Day One of the Dust of Rabbi Jesus

I am reading the explanatory part of the book right now. The author suggests that it may be our western culture that least understands the Bible, biblical references and has the most to learn about its origins and original meaning.

I think she's onto something.

For example, as explained in the first book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, calling Jesus a rabbi has a meaning that is not exactly what we would understand it to be. Calling him rabbi does not mean he was an innovative teacher or leader in a Jewish temple. His message was not intended as a marketing plan for the Kingdom of God. Nor do we understand the shock value of his announcement that he was God's promised Messiah among his peers (his human peers, that is) in 1st century Judea. The rabbi label correctly identifies his mission to teach his people, God's chosen people, the Jews, how God wanted them to live.

The title of this book is also explained. Jesus taught by example. He invited each of his disciples to accompany him, observe him as he lived and interacted and listen as he followed up with explanations about God's Kingdom. It was, according to this author, out of this unusual teaching method that a well-known saying arose: You should learn from a rabbi by "covering yourself in his dust." Literally. If you walked closely enough behind someone else, you would be covered by the billowing sand raised by his footsteps.

And more than that, the Hebrew word halakh, walk, encompases more; it refers to your lifestyle and how you conduct yourself morally. Jesus meant both -- literal and metaphorical. And the word for road or path -- or "way," which is how the body of Jesus' teachings were labeled -- literally meant the track left behind that we refer to as footsteps.

If you doubt that cultural context matters, consider how some future sociologists might ponder some of what we say and do today. For example, how would they interpret random references to, say, "9/11"? Would they scratch their heads and wonder why those numbers are so significant? What about our road signs, which contain no words, but only iconic images? Long after our roadways have vanished from view, what might an archaeologist think if he uncovered a road sign with a squiggly arrow pointing upward?

Get the picture? Context lends deeper meaning. that's why I 'm so excited to have found this book just in time for Lent. I am looking forward to unpacking some deeper meaning in what we read, in what we pray and what we do in liturgy.