Sorry.  Very BAD humour.

More mischievous mind meanderings from my exploration of Matthew 28.

The bit we are doing: four 'alls' that Jesus spoke of...

All authority

All peoples/places/nations

All commands

All times

The odd connection I made, which we are not pursuing, a version of the Shema

All heart

All mind

All soul

All strength

I think Baptists have a tendency to use Matt 28:18-20 as a kind of Shema-equivalent, not least as it so clearly underpins the Declaration of Principle (BUGB version used here with teeny tweaks)...

Hear oh Baptists,

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.

Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who 'died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day'.

It is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.

Sorry, it's mid-afternoon, I'm revising my draft sermon and I probably need a cup of tea!

OK, so Matthew's ending was meant to be easy after John and Mark.  It is, I'm happy with the ideas that are emerging (wish they'd done it earlier in the week, but still).  I'm going to side step any weird and wonderful debates about the trinitarian formula for Baptism, but I have a question about verse 17...

Roughly it is rendered thus...

When the disciples saw Jesus they worshipped hum but some of them doubted.

But (thanks Word International Commentary) the more accurate translation from the Greek is,

.. they prostrated themselves [suggesting worship] but they doubted.

In other words, it wasn't that 'some' doubted it was 'all' of them.

Now I'm happy enough either way, can work with each of these, but why is it that the word 'some' has been inserted (in any language I can understand, or make a stab at deciphering, (so not many))?  What is so uncomfortable about all the eleven being uncertain at this point?  Such uncertainty is clearly presumed in other gospels, so why do we wriggle uncomfortably when Matthew states it?

καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν προσεκύνησαν, οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν

Some MS have

και ιδοντες αυτον προσεκυνησαν αυτω οι δε εδιστασαν

But that's still a 'they' not a 'some of them' isn't it?

HELP! I need a proper NT person to explain it to me! Sean where are you?!!

This piece of research by CRUK is interesting - well to me and 48,000 people a year anyway.  I did read the stuff on CRUKs own website but it wasn't especially clear.

I have no idea whether any of the tissue I donated would have found its way into this project, but it demonstrates exactly why it was the right thing to do.

One day the cure will be found... one day....

Today I had a short meeting with a couple of Gideons; they were basically trying to recruit new members as there are very few of them left in this area.

I have a soft spot for Gideons.  When I was thirteen I was given a Gideon New Testament... I still have it somewhere (I saw it the other day so it's not exactly buried).  For a long time I used the daily reading guide listed in it and dutifully read the allotted passages.  Whilst I'm not convinced it's the best way to read the Bible, it got me into practices that have served me well for something like (eek) 36 years.  I am pretty sure that being given my Gideon NT was a significant part of my faith story.

When I lived in Dibley, one of my congregation was a lifelong Gideon, an elderly man (well into his nineties) somewhat crusty but with a mischievous sense of fun and an indomitable spirit.  He was a great encourager to me in my time there, and I was pleased to support his work in Bible distribution.

So, even though I have difficulty with their stance on women (only men can be Gideons; only wives of Gideons can be directly involved) I retain my soft spot for them.  That they give out Testaments to any or all who will take them, without charge, without strings, is something I deeply admire.  To open the drawer of a hotel room, or locker of hospital ward, to enter an unfamiliar place and find 'my' holy book already there... that's a great gift.

I'm not sure if this is vaguely a sign of having achieved some level of something or other, but I was amused today to find myself being misquoted in an essay a URC minister had written.  I can see how the misquote arose, but it amused me... I had quoted a 'Sunday School hymn' which the author assumed I learned as a child, erm no.  Although it would be plausible - I was 9 or 10 when the hymn was published - I did not learn it until my early twenties when I was a Sunday School teacher.  The author could not have known this.

I kind of feel I have somehow arrived... but as what I don't know!!

Amusing, especially in the light of some of what we considered on Sunday.