March 24 Genesis 49-50; Psalm 17, Matthew 17.

Genesis 49-50:  Well, we've reached the end of one of the longest books of the Bible!  Good job!  What a story it is.  As you continue to read, watch for themes that you've met in this book that will continue to re-appear in later books of the Bible.  God is good, created a good and beautiful world; created humans in the Divine Image; preserves life from a remnant; forgives sinners; initiates relationship with human beings; seems at times mysterious and inscrutable.  Have you seen others?
Matthew 17:  Trans-Figuration;  Meta-Morphosis.  Latin and Greek words for what happens to a butterfly and that the New Testament writers used to describe what happened to Jesus on a mountain top where Jesus met with Moses and Elijah and where the 3 disciples who were present were in a state that was visionary: exciting and scary and mysterious.  Peter wants to keep things just like that.  They never stay that way.  But they remembered for the rest of their lives what they experienced on that mountain.  It gave them a new important vision of Jesus that would be severely tested as they experienced the realities of the journey to Jerusalem and Jesus' subsequent suffering and death.
Once again, the Voice identifies Jesus as "My Son, the Beloved" and commands them to "Listen to him!"
17:14-21... raises many questions for post-modern Christians.  What do we do with the language about demons?  If we don't believe in demons does that make us unfaithful Christians?  If we don't have "faith the size of this mustard seed" because we know it is impossible to move mountains, and we believe it would be unethical to move mountains just to show off, are we missing out on a fuller kind of trust and faith that we would have if we did or could believe?
17:12 and 17:22 are both predictions of Jesus' own suffering and death.  He himself did not "move the mountain" of his crucifixion.  He died in agony in a public execution.  Jesus really can't be taken literally, can he?

17:24ff.  I think most of us are more familiar with the account that comes from later in Matthew where Jesus has to ask one of the temple officials to show him a coin and when he says "Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar" (22:15ff).  Interesting that this somewhat parallel passage appears here.  Kind of like the multiple feedings (5000 and 4000).

Psalm 17:  a beautiful prayer:  "Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings" (17:8).  We quote this psalm in prayer as part of our Compline service.