Rabbits Full of Magic

The first time I read a Bible was inside of a Baptist church. I went to pre school at one. My parents are not religious but were raised Catholic. I was coming at it with no ideas other than what I had seen on TV and in movies, which is to say, not a very good depiction of what this whole thing was supposed to be. I did not understand the symbolism of things, even though I was already familiar with most of the stories.

Right now I am working through a new translation based on the Greek, the Orthodox Study Bible, starting with the NT. I admit to not have read much of the NT, but my recent studies have illuminated ways in which I can look at these books. It's also really cool to look back at all this with new context. There are a lot of cyberpunk, transhuman, posthuman mythos that have been spun as of lately. Reality as a simulation is a popularly accepted concept, and Neo famously transcends that Matrix of reality. Yet in the Bible, there is no real world of gross human pods enslaved by vampire robots, but rather, the light and the glory of the Kingdom of God. 

So far I have only read up to the final days of Jesus in the book of Matthew, but it is very good stuff, and I intend on finishing the NT and going back for the OT. 

If the NT is The Matrix then Jesus is Neo. There is a time when he is wandering around, and he gets into a boat, and goes out to sea, and the sea is raging, and just getting more and more violent and out of control. His disciples are standing off watching in horror, when He prays and the seas suddenly calm, as if on command. Then He steps out of the boat, onto the placid sea, in some reality bending display of transcendence. He starts walking across the water out to the multitudes.

A lot of these people are simple fisherman, after all, and all they know is the hardships of the waters. Their lives are ruled by the unruly waves. Jesus is just walking on water, defying physics. At one point, he beckons to his disciples, and Peter begins to follow him, (however briefly) performing the miracle of walking upon the water. But he soon begins to slowly sink, and Jesus gives him a bit of a one liner ("Ye of little faith") before pulling him to safety.

Jesus's command over the universe is more or less undisputed in Christian cosmology, seeing that He and God and the Holy Spirit are all One. Calming the sea, healing the sick, giving the blind sight, multiplying food, these are all miracles performed by Jesus during his short time here. At some point he tells a disciple that if one were to truly have faith, one could move a mountain with some words.

A good bit of this is Jesus pointing out the hypocrisy of the morally righteous and virtue signaling "holy men" of the day. Instead He recommends doing good in secret so that one may be rewarded openly. He calls out the hypocrites time and time again. Upon first visiting the temple, they are charged an entrance fee, and He instructs someone to go to the nearest river, catch a fish, and open the mouth of this fish, because there will be a piece of gold, and they can use that to pay the temple fee. Inside, the money changers take profane coins that have Caesar's name and face on them and exchange them for "holier" coins that are somehow pure and righteous and not profaning the temple. 

When Jesus's time to go comes, He is straight up about it, telling his friends right away, practicing total transparency with total love. He tells his disciples he knows one of them will betray him, and all the attendant details, including how it will come to pass. 

This is really cool, and maybe my favorite thing about Jesus as a person. He was totally transparent. 

posted by Adam  # 9:46:00 PM 0 Comments