Prime Matters

Jesus’s miracles, well-known to many, pointed to his authority as the Son of God. Among his most famous was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Who is this man who had the authority not only to heal paralytics and those possessed by demons, but also to command even death itself? These acts had a deeper purpose: to reveal Christ’s capacity to heal far deeper wounds, namely those of sin, those of the soul.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

Jesus began his ministry by slowly and carefully revealing himself as the Messiah. He took up the identity of a recognizable Jewish figure a prophet and rabbi... yet to all who encountered him, he seemed like more. Jesus ventured from town to town, teaching in a way that was in keeping with Jewish law and tradition even as he deepened the demands of love, mercy, and conversion. He gave his “Sermon on the Mount,” taught the beatitudes, and commanded that we love our enemies. He also performed deeds of astonishing power, healing the sick and the blind, tending to the poor, and loving widows, prostitutes, and outcasts.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

John the Baptist, having first encountered Jesus while still in Elizabeth’s womb, leaping with joy at Mary’s visitation, served as the forerunner to the Messiah. Living in the desert and preaching Christ’s coming, he prepared the way for the King of the Jews, eventually baptizing him. After Jesus had been baptized by John he went into the wilderness for forty days and forty nights to be tempted by the devil, thus beginning his ministry as the New Adam. Upon his return, Jesus would call the twelve Apostles: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Nathanael, Matthew, Simon, James, Thomas, Jude, and Judas Iscariot.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

In the city of Bethlehem, Joseph's ancestral home and the place to he and Mary had been called for a census, the Christ-child was born. His humble beginnings are well-known, having been born in a stable, unnoticed. Still, angels were soon sent to a small band of shepherds, proclaiming the good news of the first Christmas. The promised Messiah had come.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

What does it really mean for God to have become incarnate? Why was it so necessary for Jesus to take on human flesh? How was his doing so a particular response to the problem of human guilt and shame? Here we pause to consider the real meaning of the Incarnation and its pertinence to the transformation of human beings into godlike creatures, worthy of entrance into the life of the Trinity –  in other words, human beings’ divinization.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

The narrative continues in Nazareth of Galilee, where Mary, a young Jewish girl set aside by God from the moment of her Immaculate Conception,  met with great astonishment the angel Gabriel: “Hail, Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” She was told that she would bear the Son of God, a son to be named Emmanuel, “God is with us,” who was to be the long-awaited Messiah-King, the Savior of Israel. “Let it be done unto me,” she responded, and in the quiet of her bed-chamber, the whole world started over again. The human race was to receive a new mother, a new Eve.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

The destruction of the temple and the end of the Davidic kingly line marked the beginning of the time of the “diaspora,” when Jews would be scattered across many lands. Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria became major centers of Jewish life, and local synagogues took on new importance in Jewish communities. During this time, the Jewish longing for the Messiah took on growing intensity, urged on by the prophet Daniel. This resulted in unrest and uprisings, including the famous revolt of the Maccabees. Groups like the Pharisees and the Sadducees formed and celebrations like Hanukkah were initiated.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

Renowned for his wisdom, Solomon ruled over a kingdom finally at peace, allowing him to build a new Jewish temple on Mount Zion. Within it resided the Holy of Holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant, and priests descended from Aaron offered sacrifices there while the tribe of Levi kept it in working order. Solomon, however, would succumb to the irreligious forces around him, even as God raised up a line of prophets – Elijah and Elisha, Amos, Joel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel – warning of the consequences of Israel’s unfaithfulness. The Israelite kingdom would fall to the Assyrians of Mesopotamia and the Babylonians, and, most heartbreakingly, the temple would be destroyed leaving the Jews yearning for a renewal of their covenant.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

Even after the Israelites were firmly established in the Promised Land, they had yet to conquer the Canaanite peoples. In the years that followed, tribal leaders such as Samuel, Jephthah, Gideon, Deborah, and Barak would rise up to defend the Israelites from the paganism around them. But it was ultimately David who was led down the road to kingship, following his heroic victory over the Philistine champion, Goliath. Though troubles afflicted him in dealings with figures like Saul, Uriah, Nathan, and Bathsheba, David would remain the archetypical King of Israel, handing on his kingship to his gifted son, Solomon.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

Having entered into a covenant with God, the Israelites begin to make their way to Canaan, the Land of Promise. Their journey would take forty years, led by Moses, his brother Aaron, his sister Miriam, and his lieutenant Joshua. The Israelites would be supplied with the gift of manna along the way, led by fire and cloud, and yet they were afflicted with discouragement and near rebellion for the whole course of those forty years. It was only after Moses’s death that the Israelites would, at last, enter the land of Canaan. Here they would receive the promise of freedom from an even deeper form of slavery. This promise would take hold of the Jewish imagination.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.