RECOVERING THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF CONTEMPORARY WORDS BOB LIBBY

Transcription

1 WORDS WORDS WORDS RECOVERING THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF CONTEMPORARY WORDS BOB LIBBY

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3 WORDS WORDS WORDS RECOVERING THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF CONTEMPORARY WORDS BOB LIBBY FORWARD MOVEMENT CINCINNATI, OHIO

4 Cover design by Rusty Kinnunen 2013 by Forward Movement All rights reserved. ISBN Printed in USA The Psalms quoted in this book are from the Psalter in The Book of Common Prayer. All other scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Forward Movement 412 Sycamore Street Cincinnati, Ohio

5 Introduction W ords matter. They have value and meaning and power. Words like right or left can change the direction of your car or describe your political leanings. A word like bad can change a toddler s behavior or become a label of hipness for a teenager. A word s meaning depends on context, usage, and audience. This is especially true with biblical or spiritual words that have lost their original meaning in contemporary speech. The reflections in this booklet explore some of the great themes of scripture by tracing modern words to their biblical roots. Discussion questions are included to encourage personal reflection and meditation and/or for use in small-group discussion. This process gives us an opportunity to reclaim the original biblical meaning of these words and to be more intentional in reflecting the Word of God in our own daily language. v

6 Words Words Words Although each chapter stands on its own, the order of the words takes the reader through scripture from Genesis to Revelation. During a sermon on the opening passages of John, a distinguished bishop once preached: In the beginning was the Word And there were too many of them. While scripture and our modern language may have more words than we can readily understand or explore, we can begin by looking to the words in this book to give meaning and direction for our lives. Bob Libby vi

7 CONTENTS Icon... 1 Human... 5 Covenant Gleaning Hail Mary Epiphany Prodigal Son Friend Kumbayah Scapegoat Spiritual Armageddon vii

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9 ICON If I ask my granddaughter the meaning of the word icon, she will point to a little image on her computer. If I look to pop culture, magazines and blogs will tout the latest celebrity as a fashion icon. If I ask my daughter the meaning of the word icon, she will present me with a slightly distorted painting of a religious figure. But if we go to the Greek root of the word, we find that icon means image. The Bible explores the meaning of image from the first chapter. In Genesis, we learn that human beings are created in the image of God (1:27). Being made in the image of God is the foundation for the first prohibition of murder: Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall 1

10 Words Words Words that person s blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind (Genesis 9:6). In the Ten Commandments, we are forbidden to make graven images. God is telling us that an image has power and strength and should be regarded with care. To this day, Judaism has no statues, mosaics, or stained glass windows depicting images of Abraham or Moses or any of the biblical figures or heroes of Jewish history. Stained glass windows in temples or synagogues have grapes and gardens, but no animals or angels. The closest Judaism comes to biblical symbols is the menorah and the Star of David. Islam, which dates back to the prophet Muhammad in the 600s, takes the Ten Commandments prohibition against graven images quite literally. Their story is told only in graceful calligraphy. In Christianity, the commandment against graven images spurred two iconoclastic controversies, which together lasted more than one hundred years. A faction within the Eastern churches rejected statues and images of any kind. Out of this arose a style of icons with a distorted 2

11 Words Words Words two-dimensional figure painted in a way so as not to be confused with reality and worshipped on its own. Instead the icon points beyond itself to the reality of God. Most contemporary Christians do not see the worship of graven images such as statues or paintings as a threat to our relationship with God. Graven images today might refer to idols more metaphorically, such as the worship of money or possessions. With Genesis understanding of icon as image, we might think of the word in a new way. Instead of using it as pop-culture praise or a word for a computer image, we might think of ourselves as icons, made with great love in the image of God. k 3

12 Words Words Words Read: Genesis 1:27-28 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. k Reflect: say about who and what you are? other people? image affect how you interact with people of other cultures or religions? 4