We measure our speed on the highway in miles per hour. Jesus and his followers measured their speed in miles per day.
When we say, life moved more slowly, we mean that people and their stuff literally moved more slowly.
So how much more slowly? Best guess is about 12-15 miles walking per day. (A Roman courier on a horse was faster, of course.)
We get an idea of travel speed in Acts 10. The distance between Joppa and Caesarea was about thirty miles. Couriers left Caesarea and returned in a period of four days (Acts 10:30).
Time references are found in 10:33 (“immediately”) for the speed of the journey, and 10:23 for the halfway point. The couriers stayed overnight and then returned.
Two days there and two days back to cover a round trip of 60 miles. That’s 15 miles a day moving at a good pace.
“Jesus died.”
The statement is a historical fact verifiable by the five senses (for the people who were there).
“Jesus died for our sins.”
This statement introduces a theological and spiritual element that is not verifiable by the five senses. We can verify that Jesus died. We can also verify that people commit exploitative acts toward one another characterized by the term sin.
But the relation between Jesus’ death and humanity’s offenses cannot be verified by the five senses.
Today’s investigators seek physical evidence measurable by the five senses. Forensic tools extend the capabilities of the senses to penetrate into the physical world telescoping or microscoping objects into view.
Analogy provides another tool investigators use to extend beyond repeatable experience accessible to the five senses. For one-time events, analogies to other prior provide frameworks against which to compare bodies of evidence and “visualize” results.
Missing links, however, manifest the vastness of human experience across space and time. Present sensory investigation may re-assemble the puzzle pieces. But there always seems to be pieces that will not fit or pieces that are just missing.
Sensory experience can not and will not conceive of any new pieces outside of existing discoveries.
Indeed, the introduction of new pieces changes the puzzle in a way that exacerbates measurement and control. Spiritual perception does not come with its own bounds.
30 days after the election of Pope Francis, a CNN blogger made this observation, “Whenever given the choice between clerical privilege and everyday human experience, he opts for the human.”**
It is a curious implication for one of Jesus’ followers, the gap between “clerical privilege” and “everyday human experience.”
“Clerical privilege” isn’t new. The culture of the ancient temple cultivated it, even the one in Jesus’ experience.
Jesus even told a story about loving one’s neighbor that contrasted the temple hierarchy with a looked-down-on foreigner (Luke 10).
Jesus himself: he rejected the choice and embraced everyday human experience. Yet clerical privilege persists.
Become better acquainted with Jesus’ everyday human experience. We invite you to follow this year to Easter withJesus.
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** Michael D’Antonio, “One month in, Pope Francis is on the right track” <http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/13/opinion/dantonio-pope-francis-first-month/index.html?hpt=op_t1>, Date Accessed: April 13, 2013.
By his own admission, Jesus limited his speaking tour to Israel. Using a familiar metaphor, he said, “I have come for the lost sheep of Israel” (John 12). Not a very nice thing to say. The term “lost” was as derogatory then as it is now.
DJP will complete the Th.M. from DTS Saturday next. Our usual Friday morning Coffee / SAYWJ schedule is off kilter the past several weeks partly due to exams and assignments related to completion of that degree.
We are talking today about social networking and SAYWJ / SpendAYearWithJesus. I think one of our challenges is to do a good job of telling the “Spend A Year With Jesus” story. Telling the story well seems crucial to finding people who understand and want the experience. We are currently using Twitter (#ayearwithjesus) and a Facebook “Like” page (Spend A Year With Jesus). When you find us on FB, please “Like” us.