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Oh, Manual Lebanon as 20th century philosopher grew up as a Jewish Russian and Kaunas, Lithuania, just north of Belarus and Ukraine as a boy, he was forced to flee with his jewish community when the

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Russian revolution swept through Lithuanian as an adult french citizen and officer, he spent five years as a captive of the Nazis and his entire immediate family having returned to Connors was murdered when the Nazis swept through Lithuania

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on their march back through Russia. Lebanon is often cited, a line from the christian philosopher Blaise pascal , that is my place in the sun. That is how the usurpation of the whole world began mm

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. With that line pascal anticipates how ethics grounded and appeals to rights would not only be insufficient, it could be appropriated to justify political and economic imperialism. This first fruits passage from Deuteronomy is striving to counter

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just such an imperialistic interpretation of the promised land motif among the Israelites. By the time this text is written, the Israelite conquest of Canaan is done. There was no undoing that no other place for the

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Israelites to go. The question is what will be the character of Israelite rule. The author reminds them of their treatment in Egypt, where they were identified as aliens. Are they going to be like the

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Egyptians. The author reminds them that they were poor and isolated immigrants, that their father was a wandering around me in how are they going to treat immigrants ? We know from the later history of Israel that

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the promised land motif will be used to justify political and economic imperialism. This is what the many profits will call for getting gone in concrete terms to forget God is to forget the poor, the alien,

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the widow, the orphan. To forget that God promised to bless the Children of Abram so that they could be a blessing all the families of the earth . Our author proclaims in this passage what it is

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to remember God and embeds it in an annual ritual where one takes not the excess, not what remains after. We're sure there's enough for us, but our first fruits. And then because this is not

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just about a once a year exception, but about marking out a way of living in community. One takes not only first fruits, but 1/10 of all . We harvest every third year. And remember God

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by sharing the first roots with the aliens. And let's be sure to note these aliens are descendants of the people living in Canaan before the Israelites. Uh , and remember God by sharing these first roots and

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these tides so that the alien the Fatherless and the widow may eat in your towns and be satisfied. This is what it is to remember God. And let's be sure to think of why our authors sayings

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, it's because they want the earrings, the widows and the orphans and the immigrants and they cannot make people love each other, but they can remind people of when they were needy and when they, what

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they thought of those who hated them and they can say go and do likewise. But it's his first fruits philosophy realistic actually don't we all really know now that it's patently unrealistic. Why not assert my rights

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, Why not establish means and security for me and mine first. And I mean I mean let's let's be real. That's how the real world works. The real state of nature is of a war of

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all against all moral idealists are naive and dangerous because in the real world it is a struggle for survival . Uh and those who do not know how to play the game get eaten alive. Mm hmm.

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So go with the flow form strategic alliances, do long term assessments and work to align others interests in your own, especially if they are powered ideals are great if you can afford to have but a first

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fruits philosophy is insane because in the real world, people who refuse to compromise refused to accept reality and play the game. People who get stuck on their moral ideals in the real world and this is actually

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two. I'm not setting this up to undo it . In the real world. People like this get crucified which connects our first fruits Deuteronomy passage to land . This connection is obscured by an understandable but massive

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confusion over how to understand lent and the cross and the crucifixion a confusion which is most obvious and penal substitution. ErI understandings of atonement. Now I say this confusion is understanding because not just among christians but

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in religions around the world. One finds a primordial conviction among people who are conscious of having done great evil that the only hope of making up for it is if some equally great evil is done in.

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Mhm. So this this point deserves deserves more careful and compassionate discussion than I can commit to it here . But let me stress that even people who articulate this theory of atonement in reality have forgot found forgiveness

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in divine grace, which substitution airy atonement theories misunderstand woman as theologians like Dolores, Williams and Duran Marie Terrell have been particularly important in awakening us to the problematic ways in which these understandings of the tournament sanctify

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and even glorify suffering itself suffering for the sake of stuff. Mhm Such understandings of atonement lead us to see God is somehow pleased or satisfied with jesus suffering and death on the cross pleased with the suffering and

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death itself. This is manifested when people are asked , what does passion Week and the passion of the christ refer to and they answer across the trial and suffering and death of jesus ending on the cross,

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the sacrificial self sacrificing suffering and death of jesus, that is what passion week and good friday or about the passion of the christ is the death on the cross and that is what saves us. There are

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two confusions here. It is especially vital for us to name and correct first, there is nothing inherently good about suffering, pain. Unjust death or sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice. The God who is

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love did not delight in the suffering pain and unjust death of jesus christ and does not delight in the suffering pain and unjust to anyone else. So what precisely then, is the Passion of Passion? The

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Passion of Passion Week is the Passion of jesus incarnate so perfectly incarnated in jesus, that Jesus remains true to this passion for every face to the death, even death on a cross. The civil and ecclesial

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authorities did not execute jesus so that humanity sins might be forgiven in order to appease God, or as some sort of bloody payment and a tip for tat economy. Jesus was executed because he lived surrender to

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having been seized by love for all the faces that surrounded and so he spoke clearly and fourth right about that which was loving and good and against what was unloving and evil. Jesus thereby threatened powerful figures and

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systems of exploitation and oppression and precisely as one would expect in a fallen, selfish and violent world. Those figures and systems responded to the threat by crucifying , mm. Hmm. Jesus did not foot.

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The triumph manifest in the Cross is the triumph of surrender to the passions of having been seized by law . That is it is the triumph of faith. Fidelity to the God who is love over desire for

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well being and survival in jesus fidelity. And having been seized by love for every face that surrounded him even under a death on the cross. We see in the words of love and knows a man who

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in the passion of Agape was led to fear injustice more than death. I prefer to suffer than to commit injustice and to prefer that which justifies being over that, which assures God did not delight in the

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suffering, trial and murder of jesus God delighted in jesus fidelity to love for all faces fidelity to the passion of the to the love of neighbor, which is the love of God even. Mhm. The

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idea that went or Passion week are about sacrifice for suffering for the sake of sacrifice or suffering tames lent domesticate, sit by neutralizing its social critique. If you give up something for the length for length,

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it's not directly tied to justice for some neighbor. You have missed out on the joy and truth of participating in the passion of jesus. There was a debate in the new testament in new testament studies.

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I'm not a testament. Study person. So the debate in new testament studies over how to translate the papist. Its claws are we called to have faith in jesus christ or to have the faith of jesus

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christ. But these are false alternatives, but I have faith in jesus christ is to have the faith of jesus christ is to share in the passion of jesus christ. That is the passion we celebrate and

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remember and we commit ourselves to when we break the bread and drink the cup that is the passion of lent. The passion of Passion week. The passion of jesus, the passion for justice, the passion

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for naval, the passion of sheep, the passion of good Samaritans, the passion of ketosis of the incarnation of christmas. The Passion of Isaiah and Amos and Micah. The passion of bodhisattvas inside Harta and

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Gandhi in Lebanon as the passion behind the five pillars of Islam. The Passion which experiences this veil of tears is duck of Bernie and of course it is the passion of the first fruits philosophy of Iran.

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It is also a passionate systematically alighted from the categories of modern rationality and absent from the rooms where it happens across the globe. Two devastating just for starters everyone with the passion plant. The passion of jesus

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would join with the South african and archbishop thabo mugabe , thabo Makgoba, hope in accusing the U. S. And U. A. U. For vaccine, apartheid for their denial of patent waivers and

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threats to punish any countries who infringe upon that happens over vaccines. The first fruits philosophy would insist upon packed waivers and have us ask not just about first fruits but about the 3rd and 4th fruits whether or

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not it is moral for us in the states to get 3rd and 4th doses of Covid vaccine while U . S. Foreign policy is by design denying vaccines to hundreds of millions of poor people across the globe

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. Mhm. That's just for starters brilliant assessment of the problem and realistic suggestions to redress and this connects to Ukraine to Hong kong to the Northern triangle. See Pope Francis's encyclical without this. Yeah Let me

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close with some thoughts about how we might celebrate ash Wednesday and lent which connects lent to the first group's philosophy of Deuteronomy 26. Here I'm wandering into practical theology, liturgy preaching territory. So again I apologize

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First consistent with Deuteronomy 26 is emphasis upon the alien and the impoverished. It seems our celebration should attempt to include at least two explicitly to name and remember those who are alien to us people from other faith

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traditions, other ethnicities, races and socioeconomic classes and also of course those who are poor for it not among the poor lynch should not be a most exclusive season the season just for christians but a most inclusive

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season. One for those from any tradition who surrendered to the passion. Second consistent with Deuteronomy is first fruits. Philosophy especially as it is realized in the passion of jesus who spoke love to power even unto

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the cross. It seems that both individually and community what giving up something for lent should look like would involve maiming and committing time. Social and political capital and money to redressing some injustice, some violation of

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the poor or those considered if you are yourselves poor and powerless. This might just mean embodying the passion of jesus by offering a word of encouragement or a gesture of love to some of what distinguishes simple self

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deprivation from linton. True Lenten sacrifice. What distinguishes simple self deprivation from participation in the faith of jesus christ and the passion of jesus christ is the true Lenten sacrifice is self deprivation or risk which is directly

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related in word or deed to the love of God , which is love of neighbor passionate plant which for the most privileged of us should probably usually involve speaking loved power. Mm hmm. Final. And this

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is going to get philosophical again. So I'm back . It's both my most comfortable and what you're going to think is most confusing maybe. But anyway, a fine offer. All this means that the Lenten

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season is continuous with the advent and christmas is those who give up something for the sake of giving up something during lent miss out on the joy of giving to others. Giving rooted and surrender to the gracious

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love of God. A way of participating in the love of God. Lynn is simultaneously a joyous season and with its termination in the cross Ultra realistic about the character of this one. But this world does

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not triumph surrendered to having been seized by every face . The passion of length. The passion of jesus brings profound joy in this world despite its crosses resilience which flows from full surrender to a the palpable communion

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with the which unfolds and holds and lifts us up as we surrender to it in true Lenten celebration that is so powerful and glorious that instills within us reasonable hope that somehow not this world but a god,

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a god of grace is somehow the ultimate work. Mm hmm. In other words, it is not from true participation in the passion of length. It is it is in other words it is from true

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participation in the passion of lint that easter hope is born. We do not endure lent so we can get easter. It is through true celebration of length , full surrender to the passion of length. The

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passion of jesus, the passion of the prophets of the bodhisattvas and said harder and the prophet blessed be his name that gives birth to Eastern Hope. Get this backwards ground everything in the promise of a heavenly

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reward and one will miss the joy and glory of three union with God, which is the passion of