Sunday, April 12, 2020

This is It - Preface

I realize it will seem strange that this preface is appearing after all the episodes have appeared in my blog, but there it is…

I embarked on this project during lent of 2020 with a specific personal goal in mind. I want to reclaim, for myself, the personof Jesus, a human exemplar. Jesus is but one among a pantheon of what Joseph Campbell called “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” heroes who were elevated to the level of divinity after their deaths.

I know some people will be offended when I suggest that many people call themselves Christian without embracing the actual moral code Jesus taught, a moral code with deep roots in the Torah,brought forth in perhaps a new context for new generations. In the time that he lived, the sect that Jesus taught was one among many, many sects, just as today we see many parallel and competing denominations of every extant religion. That being said, there is no single way to view the teachings of Jesus, any more than there is a single way to view the teachings of Buddha, Zarathustra, Mohammed or any other exemplar. 

Humanity is tearing itself apart in the competition to define and impose a definitive construct, mainly in the name of controlling the masses, at the expense of freedom of personal expression. As I have read it, in scripture and commentary, Jesus himself decried the imposition of orthodoxy, in the main because people fall into habits and practices that are rote and formulaic, if not “magical”, and that these often lack spiritual intent and purpose, and fail to bear fruit

The canonical and non-canonical writings that are available to us do not completely reveal what took place in the life story of Jesus, and when it gets right to brass tacks, we’ll never know.

I suspect, but experts will have a different opinion, that Jesus was a follower of John, who took up his own ministry, maybe providing a refuge for John’s followers after his murder, bringing forward his own observations and voice about godliness. 

I suspect, but experts will have a different opinion, that all the gospel narratives we have were constructed with the use of one or more sayings collections, in the typical style of Greco-Roman biography of the time. It has always struck me that, for example, the canonical gospel of Matthew tries and fails to be a well-constructed work of literature because the author(s) tried to cram in too many parables; the ordering of them seems sometimes inconsistent within a somewhat forced storyline, and the transitions are awkward in many places. I used Matthew as a framework for my own version and tried to construct a consistent story by means of episodes.

Since the death and martyrdom and elevation Jesus as Messiah, the focus of the church universal tends to focus on Jesus as the lamb of God, sacrificed to be an offering for all the sins of humanity; as such, much of lived Christian theology puts the work of creating a just world on the Godhead, rather than on the people. This is a failing and, I think, a grave misreading, one that turns the gospels and really all of Judeo-Christian literature on its head. What is the point of the Bible, if not to encourage and insistthat people do God’s work of tending and caring for the world and everything in it. Too often, faithseems to mean that God does all the work of caring for the world while simultaneously forgiving people for a never-ending stream of sinfulness! The newspapers and the television are full of the sort of ungodly corruption that Jesus saw—much of it perpetrated by people at the top of government and religious hierarchy, who are seldom called to account or repair—against which we are seemingly powerless now, as then. 

“Thought, word and deed” is not and can never be replaced by the “thoughts and prayers” that abdicate from the servant leadership that Jesus advocated and seem suggest that we all just sit around as willing victims—waiting for the next world to come without doing anything of substance to bring the world we have in the here and now to a better place. I struggle with the notion that faith is all we need in our toolbox—I don’t think that is what Jesus meant for us to understand. It is all work; there are no shortcuts.

For me, the teachings of Jesus are meant to place accountability on each individual for their choice of actions. If people miss the mark, they can repent and be forgiven—but forgiveness is not a given. The overarching call is for people to do the right thing for the benefit of others (and self) in any moment, even if that means going against the framework of temporal legal standards. I think that Jesus was empowering people to make the kinds of “greater good” choices everyday that we expect our governments to make. Sadly, the pandemic we are living through has shown that we all, each and everyone, must make “greater good” choices because government has been carved out and caved in to serve mammon rather than serve people. 

I will probably tweak my gospel’s construct, as well as write commentary on it. Owing to the time I had available, there are bits I did not include, such as the Widow’s Mite and the Good Samaritan, which I would like to add. 

I do not take my effort to be anything but a personal practice, meant to challenge my own perceptions of what it is to be a follower of Jesus. 

Alameda, California
12 April 2020 

© 2020 by Elisabeth T. Eliassen and songsofasouljourney.blogspot.com

This is It - Episode 17: Dawn on the Third Day



As Sunday dawned, Mary Magdalen and Mary of Bethany and Salome came to the tomb with perfumes and spices, so they could take the body to be embalmed. They were waiting for someone else to come, as they needed help to move the stone from over the tomb. 

But an aftershock, from the earthquake of the day before, shook the earth and knocked over the stone.

They crept inside the tomb, slowly, afraid that the earth would shake again.

But they shrank back in horror, for standing in there was a young man dressed in a white robe, and he said to them, Why are you looking for the living amongst the dead? He is not here. See, this is where the body lay. Go, gather up the students and tell them to go to Galilee. There he will be.

The three women ran away from the tomb in the grip of terror. They were too afraid to tell anyone what they had seen.


© 2020 by Elisabeth T. Eliassen and songsofasouljourney.blogspot.com

A brief note about my literary exploration of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth: I have undertaken this exercise having read, sung (in several languages), meditated and prayed on the contents of the Synoptic Gospels (as well as the Non-Synoptic Gospels) for at least 45 years. In that time, I’ve accumulated a bit of a library (which comes as no surprise to those who know me), and I try to follow modern scholarship. Here is a partial list of the authors and books that come to mind as I write these episodes:

Ballentine, Debra Scoggins, The Conflict Myth & the Biblical Tradition; Oxford University Press 2015
Erdman, Bart, various titles
Gaus, Andy, The Unvarnished New Testament; Phanes Press, 1991
Herzog, William R., Parables as Subversive Speech; Westminster John Knox Press, 1991
Louden, Bruce, Greek Myth and the Bible; Routledge, 2019
Wajdenbaum, Philippe, Argonauts of the Desert, Routledge, 2011
Ward, Keith, The Philosopher and the Gospels, Lion Hudson, 2011
Yosef ben Maityahu (Titus Flavius Josephus), various writings

This is It - Episode 16: Death, Demanded and Delivered



Yeshua withdrew to pray saying,You will let me down, all of you. You will deny you know me before the night is over, not once but three times.

He told the students to stay at the edge of Gethsemane while he prayed, but he took Peter, James and John with him. When they were out of earshot of the others, he lamented and grieved in heart, but he said to them, Wait here on watch, while I pray.

Going off to be alone, he knelt and prayed, Holy one, all is possible with you; please save me from this ending, if it is your will.

When he returned to the others, they were asleep. Waking them, he said, You could not wait on watch for one hour?To Peter, he said, Stay on watch and hope that you are not put to the test; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Then he went off to pray again, and returned to find them asleep again. Admonishing them, he prayed one more time, with the same result. It was as though they had all drunk a draught of valerian. 

He could only forgive them; the hour had come.

Judas came with an armed group sent by the chief priests, canon lawyers and elders. Yeshua was seized and taken away. Some of the deputized questioned the students, looking for others to arrest. Peter was questioned three times and three times denied knowing Yeshua. The cock crowed at dawn, and Peter wept because he remembered what Yeshua had said.

The temple court questioned many, looking for evidence against Yeshua. Many people told many stories; some people perjured themselves, seeking notoriety. Few of the stories were matched; none seemed chargeable.

The high priest asked Jesus, Are you the Son of the Most Blessed?

Yeshua answered, I am the son of humanityI will be seated at the right hand of power.

The high priest called him a blasphemer and the court judged against him. Yeshua was tied up and led away to Pilate.

Pilate, having heard the charges, said, You’re the king of the Jews?

Yeshua said, That is what you are calling me.

Pilate, knowing envy was at the heart of the charges, said, You know what they are charging you with. Have you nothing to say in your defense?

But Yeshua did not answer him.

Pilate’s wife said, Do not have anything to do with this innocent man. I had a nightmare where I suffered on his account.

The crowd pressed and yelled, calling Crucify him!

Pilate took water and washed his hands in full sight of the mob, saying, I am innocent of this man’s blood.See to this yourselves.

Soldiers took his clothes from him and marched him away. People along the way spit at him and hit him with rods. A man named Simon was ordered to carry a cross in this procession toward death. Someone had plaited thorns into a crown, and this was jammed onto Yeshua’s head.

Yeshua was crucified. The written charge was nailed at the top of the cross, This is Yeshua, King of the Jews. Soldiers gambled for his clothing. Two thieves were crucified with him, one to his right and one to his left.  They cursed him, as they were led to their punishment. One taunted him, saying, If you’re the son of the holy one, come down off your cross.

The officials also derided him saying, He saved others, but he can’t save himself.

From noon to about three o’clock, the sun was eclipsed. Then, Yeshua cried out, Eli, eli, lema sabachthani.

Some in the crowd jeered, Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.

But Jesus cried out, and breathed his last.

And then an earthquake hit. Everyone was frightened. 

The Roman captain called out, He really was the son of the holy one!

As evening wore on, Joseph of Arimathea, one of the students, appealed to Pilate to take the body away. Pilate granted his wish. Yeshua’s body was wrapped in clean linen and laid in a tomb. A stone was put over the tomb, and a guard posted, lest the body be stolen.



© 2020 by Elisabeth T. Eliassen and songsofasouljourney.blogspot.com

A brief note about my literary exploration of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth: I have undertaken this exercise having read, sung (in several languages), meditated and prayed on the contents of the Synoptic Gospels (as well as the Non-Synoptic Gospels) for at least 45 years. In that time, I’ve accumulated a bit of a library (which comes as no surprise to those who know me), and I try to follow modern scholarship. Here is a partial list of the authors and books that come to mind as I write these episodes:

Ballentine, Debra Scoggins, The Conflict Myth & the Biblical Tradition; Oxford University Press 2015
Erdman, Bart, various titles
Gaus, Andy, The Unvarnished New Testament; Phanes Press, 1991
Herzog, William R., Parables as Subversive Speech; Westminster John Knox Press, 1991
Louden, Bruce, Greek Myth and the Bible; Routledge, 2019
Wajdenbaum, Philippe, Argonauts of the Desert, Routledge, 2011
Ward, Keith, The Philosopher and the Gospels, Lion Hudson, 2011
Yosef ben Maityahu (Titus Flavius Josephus), various writings

This is It - Episode 15: Passover



The time of Passover and unleavened had come, and when they were making sacrifice two students asked Yeshua, Where do you want us to prepare for the seder?

He told them, Go into town, and you will see a man carrying a water jug. Follow him, and where he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘Our teacher asks, where is a banquet hall why I can eat seder with my students?’ He will show you an upper room, with a table made ready. There you can make preparations.

Later, Yeshua arrived with the twelve. They all sat at table.

Yeshua said, The time of reckoning is at hand. We have riled too many in power. One of you is going to hand me over to the authorities, one sitting among us now.

The mood of the room darkened, and all assembled took on grief.

But he took the bread, blessed it and broke it, and he gave it to them saying, Take this, this is my body.And in that gesture, they remembered his talk about the leavening and stories about bread.

Taking a cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them saying, This is my blood, poured out for all. I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it, renewed, in the realm of the holy one. And with that gesture, they remembered his talk about the vineyard, the vine and the grapes.

At the end of the meal, they sang a hymn and departed toward Mount Olive. 


© 2020 by Elisabeth T. Eliassen and songsofasouljourney.blogspot.com

A brief note about my literary exploration of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth: I have undertaken this exercise having read, sung (in several languages), meditated and prayed on the contents of the Synoptic Gospels (as well as the Non-Synoptic Gospels) for at least 45 years. In that time, I’ve accumulated a bit of a library (which comes as no surprise to those who know me), and I try to follow modern scholarship. Here is a partial list of the authors and books that come to mind as I write these episodes:

Ballentine, Debra Scoggins, The Conflict Myth & the Biblical Tradition; Oxford University Press 2015
Erdman, Bart, various titles
Gaus, Andy, The Unvarnished New Testament; Phanes Press, 1991
Herzog, William R., Parables as Subversive Speech; Westminster John Knox Press, 1991
Louden, Bruce, Greek Myth and the Bible; Routledge, 2019
Wajdenbaum, Philippe, Argonauts of the Desert, Routledge, 2011
Ward, Keith, The Philosopher and the Gospels, Lion Hudson, 2011
Yosef ben Maityahu (Titus Flavius Josephus), various writings