Geocaching Scripture

Recorded during my kids’ swimming lessons under an apocalyptic sun, we talk about Jesus drinking habits. When the Pharisees saw Jesus’ generous, welcoming approach to people they declared him a drunk. But when they saw John the Baptist’s austerity they accused him of being possessed. Okay, well which is it? Do we as Christians usually get accused of having too much of a good time? Of being too welcoming or feasting too much? Jesus was. Tune in.

Mary Magdalene was the first to see the resurrected Jesus in the book of John. She looks in the tomb and sees two angels sitting in a particular way. Again, the gospel writers never waste ink. What does an ancient angelic seating arrangement have to do with the identity of Jesus? Welp, let's geocache. 

“…there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:28). What now, Jesus? Those peeps have been dead for a few dozen centuries, so what was He talking about? Let’s take a gander, and I’ll do my best impression of British atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell. Promise. 

Ummm....so I've been gone a bit, but I can't help myself. I'm back and our name is Geocaching Scripture again and there it shall stay. In this episode, we talk about the so-so water supply in Laodicea in Asia Minor, Daniel Day Lewis and how metaphors – even biblical ones – are best drawn from whatever's laying around. It's very, very good to be back, fellow cachers. Pax humana. 

Warning: This episode is Dan-less. He's moving and I told him to take a few weeks off to carry boxes and not break dishes. He will return right soon!  So me, just me, looks here at the calling of Peter in Luke 5. Jesus walks up to expert fishermen on the beach and tells them how to do their job. What was a very crowded day of teaching becomes a one-on-one conversation between Jesus and Peter, knee-deep in the surf. 

Jesus wanders off to the temple in the traffic jams of the Passover celebration in Jerusalem. It's one of the more confusing episodes in the gospels, and the only glimpse we have of Jesus' childhood. What was he up to? Why does the cataclysmic story of Jesus' birth lead right into a very pedestrian story of a wandering t'ween and frustrated parents? What happened the time when Dan got lost hunting and had to hitchhike with a loaded gun? What about the time Josh got lost, as a t'ween, on a sweaty afternoon in Tiajuana? These questions and more shall be answered in full... 

John the Baptist seems to appear out of thin air with his wild hair and blazing eyes and message of judgment. But he was actually part of a prophetic tradition that had been around for a long time. Part of it, but also out of step with it in just the right way, just the right amount of pushback on a paradigm. Wade in the water with Weird John for a minute, there's much to learn. 

Welcome to the late-night Tired Dad's Cafe, as Josh and Dan zoom after the kids' bedtime to talk polygamy. This practice, so foreign to the modern western mind, is everywhere in scripture. But just because polygamy shows up there, does that mean the bible is advocating it? Is polygamy – and other morally repulsive ideas – advocated by scripture? The answer is in the narrative, not the bullet points and we take a look at how most of these multiple marriages went – spoiler alert: not well.