FBV 19

An intriguing set of choices in today’s polling. A Protestant favorite from the New Testament letter with an unidentified author:

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

One of the longer single verses in the Bible, but still a powerful summary of what believers expect when they seriously engage God through his Word. What did those “Hebrews” think when they first heard this?

Moses gives the Israelites a similarly powerful challenge toward the end of the Torah, in Deuteronomy. It has become a favorite of the pro-life movement. And why not?

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.

And we have the Lord’s affirmation of Peter, according to Matthew:

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the agates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I found this highly rated on Protestant web sites, so clearly, this apostolic endorsement means more than just the present-day ministry of Peter’s successor. It speaks of a Christian confidence that nothing shall ever supercede the faith.

 

FBV 18

There’s a three-way tie in Thursday’s poll. If you want to take till about dinner time, US Eastern time to break it one way or the other, I’ll check back in around then.

Any prophet will have her or his rough edges. But even for that group, Ezekiel is a tough guy. Fiery chariots, eating candy scrolls, them dry bones, wading into the deeper and deeper water–lots of memorable images in his book.

The major prophets (and many of the minor ones) also have words of consolation. But even Ezekiel’s style comes through here, suggesting that what we think is a natural beating heart can actually be a lump of stone:

I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.

John’s Gospel is very popular across all Christian churches. His letters, not so much. That, despite this message of love:

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.

I debated on the inclusion of this Gospel passage:

Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

Why? We will see Matthew’s Great Commission a bit later in the FBV. I hesitated to include two such similar verses. But this one from the very end of Mark’s Gospel rated so high in a Protestant survey. Plus I didn’t want to short-change that evangelist. He deserves at least four mentions in 81, right?

So, vote:

 

FBV 17

Today we have three classic lines of Scripture. What a difficult choice. But take heart with another inspirational line from Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.

Perhaps you will choose the most well-known of the 150 Psalms. Or rather, its first line:

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.

And how could one overlook Jesus reassuring the family of Lazarus? Faith transcends and overpowers death. What a future to look forward to!

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.

 

FBV 16

Some unfinished business in FBV 12, we need voters to break the tie between the top two. Or push Ephesians into the round of 27. I’ll count votes until about 6pm US Eastern Time this evening. Or whenever I get home tonight.

As for today’s voting, consider a “minor” prophet who found in his marriage to an unfaithful woman a metaphor for God’s troubled covenant with a troubled people. And in these pained relationships, expressions emerge of great tenderness and intimacy between God and those who believe:

Come, let us return to the Lord, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but   he will bind our wounds.

An apostle urges a young Church to imitate Christ:

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.

And the third of four Last Supper messages from the Lord, according to Saint John:

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

 

FBV 15

In today’s polling, we find the first of three appearances of a verse from the Acts of the Apostles. Is the Easter season enough of a “home field” advantage? We have the hint of the earliest structure of the modern Mass, liturgy of Word and Eucharist:

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.

Consider Mark the evangelist, and his second of four entries in the contest, relaying to us the Lord’s powerful call to anyone who would be his disciple:

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his  cross, and follow me.

And the introduction to Second Isaiah’s mission of consolation. Or channeling John the Forerunner, ’cause this is another Old Testament passage that gets quoted in the New:

A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!  Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God.

Vote early, but not too often. Another one coming tomorrow.

 

FBV 14

We reach the halfway mark of the Ethereal 81 with today’s polling. Pairing number ten needs a push one way or the other. You have until noon US Central time, my lunch break, to end the overtime tie.

As for today, another selection from the Sermon on the Mount:

This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name …

You can vote based just on the single verse, or assume the Lord’s Prayer is enough to warrant your selection, just by implication.

How about that Amy Grant? How about another famous line from the Psalms, from the longest of them all?

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is also no stranger to the polling. What about this favorite?

(A)ll have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.

Not to unduly influence you, but the Psalms are doing quite well so far, three out of three. Romans, not so much: oh-for-three. Never mind that. Just pick your favorite verse.

 

FBV 13

Almost halfway through the Favorite Bible Verses polling. Participation has been mostly a shadow of the turnout for last Spring’s voting on liturgical songs. Even with half the voters, we’ll soldier on with a new poll today.

First, a Protestant favorite, once again from Ephesians:

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.

Then, let’s talk about love. From the Last Supper:

I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

And from the First Marriage:

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body

Vote away …

 

Metusael or Methusael?

Sorry for the two consecutive posts on the young miss, but here goes …

About a half-hour after she went to bed tonight, she emerged from her room, pointing to Genesis 4:18 in the Bible she received yesterday after Confirmation, with a question:

Are these two different people?

And sure enough, her print Bible read, “… of Metusael, and Methusael became …”

The online version of 4:18 is clear:

To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael; Mehujael became the father of Methusael, and Methusael became the father of Lamech.

After she padded back to her bedroom, I was left with a question of my own. What is the young miss doing reading Genesis 4 with enough attention to catch a Catholic Book Publishing Company’s typo at this time of night? First Pope Francis. Now my daughter’s Confirmation. What is the church coming to?

 

FBV 12

Vote for your favorite of three intriguing entries today or in the next three days. Join with the victory song of Exodus:

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: I will sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

Or align yourself with the classic line of antipelagianism (Lutherans and Catholics, by the way, are in complete agreement on this):

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God.

Or one of Jesus’ most memorable sayings from the Sermon on the Mount:

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

 

FBV 11

Starting today, we’ll be shifting the posts and voting to a morning start.

Saint Paul had problems with the Christians in Galatea. And the Galatians had problems with him, most likely. The testiness comes out in his short letter to them. When fractures appear in the Christian community, do we work to repair them, even when they’re not our fault? Or do we insist on separate designations, rival camps, and our pet associations. Saint Paul gives us a good line to recall:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Ideologues, take note.

From Handel’s Messiah to the Saint Louis Jesuits, the words of Isaiah have become much-loved among Christians. This verse should be familiar to people who love Midnight Mass:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.

And today’s third passage comes via Mark the evangelist. The first proclamation of the Lord Jesus in that Gospel:

This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.

It’s a tough choice today, but someone has to vote. Or someones.

 

FBV 10

We have an intriguing trio of Bible verses in today’s poll, three very similar lines speaking of God’s redemptive power. Are we ready to receive it?

Just a day after the Magnificat opener goes up for voting, the other “big” canticle of Luke’s infancy narratives makes an appearance.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.

Another passage from Paul’s letter to Titus, read on Christmas Day:

For the grace of God has appeared, saving all…

Hmm. Not multos. Grace is for the salvation of all. Nice. But don’t let me influence your vote. Will you be influenced by Jesus? This seemed to be a line of favor to the Lord:

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.

Can we believe God’s grace is active in our redemption, personally and universally? Can we believe grace is offered to all? Can we believe the Good News Jesus brings? And just for today, can we select one of these passages as a favorite above the other two?

 

FBV 9

The first line of one of the most popular Biblical passages for a musical setting. Most high-church Christians, when they hear …

And Mary said: my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord …

… they know it’s the Magnificat.

Another popular verse for a musical setting is this famous line from the prophet Micah. Most don’t know which prophet it’s from.

You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you; Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

And maybe you remember this Biblical phrase from Ash Wednesday, not so long ago:

For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

 

FBV 8

We head into the second week of the Ethereal 81, a match-up (or smash-up) of one verse each from the Old Testament, one of the four Gospels, and one from the rest of the New Testament. As of today, that last category has no winners as of yet. Let’s see if that first line of the great Christocentric hymn of Colossians can crack into the round-of-27:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firsborn of all creation.

The call of Samuel, and one of my favorite lines in the Bible:

The Lord came and stood there, calling out as before: Samuel, Samuel! Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Are we ready to tell the Lord to speak. And more importantly, are we poised to listen?

These fine Scripture passages match up against the number one Bible quote of sports fans:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

Take till Sunday night to mark your preference and enter it.

 

FBV 7

Just a heads up: FBV 3 is in overtime, tied 5-5. If you haven’t voted yet, break the tie by midnight Eastern US time.

As for today’s contest, the Bible tells us who we are and what to do. These are your choices.

First up, Saint Peter affirms the early Church, and us, with this reminder:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

One of the more popular sentiments from the Psalter finds God’s voice calling us through the Psalmist:

Be still and know that I am God!

And then we have the Golden Rule, courtesy of Jesus, via Saint Luke:

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Take till Saturday evening in America, but please vote.

 

FBV 6

Since we’ll be on the road pretty soon, and my packing is completed, I thought I’d give you all today’s round of Favorite Bible Verses a bit early. We’ll still take till Friday night to finish up the polling, though.

Now that John 8:12b (“I am the light of the world …”) has passed into the round-of-27, let’s see if another saying from the same chapter can achieve similar success:

(A)nd you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

The eighth chapter of John’s Gospel grabs the reader with the tale of the woman caught in the act of adultery. From there, we find Jesus in a theological tennis match with religious authorities. Context is almost always important in the Bible, but this saying is a favorite across Christianity. We are set free in the truth, but what kind of freedom is that?

One of the three theological virtues is cited in Hebrews 11:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.

This verse leads off an extended exploration of faith in this epistle. Well worth reading and reflecting on. One single verse doesn’t do it justice, but it does provide a conversation-starter, whether one has words with another believer or with God.

And the prime psalm of Lent offers possibly the most heartfelt act of contrition in the entire Bible:

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.

So today we have truth, faith, and mercy–these three. Which will be the greatest in the FBV’s sixth contest?