This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets
John was clothed with camel's hair, had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey.
Drawing from Jan 4, 2012 class; comments limited to what's on the board.
1. Most of our New Testament classes are about the Gospels, but I treat them collectively, not separately. I mention to the kids that Matthew, Mark and Luke's Gospels have a common point of view (syn-optic); and John's is different.
2. Sorting out the conceptions and births of John the Baptist and Jesus.
3. After Jesus' birth, a "messenger of the Lord" tells Joseph to flee to Egypt. A quick map shows the Med, Jerusalem, the Tigris & Euphrates, the Nile, and the city founded by that Greek guy...Alexander! Jesus and his family may have lived among Alexandria's large Jewish community.
4. The round calendar leads into discussion of art handouts depicting the Annunciation and the Platytera. This is a basic Platytera with two
5. Explaining the Greek abbreviation for Mother of God.
6. The calendar leads to a quick review of John the Baptist's conception and later presentation at the Temple.
7. John the Baptist's ministry. Upper right shows John baptizing Jesus while the Holy Spirit hovers, and the Father riffs on Isaiah: the Trinity.
8. John tells the Pharisees and Levites who come to quiz him, "Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." That is, being one of the Chosen People isn't enough; each believer must also bear good fruit, which means...doing good stuff! Yes, as the Bible would say, doing good works."
9. A couple of the Spanish-speakers explain a Quinceañera; I extend that concept to young women who are debutantes. I compare these coming-out events to Jesus' debut at the Jordan river: he will now be a much-talked-about public figure for the next three years.
Audio from the Flight to Egypt to John at the Jordan.
3 comments:
lol...houseflies...ha, ha!
On another note:
I heard a discussion about the supposed "grasshoppers"/locusts that John ate...The speaker explained that it would not have been insects that he consumed since he was a devout Jewish man. In that area there is a LOCUST plant that bears pods containing a wonderful, sweet, milky substance that is very nutritious (as is honey). Note: the Promised Land was to be "flowing with Milk and Honey" (were there animals just pouring milk all over before the Chosen People arrived?) just my $0.02... :)
Here ya go from a Greek concordance, the word locust as in Matthew 3:4, Mark, and Revelations.
ἀκρίς/ akris
"A locust, particularly that species which especially infests oriental countries, stripping fields and trees. Numberless swarms of them almost every spring are carried by the wind from Arabia into Palestine, and having devastated that country, migrate to regions farther north, until they perish by falling into the sea. The Orientals accustomed to feed upon locusts, either raw or roasted and seasoned with salt (or prepared in other ways), and the Israelites also were permitted to eat them."
Promised Land was to be "flowing with Milk and Honey"
I think they were saying that before they got to where they were going!
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