The Bible as Literature
The Ephesus School
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Extrospection
What is self-righteousness? You hear the command of God, and refuse to introspect. You do not, as Paul teaches, “look to yourself.” You look to others. You gossip. You nitpick. You complain. You find fault. You do everything under the sun but consider the one thing that is needful in God’s eyes: The most likely possibility. That you, oh man (or woman)—I mean, let’s be generous—oh bipedal humanoid earth mammal—you, and nobody else but you, are the problem. But you do not consider this. You do not introspect. So when the voice of the Lord touches your heart, you “extrospect.” You observe and consider the external world and external things. What a lovely capitalist you make. You are the perfect fit for judging others, for giving your opinion: for shopping, and critiquing what people do, how they talk, how they conduct their affairs, even how they look. Extrospection is just another word for playing God—playing Judge. To borrow and bend a line from Captain America: “There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he is not you.” Introspection, the extrospective theologian boasts, leads to prayer and fasting. Why? Because the extrospect worships the very control they seek through extrospection. So prayer, for the extrospect, is not submission. It’s AIPAC money. Fasting, for the extrospect, is not weakness. It’s a corporate PAC. I have bad news kids. God the Father is not for sale. Jesus is not Bernie Sanders. You’re not trying to fit into the system. And make things work. The good news is, he will not sell you out. The bad news is, he cannot be bought. This week, I’ll explore the Hebrew and Arabic functions that ground Luke’s use of the term deēseis in Luke 5:33. Passage: Οἱ δὲ εἶπαν πρὸς αὐτόν· Οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου νηστεύουσιν πυκνὰ καὶ δεήσεις ποιοῦνται, ὁμοίως καὶ οἱ τῶν Φαρισαίων, οἱ δὲ σοὶ ἐσθίουσιν καὶ πίνουσιν. (Luke 5:33) And they said to him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but yours eat and drink.” (Luke 5:33) Father Marc discusses Luke 5:33 (Episode 523) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
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