Marmanold.com

Holy Money contra Empire

St. Timothy teaches in 1 Tim 6:10 that “the love of money is the root of all evils.” In an economy as complex as ours with as many variables and systems at play, can money be the root of the evils of oppressive empire and economics? By exploring the origins and history of money and banking, money’s fall from grace at the hands of empire is vividly apparent. By understanding where we are and how we got there, it is possible to take money ad fontes to God’s original gifting intent of creation. In the light of God’s sovereignty and eternal gifting, humanity can see empire, banking, and money in their full as they indeed are — false idols. The economic powers of empire seek to enslave and impoverish humanity for a brief taste of an imagined creative act. Taking root out of God’s creative sovereignty, the value of all humanity and the need for the Body to live as one, establishing sound money and banking will set the foundation for just and thriving economies for all of God’s children.

Perfect Perl Kwalitee

In the time since Date::Lectionary was added to CPAN, I’ve been working hard to get a perfect Kwalitee score and make a really solid distribution. Documentation on how to make a module are all over the place and I’ve yet to see a good, single article or post to explain how to do it. This is my attempt, I hope you find it useful.

Required Files

README

I like keeping my POD within the code of the module I’m developing and having the README file(s) automatically generated from that. Below is a simple shell script I’ve developed as part of my authoring process to generate well-formed readme files in Markdown, POD, and plaintext. Having all three formats means that GitHub and MetaCPAN both have what they need to render my README as best as possible.

The Good Shepherd

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

• Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter, often called “Good Shepherd” because of the gospel reading.
• Though each Sunday is a sort of mini-Easter, the Sundays from Easter until Pentecost are especially so.
• The question to answer today, is what does a good shepherd have to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus?

• First, let’s get our bearings about where we are in John’s gospel.
• In the previous two chapters, Jesus has been teaching in the temple and, naturally, his favorite friends the “scribes and the Pharisees” have tagged to ask him potentially entrapping questions.
• In the midst of this, things get a little hot in the temple — Jesus nearly gets stoned — so Jesus leaves.
• On his way out, Jesus heals a man from blindness, which of course the priests and other religious authorities do not believe. In chapter ten, Jesus is responding to these events.
• Not only these events, but he is responding to some inquisitive Pharisees who seem to have started questioning their initial impressions of who Jesus is.
• So, the initial context of this is Jesus taking the time to teach those who in our modern reading we automatically cast as the bad guys.
• What hope this gives people like us who often find themselves on the wrong side of God’s will!
• He is always there waiting to answer our honest advances for relationship. Even when we’re not yet fully committed.

• Now for a little context around when all of this is taking place.
• This whole scene in and around the temple is taking place during what we would now call Hanukkah.
• I won’t go into the whole story, but at this point the feast was about 200 years old.
• It had been established about 160 years before Jesus’ birth.
• Hanukkah means “dedication” and is a celebration, among other miraculous parts of the story, of the cleansing of the temple after conquering Greek forces took over the temple, erected an alter to Zeus there, led sacrifices of pigs, and banned Judaism.
• During Hanukkah one of the readings would have been from Ezekiel 34, I’ll read the first ten or so verses to better set the stage for the imagery that would have been fresh in Jesus and the Jews around him heads’
• [READ EZEKIEL 34:1-11,30-31]

• Let’s go back to John keeping all the background we now have, plus Ezekiel in our minds.
• [READ JOHN 10:11-13]
• This is a little more clear, now, isn’t it?
• Jesus is not happy with how his people have been shepherded by the religious establishment of Jerusalem.
• Jesus might even be implying that to outwardly worship God in the temple while neglecting to feed God’s sheep outside its walls is equivalent to desecrating the temple.
• Jesus might be implying that it’s time for a new Hanukkah, a new rededication.
• Jesus is the “good shepherd”. Now, the Greek here is more than our word “good.” Here it is not only a “good” shepherd, but an “ideal” and “noble” shepherd. Jesus is the model.
• To complicate things further, a shepherd isn’t just a shepherd. In Hebrew poetry and scripture (Psalms, for example) shepherd is a near universal symbol of the king. You know, like David, the shepherd boy made king through whose line Jesus is attached.
• [READ PSALM 23]
• Now this thread of shepherds and kingship winds its way through David, the Psalms, failing Hebrew kings, exile, Ezekiel, Greek invasion, temple desecration, Hanukkah, and finally reaches its destination in Jesus.
• This is the beauty of Holy Scripture.
• This is God working through his narrative with his people to work out our salvation.
• Jesus is the very ideal of kingship, the very truth of a shepherd.

• “I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father”
• I can’t help but notice the language here of ownership and naming God the Father.
• Maybe it’s because my son was baptized two Sundays ago, but I’m moved back to Mark 1:9-11.
• [READ MARK 1:9-11]
• My son.
• It is as if here, in baptism, we become adopted children of God.
• We are Jesus’ because we know him as the true shepherd.
• Jesus’ knows the Father and he knows us.
• “I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
• In baptism, we are adopted as children of God and enter Jesus’ death.
• No longer enemies, strangers, or foreigners, we are now God’s adopted children through water, blood, and Spirit. The baptized are part of God’s flock.

• This is the great Easter message.
• On this fourth Sunday of Easter, remember your baptism.
• Jesus knows us. We are his forever.
• Remember you are God’s child.
• We are still wet from our baptism.
• We are soaked, because the Good Shepherd is continually washing us clean with his blood.
• He knows us, and yet he still loves us.
• He knows us and never forgets us.
• When we are scared, when we are alone, the Good Shepherd is there beside us to remind us that we are adopted children of God.
• God did not forsake his son in the tomb and he will not forsake us either.

• Hear again the words of Scripture: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. […] I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
• “And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, […] are my people.”

• As it appropriate for Easter, we end with the resurrected Jesus amongst his disciples: [READ JOHN 21:15-17]

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Las Casas: Hope in Sin's Darkness

For the modern theologian, Bartolomé de las Casas presents quite a number of difficulties. Las Casas’ turn from a participant and supporter of the Spanish encomienda system of Indian enslaved labor to an ardent opponent and the theology behind it is to be greatly admired. Las Casas’ theological anthropology provides a foundation for a theology whose trajectory points to the imago Dei within each human being and the equality of value of all within the Kingdom of God and all who the Kingdom looks upon. However, in the same era of his life that las Casas was fighting in word and action for the liberation of the Indians and their recognition ontologically and theologically as human beings of equal worth to Spaniards, las Casas continued to support the enslavement of Africans and others. The struggle for those engaging with las Casas is how to recognize the light and surplus of his theology without “tainting” the engagement with the deathly theologies and worldviews that support enslavement. Las Casas’ turn of heart towards African slavery later in his life presents a platform to reevaluate his theological anthropologies directed towards Indians. Starting at a point of grace, las Casas’ change of opinion towards African slavery presents a path towards talking about race in theology and to a hope of reconciliation between theological opponents.

It Wasn't the Nails

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

Nailed to a cross, bleeding, hurting, mocked, physically suffering for hours, Jesus breaks his silence.

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

On the cross, dying for the treason of being a Messiah when he was truly so much more. Jesus, in his greatest moment of terror continues to identify with humanity; with us; with you; with me; yes, even with them.

My WSL Perl Development Environment

Recently I bought a little Windows tablet on sale for $60 as a device to play around with Windows 10 on and for — hopefully — testing a future UWP or PWA Windows version of LectServe. I’ll give a review of the NuVision tablet at some point in the future, but after I spent two! days getting Windows updated to the newest release, I quickly enabled the Windows subsystem for Linux and installed Debian.

Martin Luther: Christological Implications to Eucharist

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism – though short and concise – presents a clear window into Luther’s understanding of Christ’s nature and how that nature works itself out in the ordo salutis. Historically, Luther’s writings on the Sacrament of the Bread and Wine followed the path of the Reformation debates on the Mass as a sacrifice and how – or even if – Jesus was present in the Eucharistic elements. Theologically, however, Luther’s views on Sacraments, specifically the Eucharist, can best be understood through his Christology. Martin Luther rejected the Mass as a sacrifice and strongly affirmed the corporeal presence of Christ in the bread and wine of Eucharist. Luther rejected both Catholic and Reformed Eucharistic theologies because of his deeply incarnational Christology. For Luther, because Jesus was fully divine and fully human and because he suffered and died on the cross for humanity’s salvation, the Mass simply could not be a salvific sacrifice and the Eternal Word could not be separated from his final testament of bread and wine.

Mary, Mother of God, Most Blessed Human

The second iteration of the Women’s March garnered much attention this weekend. From outward appearances in the news and social media, version 2.0 of the Women’s March was even less unified than the inaugural event of 2017. Saturday’s gatherings across the nation involved feminists, Black Lives Matters, labor movements, immigration activists, Democrats, and a host of other concerns. Though headlines were careful to present female-only images of the events, candid photos on my social media feed show many men co-opting the movement as well. — I should also note how the movement is already experiencing commercialization and participation in the march commoditized (especially via social media posts). —

How my View of Salvation has Changed

After a semester studying soteriology, how has my view of salvation changed? It has not. I have, however, increased my ability to articulate my view.

Salvation is an unwarranted gift of grace from God offered to all of humanity. All the children of Adam and Eve are born into sin and death. Humanity has distanced itself from God and has brought corruption into God’s good creation. God, in his infinite mercy, looked down and saw that there was no one to rescue humanity from her fall, so he decided to save her himself (Isaiah 63:5). As his voice created all things ex nihilo at the genesis, so his eternal Λόγος came “mighty to save” (Isaiah 63:1) and to make “all things new” (Rev 21:5).

Full-Text Search using Hugo & Lunr

Adding full-text search to a statically generated Hugo site is a fairly easy process. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m already using Gulp to compile and minify my site. Using that Gulp file as my starting point, adding full-text search is a simple three-part process.

To enable search, I decided to use the Lunr.js library. Lunr is simple to use and has just the right amount of features for adding some simple search capabilities to your site. To start, you’ll need to create a JSON index of your site for Lunr to use. I put this layout under _default and called it search.json.

Parables, Desire, and Salvation: A Counter-Reformation Reading of Mark 4:10-12

In the Synoptic Gospels, each Evangelist narrates an event where Jesus explains to the Disciples and the other people standing around him the reason for his use of parables (Matt 13:10-17, Mark 4:10-12, and Luke 8:9-10). Jesus says that he teaches those who follow him the μυστήριον τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ¹ — the “mystery of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11). To those outside of his circle, however, he does not reveal God’s mystery. To outsiders, Jesus instead teaches in παραβολαῖς — parables — “μήποτε ἐπιστρέψωσιν καὶ ἀφεθῇ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἁμαρτήματα” — “lest at any time they should turn, and their sins should be forgiven them” (Mark 4:12 GEN). For John Calvin, this pericope teaches sovereign predestination and places Jesus as the “executor of reprobation” to the un-elect². Calvin’s reading of this pericope, especially Mark’s rendering with μήποτε in 4:10-12, renders Jesus using parables expressly to prevent — through obscuration — some people from receiving the mysterium that leads to forgiveness of sins.

Baptism: Sacramental Ark of Holiness and Salvation

The Articles of Religion of the Church of England state in article XXV that sacraments are “not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession” but that they are “sure witnesses,” “effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us.” Further, sacraments work “invisibly” in humanity and “not only quicken but also strengthen and confirm” humanity’s faith in Jesus. It is within these bounds that Lancelot Andrewes preaches his sermon on the Holy Spirit on Pentecost — Whit-Sunday — in 1625. In a sermon ostensibly about the Holy Spirit, Andrewes presents a strong scriptural and theological case for baptismal regeneration — baptism with actual effects — and salvation through adoption. Andrewes accomplishes this while maintaining space for faith — the Reformation’s sola fide —, ensuring God’s initiative, and resisting ex opere operato understandings of sacraments. In his sermon, Andrewes presents baptism as an act whereby God creates the ark that makes his adopted children holy and leads them to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Anglican Baptism: Regenerative and Salvific Through Sacrament and Faith

Anglicanism is a diverse and varied tradition. Before the Reformation, Anglicanism refers to whatever Christians were doing¹ in the British Isles. Post-reformation, Anglicanism applies to the ecclesial bodies identifying with the pre-denominational Christianity of Britain and continuing to live in that communion.² Anglicanism, on the one hand, identifies as an ancient expression of the Christian faith existing before the Great Schism. Thus, Anglicanism is — with the Roman and Eastern churches — a Catholic and apostolic body. Further, however, the Anglican Communion did not resist the Reformation. It accepted and adopted many reformational tenants; Anglicans identify — to varying degrees — as at least Reformed, but also Protestant. Reformed and yet Catholic is the lived middle way — via media — of Anglicanism.

Translation: Conciliatio Locorum Scripturae, Chapter 21

A modern English translation of Andreas Althamer’s 1527 Dialloge hoc est, conciliatio locorum scripturae, qui prima facie inter se pugnare videntur extended and translated into early Modern German in 1528 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg) and published as Diallage, das ist vereynigung der streytigen sprüch der schrifft, welche im esten anplick, scheynen wider einander zesein.

Latin Source

German Source

Diallage: Das ist Vereynigung der Streytigen Sprüch der Schrifft, Kapital XXI

Ich wil verhörten das herz Pharaonis / Exo. 4.

Pharao hat sein herz verhert / Exodi. 8.

Nichts streyten auch dise zwen sprüch / denn das herz Pharaonis ist ein mal verhert aus dem gericht Gottes / nacher nit mehr erweyckt. / Got hat im kein new hertz geben und das staynen herz von im genumen / sonder in seiner blindheyt gelassen / das er an im erzeygte sein glori. Darumb leydt nicht daran du sagest. / Pharao hab sein herz verhert oder sey im aus dem rath Gottes verhert worden. / Denn was Gott in uns thüt / das thun wir auch. / Was die axt thüt / das thut der zymmerman auch. / (Was der werckmeister thüt dz instrument auch) / feyrt er / sie auch wirckt er sei mit. / Der hamer schmidt mit dem schmid und ist baydes war / das fewz macht das eysen weych der schmid macht das eysen weych. / Pharao war ein vaß des zorns / und wiewol er etwo von seiner boßheit durch die mirakel und zaychen erschreckt / abstund / so ist erdoch bald wider in sin art geraten. / Er mochte nit warlich von herzen layd tragen uber sein boßheit / denn das staynen herz ward nicht von im genumen / sonder ye mehr und mehr wurde er verhert / nicts bewegt von wunder und zaychen. / Dann die natur Gottes ist / das sei die gotlosest mehr und mehr verstockt, / verblendt, und böser macht. / wie die sunne den schelmen stinckent macht / und die böse augen haben gar plendt / ist doch die ursach nicht in der sunnen / sonder an den augen und schelmen. / Also erregt Gottes wort die art der gotlosen / wo es auff sie scheynt / und ist doch den gotlosen wesen feynd / Psal. 5 wie die sunne dem gestanck / was für einer natur eyn yeder ist / also wirckt das wort in im. / Ist er aus Got geporen und ein Christ / so wirckt es in im leben und selickeit. / Ist er Adam und nicht widergepron / so wirckts nichts denn todt und verdammus in im. / Wie die sunne das wax waych macht, / den laym hört / das gras grün das hew dürr/ und ist doch ein sunne / die in einem yeden wirckt was es ist / und ist ein ursach aller ding on schuld.

Build, Minify, and Upload Hugo to S3

Though I’m not a huge fan of JavaScript, I include a small bit of it in this site to track page views and to generate the tag cloud on my search page. Since my project had already been polluted with JavaScript, I decided a while back to go all in and use WebPack and Gulp to bundle my JavaScript code, build my Hugo site, minify everything, and then upload the whole thing to S3.