A Bible Sampler
A Variety of Readings from the Bible with notes and supplemental resources. It is strongly encouraged
that one has a good study Bible such as the NIV Student Bible or the NRSV Oxford Annotated Bible to
read and supplement the materials below.
Ruth
The book of Ruth is one of the shortest and most beautiful stories in Scripture. It is a story, not a
biography based on actual persons, used to illustrate several key theological points. However, this does
not make the book, its characters, or its insights any less true—the teachings are timeless and eternal,
real to the human experience of life and God.
Why was the book written? What is its purpose? These two questions can be brought to all of the Bible
and help open up the texts for readers. The opening notes on the book in the New Revised Standard
Version (NRSV) of the Bible says the following:
In contrast to the story of the Israelite tribes in Joshua and Judges, the book
of Ruth focuses on a single family. The story underscores the loyalty and fidelity that
bind the family together. The mysterious ways of God are an important part of this
story, which illustrates how God is at work in the lives of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. These
individuals serve as models of faithful commitment to the God of Israel.
It is difficult to be certain about a date for this book, yet ascertaining the
dating is central to determining the reason for its composition. A date before the Exile
(to Babylon in 587 BCE) leads to the view that the book intended to establish David’s
ancestry, to affirm the practice of levirate marriage (see Deuteronomy 25:5-10), or to
commend the virtues of the book’s protagonists to ancient Israel. A date after the Exile
(the people returned to their land in about 538 BCE) supports the conviction that the
author wished to show that a non-Israelite could become a faithful worshiper of the Lord.
This would counter the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, both of which consider intermarriage
wrong (see Ezra 9 and 10; Nehemiah 10:30). Like the books of Jonah and Isaiah chapters
40-55, Ruth affirms that the concern of the Lord extends beyond the people of Israel to people
of every nation.
Another element in the story, whichever stance one takes regarding the time of its writing, is
that it is a powerful illustration of hésed of two women, Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi.
Hésed is a Hebrew word full of meaning. In English, many translations are used: mercy, steadfast love,
goodness and loyalty. It is used to define or characterize the relationship of God’s covenant with God’s
people. Each English words nuances or changes our way of understanding the word. Mercy is not the
same things as loyalty, yet each has been used over the years as a translation of hésed. To gain a better
understanding of this word it is necessary to delve into the Hebrew meaning a bit.
The word hésed is exceedingly difficult to render into English, as is evident in the various
translations found in Hosea 6:6:
“mercy” (King James Version)
“steadfast love” (NRSV)
“goodness” (JPSV)
“loyalty” (REB), and so forth
On a human level, hésed seems to apply to relationships in which one party
is “superior” in the sense of having more power or influence by virtue of social position.
A good illustration is of the friendship between David and Jonathan. At one point David
says to Jonathan: “Deal faithfully [show hésed] with your servant, since you have
taken your servant into a covenant [of Yahweh] with you” (1 Sam. 20:8a). As long
as Jonathan had the superior position (son of the king), the sacred covenant of friendship
obliged him to help David escape from Saul. But Jonathan asked David to promise
that, when their roles were reversed and David came to power, David would manifest
loyalty (hésed) to him (1 Sam. 20:12-17). David’s obligation of friendship lasted even
beyond Jonathan’s death, for he was determined to “show hésed” to other members
of Saul’s family for the sake of Jonathan (2 Sam. 9:1,3,7)
Hésed, then, is loyalty manifested by a stronger party toward someone who
is in a weaker position. It is not an inherent virtue but something to be done, which
accounts for the expressions “do hésed,” “maintain hésed,” “love hésed.” It is not,
however, an act of noblesse oblige—as with people of high standing who behave
nobly toward inferiors in a condescending manner or give alms to the poor. Loyalty
arises not from any external legal obligation or social custom, but from the relationship
itself. Hésed is an act of inner faithfulness and therefore of grace. Each participant is
free to be loyal or unfaithful, although in a time of distress the weaker party in the
relationship might have no other source of help.1
As one can see, the writers of the Bible composed and edited in a way to have their faith speak to issues
of the day, be in dialogue with concerns and differing views, and to illustrate their understanding of
God. There is intentional crafting at play…and this is what makes the Bible, in part, the literary
masterpiece that it is!
Ruth is a powerful book about women making their own destiny and becoming persons. It is about the
choices of life and death, the traditional and the radical act of faith and risk. It is rich and complex book.
Enjoy!
1
Anderson, Bernhard W., Understanding the Old Testament: Abridged Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey:
1998, pp.277-278.
Several other books have been referred to in the foregoing material. They are included here for easy
reference.
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
Levirate Marriage
When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not
be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in
marriage, and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and the firstborn whom she bears
shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
But if the man has no desire to marry his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the
elders at the gate and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he
will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ Then the elders of his town shall summon him
and speak to him. If he persists, saying, ‘I have no desire to marry her’, then his brother’s wife shall go
up to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face, and declare, ‘This is
what is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ Throughout Israel his family shall
be known as ‘the house of him whose sandal was pulled off.’
Ezra 9
Denunciation of Mixed Marriages
After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, ‘The people of Israel, the
priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their
abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the
Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for
themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in
this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way.’ When I heard this, I tore my garment and
my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat appalled. Then all who trembled at the
words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me
while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.
Ezra’s Prayer
At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my
knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God, and said,
‘O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have
risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our
ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests
have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter
shame, as is now the case. But now for a brief moment favour has been shown by the LORD our God,
who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes
and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery. For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our
slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up
the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.
‘And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, which you
commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, “The land that you are entering to possess is a land
unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from
end to end with their uncleanness. Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their
daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the
good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.” After all that has come upon
us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our
iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again
and intermarry with the peoples who practise these abominations? Would you not be angry with us
until you destroy us without remnant or survivor? O LORD, God of Israel, you are just, but we have
escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face
you because of this.’
Ezra 10
The People’s Response
While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God,
a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel; the people also wept
bitterly. Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra, saying, ‘We have broken
faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is
hope for Israel in spite of this. So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives
and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment
of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Take action, for it is your duty, and we are with you;
be strong, and do it.’ Then Ezra stood up and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear
that they would do as had been said. So they swore.
Foreign Wives and Their Children Rejected
Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God, and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of
Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat bread or drink water, for he was mourning over the
faithlessness of the exiles. They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the
returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, and that if any did not come within three days,
by order of the officials and the elders all their property should be forfeited, and they themselves
banned from the congregation of the exiles.
Then all the people of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days; it was the
ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat in the open square before the house
of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. Then Ezra the priest stood up
and said to them, ‘You have trespassed and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel.
Now make confession to the LORD the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves from
the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.’ Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice,
‘It is so; we must do as you have said. But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot
stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for many of us have transgressed in this
matter. Let our officials represent the whole assembly, and let all in our towns who have taken foreign
wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every town, until the fierce
wrath of our God on this account is averted from us.’ Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of
Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levites supported them.
Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of families, according to their
families, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to
examine the matter. By the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had
married foreign women.
There were found of the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women, of the
descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They
pledged themselves to send away their wives, and their guilt-offering was a ram of the flock for their
guilt. Of the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. Of the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah,
Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. Of the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael,
Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. Of the singers:
Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
And of Israel: of the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, and
Benaiah. Of the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. Of the
descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. Of the descendants of
Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. Of the descendants of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch,
Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. Of the descendants of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah,
Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. Of the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah,
Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. Of the descendants of Hashum:
Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. Of the descendants of Bani:
Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and
Jaasu. Of the descendants of Binnui: Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. Of the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel,
Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. All these had married foreign women, and they
sent them away with their children.
Nehemia 10:30
We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons;
1 Samuel 20:8
Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred covenant with
you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?
1 Samuel 20:12-17
Jonathan said to David, ‘By the LORD, the God of Israel! When I have sounded out my father, about this
time tomorrow, or on the third day, if he is well disposed towards David, shall I not then send and
disclose it to you? But if my father intends to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan, and more also, if
I do not disclose it to you, and send you away, so that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you,
as he has been with my father. If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the LORD; but if I die, never
cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the LORD were to cut off every one of the enemies of
David from the face of the earth.’ Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May
the LORD seek out the enemies of David.’ Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he
loved him as he loved his own life.
2 Samuel 9:1,3,7
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
David asked, ‘Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s
sake?’ The king said, ‘Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness
of God?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.’ David said to
him, ‘Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to
you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.’
Some Questions to consider while reading Ruth.
1. Who is your favorite character and why?
2. Where is hésed displayed in the story? By whom? How?
3. What does this story say to you? About God? About how God works? About how we are part of
God’s activity in the world? About relationships?
The books of Amos and Micah—two of the minor prophets
The prophetic tradition is a strong and deep vein within the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the
Gospels. The prophets were the conscience of Israel, calling them back to living out the Torah (the Law
or Teaching) not just in proper worship (the cultic), but in the social structures and interpersonal
relationships of their common life. Love of God is not separate from love of neighbor. Amos and Micah
are two eloquent voices calling Israel and Judah (after the death of King Solomon, c. 922 BCE, the
kingdom of Israel split into two: Israel in the North and Judah in the South) back to right worship and
social justice.
Amos
The introduction in the NRSV to Amos gives useful historical and contextual background to this
book.
During the long and peaceful reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BCE) Israel (the
Northern Kingdom) attained a height of territorial expansion and national prosperity
never again reached. The military security and economic affluence which characterized
this age were taken by many Israelites as signs of the Lord’s special favor that they
felt they deserved because of their extravagant support of the official shrines.
Into this scene stepped the prophet Amos, probably sometime during the
decade 760-750 BCE. A native of the small Judean village of Tekoa, Amos was called
by God from a shepherd’s task to the difficult mission of preaching harsh words in a
smooth season. He denounced Israel, as well as its neighbors, for reliance upon military
might, and for grave injustice in social dealings, abhorrent immorality, and shallow,
meaningless piety. Amos’s forceful, uncompromising preaching brought him into conflict
with the religious authorities of his day. His personal confrontation with the priest
Amaziah remains one of the unforgettable scenes in Hebrew prophecy.
Expelled from the royal sanctuary at Bethel and commanded not to prophesy
there again, Amos perhaps returned to Judah and wrote down the essence of his public
preaching in substantially its present form. The book falls into three parts: chs 1-2,
oracles against Israel’s neighbours; chs 3-6, indictment of Israel itself for sin and injustice;
and chs 7-9, visions of Israel’s coming doom. Amos become the first in a brilliant
succession of prophets whose words, now preserved in written form, have left their
indelible stamp on later thought about God and human history.
During the reign of Jeroboam II, the Northern Kingdom of Israel benefited from the commercial
wealth stemming from the activity of the Phoenicians who were at their peak. Jeroboam’s conquest of
the Transjordan gave him control him control of key trade routes to Syrian and also to Arabia. The result
was a great flow of wealth into his capital city of Samaria. However, this wealth came at a great cost. An
oppressive social pyramid developed in which royal courtiers and merchants were at the top and a great
mass of people were at the bottom in grinding poverty. He condemns the economic inequity put in
place by the ruling tyrants and the courts which sanction their actions. Amos believed any person with a
basic sense of justice would—and should—be appalled by such realities.2
Amos foresaw the end of Israel’s relative peace and freedom. The threat of the Assyrians was
growing and did indeed come and take over the Northern Kingdom a decade or so later. Amos’s words
were not well-received during a time of ease for the elite. Amos saw God’s hand at work in the political
and social events of his time—as the prophets generally did. A dedicated upholder of the tradition of
Moses, he reminded the people that God had known them (the verb in Hebrew, yada’, refers to the
closest kind of personal relationship), in a way he had known no other people on earth. It was a special
relationship and with it came special responsibility. Amos reminded them that relationship didn’t
guarantee prosperity or favour or unconditional support. The covenant was understood in the Mosiac
tradition in as requiring certain responses. “It rested upon a fundamental condition: ‘If you will obey
my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples’ (Exod. 19:5)”
Blessings were the result of obedience; threats of disaster and harm the result of disobedience. In
opposition to the common thinking of his day, Amos argued that since God had “known” only Israel in
this intimate way; therefore, it will be punished for its wrongdoings and iniquities. “Israel’s special
calling did not entitle it to special privileges, but only to greater responsibility.”3
Amos’s hope, however, was not destruction by God for the evil and injustice he saw so rampant
all around him. It was a call to repentance, to changing behaviours and structures, and returning to
God. He is calling the people to act now, before tragedy strikes. Today is the time for decision and
change; it is too important to put off to tomorrow as the judgement is at hand. If the leaders and
people cannot return to their God, to their true source of life, they will face tragedy. It is their choice
and what they choose will come with the consequences.
Questions to consider while reading Amos:
1. How do you understand God’s involvement in human affairs?
2. Does God punish us when there is grave injustice and exploitation in a society? How does
that look? How does God accomplish that? How might we moderns describe or understand
divine involvement in human affairs?
3. What aspects of our world today mirror the conditions of which Amos speaks? What might
the looming consequences be? What are we called to do in response?
2
3
Anderson, p. 259.
Anderson, p. 265.
4. Ponder the relationship between standing for justice and love of others. How are they
related? How do they inform each other? How do we move from the individual to the
communal in our expression of love and compassion?
The book of Micah
Micah was a prophet about three decades after Amos. The Assyrians conquered the Northern
Kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE and arrived at Jerusalem in 701 BCE. While they did not absorb Judah into
their empire directly, Judah became a weak vassal state of the Assyrian Empire. Micah’s work appears
to cover this time span of Assyrian activity.
Micah was a country boy. He was not of noble descent (like Isaiah) or from the capital city. He
came from the common people and lived in the small village of Moresheth in the Judean foothills to the
southwest of Jerusalem. He spoke for the poor farmers suffering at the hands of powerful landlords.
His prophecy, while having a theme of social justice, is marked by a pattern of oracles of judgment
followed by oracles of salvation.
The introduction to the book in the NRSV offers a succinct and helpful description of Micah’s
place in the prophetic tradition of his time.
Micah stands solidly with Amos, Hosea and Isaiah as a fierce champion of
pure worship or the Lord and of social justice, and he shares with them both the
word of judgment against God’s own people and the promise of divine forgiveness
and hope in a future restoration. The latter theme of the prophet comes to us in an
expanded and edited post-exilic (after the return from Babylon in 538 BCE) form in
4:1-5:15 (of the book). The picture of the restored Jerusalem in 7:8-20 comes from thh postexilic period.
Questions to consider while reading Micah:
1. What do you see in common with Amos? How are they different?
2. How does he see God’s involvement with the people? In current events?
3. What is his vision for the way his people should live?
4. Do you notice wording that seems familiar from other parts of the Bible? How is Micah
using other parts of his religious tradition to support his perspective?
The Patriarchs—Drama, drama, drama!
Genesis 12-33 (feel free to read more if you get caught up in the excitement!)
These chapters cover the stories of Abram (before he was renamed Abraham) through Jacob
and Esau. It ends where the story of Joseph and his brothers begins. These stories came together after
those detailing The Exodus from Egypt—the foundational story of the Israelite people. Chapter 12
begins what is known by scholars as “The Ancestral History”. At the beginning of this chapter there is a
divine address that contains the key to interpreting the history that follows and the nature of the
promise from Yahweh to Abram: possessing the land, being a great nation, and being a blessing to the
peoples of the earth. The stories that came together into the form we now have are part of what is
called the Old Epic tradition. The narrators of this tradition wove together stories that once had
completely different meanings in their efforts to work out the theme of Yahweh’s promise. “Evidence
suggests that Abraham was once connected with the sanctuary of Mamre, near Hebron; Isaac with the
shrine of Beer-sheba; and Jacob with the “house of God” (Hebrew: beth ‘El). Since each of these places
was an old Canaanite shrine that had been taken over by the Israelites, some stories about these three
figures might be Canaanite in origin.”4
Blessings and curses play a large role in this story. In that time and place, a blessing was the
imparting of well-being. It was especially powerful if a blessing was bestowed by someone with more
power or social position onto someone with less (i.e., parent to child, king to a subject, etc.). Blessings
and curses were understood to have immediate effect. Yahweh’s blessing does not follow this pattern
as the blessing is for the future, beyond the life of the original person upon whom it was bestowed. In
this way, the blessing becomes a promise.
These stories are full of intrigue, tests of faith, and trying to see God at work in this time of
waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. The characters are often larger than life and in so being are
meant to make readers think of human conditions, ways of behaving, and foibles. They are also stories
of origins of peoples. For instance, Esau represents the people of Edom who were often extremely
hostile to the Israelites and vice versa as one sees as one reads through the Hebrew Scriptures.
Questions/Items to consider while reading:
1. In chapter 14 there is an interesting story about the priest Melchizedek (who is referenced in
the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament). What do you make of this story? Does
Melchizedek serve the same God as Abram?
2. The story of Hagar in chapter 16 is a fascinating tale. The angel of the Lord who visits here is, in
this case, the Lord. In verse 13 Hagar names the Lord; in every other instance God names a
human. Look carefully at how God and Hagar interact. What is she promised? How is she
treated? Muslims also consider Abraham their ancestor and trace their line to him through
Ishmael.
3. The last half of chapter 18 and chapter 19 are the story of the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah. Try to read this story as if you have never heard it before or any of the
interpretations given to it. What do you make of Abraham’s conversation with God? What does
that say about how God acts or responds to us? What is really at issue when the men of Sodom
surround Abraham’s house? Is this story about sexuality? Is it about hospitality? Is it
condoning the gang rape of women (read this story from the perspective of the daughters and
see what different questions it raises)?
4
Anderson, Bernhard, pp. 155-156.
4. Notice what themes or stories are repeated. What do you make of that? What might the point
be?
5. What do you make of the story of the almost sacrifice of Isaac? Do you see connections to the
life of Jesus or does it not make sense to you that the Church has connected them? If you find it
disturbing so did the Israelites. There are many midrashes (expositions on Scripture) trying to
explain this story in the Jewish tradition.
6. Remembering that Esau also stands for the kingdom of Edom and the power of blessings, read
the story of Jacob and Esau carefully. What do you notice? Is Esau “hated”? What do you make
of the brothers’ reunion? What do you make of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel? How are their
lives changed over the course of the story? Also, pay attention to the roles women play and
how they use what power they have to move the story (and God’s plan) along.
The Letter to the Philippians
The Christian community in Philippi was the first Christian church established by Paul on
European soil. Philippi, in Macedonia (roughly modern day Greece) was a stop on one of the mail EastWest roads of the Roman Empire.
Opposition to the nascent Church appears to have been quite strong in Philippi, including not
only strong opposition but even the threat of death. Paul’s letter is one of encouragement and
steadfastness in the face of such severe hardships. At the time this letter was written, Paul himself was
in prison, so he uses his own example to bolster the morale of the Philippians. His aim is to turn people
away from worry and preoccupation with one’s own fate and toward the sharing of the Gospel. The
Gospel is to be proclaimed even in the face of suffering and make real the joy of Christ which is possible
to know even in harsh conditions and trials. This joy comes from following the “mind” of Christ.
As the introduction to this book in the NRSV writes:
At the centre of this theme [the mind of Christ] is the moving and powerful
hymn-like passage that celebrates the story of Christ’s self-emptying even to death,
for which Christ was awarded by God the name “Lord,” which is above very name (2:6-11).
The hymn was probably quoted and adapted by Paul from earlier tradition. Through
the years and today, the theme of self-emptying, or “kenosis”, has been a key concept
according to which Christians have reflected about the meaning of Christ.
Questions to consider:
1. How do you understand the “mind” of Christ? What does it mean to be in the same mind as
Christ? How do we attain it?
2. What do you make of the theme of suffering in this book? What is its purpose? From where
does it come? What does it mean to you today? How might one suffer for the sake of the
Gospel here today in modern Calgary?
3. How does the “Kenotic Hymn” in chapter 2, verses 6-11 strike you? What does it say to you?
How does it connect (or not) to your understanding of Jesus and his relationship to God and to
us?
4. How does this book encourage your faith?