Your lost thesis
jay_emm
Kerygmania Host
in Kerygmania
As is probably obvious this was going to be for last bank holiday but the clash with Easter was a bit ugly.
Anyhow there's a number of minor theories and joke theories that various posts have inspired, and I'm sure it's not just me.
I have put this in kerygmania as I'm hoping that posts will be sufficiently bible related to stay.
Some thoughts on how I'm hoping it will go.
A) Most things posted won't be intended to be for debate. Running with an idea might be ok (take.care.not to spoil it), refuting it is probably as pointless as "chickens don't cross roads actually"
Wild logic in small quantities is fine. Ideally we should also learn something.
Bible quotes and source facts should be real (it may be appropriate to propose a mistranslation or unreliable narrator)
Anyhow there's a number of minor theories and joke theories that various posts have inspired, and I'm sure it's not just me.
I have put this in kerygmania as I'm hoping that posts will be sufficiently bible related to stay.
Some thoughts on how I'm hoping it will go.
A) Most things posted won't be intended to be for debate. Running with an idea might be ok (take.care.not to spoil it), refuting it is probably as pointless as "chickens don't cross roads actually"
Wild logic in small quantities is fine. Ideally we should also learn something.Bible quotes and source facts should be real (it may be appropriate to propose a mistranslation or unreliable narrator)
Comments
In John 12 (when Mary does the perfume wash), Martha serves.
In Mark, it's at the home of Simeon the Leper (and the woman is unnamed)
Now obviously nobody serves food at a house that isn't theirs. So obviously Simeon's house is Martha's house. And the only explanation is that they are a couple.*
* For the record I genuinely think it's feasible that they were a couple. I can also think of about 10 other equally likely explanations and no significant consequences.
I also hope you didn't need telling that.
Some years ago I watched a documentary about people who had been given up for adoption attempting to trace their birth families. On it was a man who said his adoptive parents had always been open with him about the fact that he was adopted and they had several times told him that they would understand if he wanted to look for his birth family and they would support him in this. The man said that, although he believed they were sincere in what they had said to him and he was interested in finding his birth family, nevertheless he felt that if he did so it would imply that his adoptive parents "weren't good enough"- but they WERE good enough so he wasn't going to expose them to even the possible awkwardness so only embarked on his search for his birth family after his adoptive parents were dead. There was also someone from an adoption tracing agency who said many adoptees delay their search until that point and for the same reason.
Traditionally Joseph was said to be considerably older than Mary. Say that he was 40 and Mary 20 at the time of Jesus' birth (I know some apocrypha has him as even older): then by the point that Jesus was 30, Joseph would be 70 - time enough to have died after his alloted "three score years and ten", leaving Mary a widow at 50 - mature but by no means dead yet. I feel this fits with the Marriage at Cana story: Jesus and His mother are there but not even a mention of Joseph.
And I like the idea that Joseph would "honour his father and mother" by showing them this courtesy.
Having within the last eight years gone from two living parents to none, I think it's more that it causes you to start asking more questions about who you are and your place in the world, for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me.
It's definitely interesting to imagine her seeing zacceaus, speculating what she was doing at the time of the last supper.
That means there might have been all the Mary's there for the foot washing. One of whom we know had been gifted some expensive perfume, so maybe...
It's said that Luke met Mary, how much of the gospel works as being from her.
The idea being that as part of the post you are either thinking and checking details of other biblical characters (with in this case absent parent issues) or looking at what Jesus said. And hopefully reminding us. Even if the superficial effect is a lame but original pun.
Or in this case a very weak connection to very real issues gets a chance to be expressed. Accepted as being speculative and moved on from.
In Mark Jesus' first miracle is telling a ranting man "Be quiet" "Come out of him" and the spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
In Mark 5 the man who said he was called 'Legion' lived naked among the rock tombs and no-one was strong enough to subdue him. 'Night and day he would cry out and cut himself with stones'. I take this self-harming and general behaviour to be a symptom of some serious, possibly psychotic, mental illness. After an encounter with Jesus there is a brief time of chaos with 2000 pigs drowning in the Sea of Galilee but the man soon becomes calm and puts on some clothes.
According to Luke Mary went to Jerusalem for Passover every year when Jesus was growing up. It seems more likely than not that she would continue to do so after Jesus was grown.