Light reflecting upon water drops
269. A shiny, clean car
268. Rocking country songs the celebrate life
267. Frogs
266. Houses
265. Purple bubble during a car wash
264. Mamas & daddys
263. Roses
262. Songs
261. Means to pay for health care I need
260. Clasp of baby's finger on my finger
259. Pain - that leads to recognizing a problem
258. Children's laughter
257. Warm sand, beaches
256. Timing of God's words through my patience
255. Veterans
254. "Daysforgirls" project with family women
253. Renewing fishing lisence
252. Running paths clear of snow and ice
251. Phone call with my brother
250. Ability to say "no" when it's hard
249. Financial blessings
248. A new car
247. Growing in Christ
246. Potential new job
245. A good business meeting
244. Warm hands
243. Snow-grass lines changing
242. Snow bouncing off the roof
241. Jarlsberg cheese