Holy Scripture
Holy Scripture
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Commands of God .. Prophetic Oracles .. Wisdom Sayings .. Jesus Tradition
The Easter Letter to Oklahoma City
In preparing these meditations, I redacted biblical passages regarding these key words: poverty, poor, widows, orphans, foreigners/aliens, justice, oppression, injustice, wealth, rich., These were then sorted by the type of reading into five "books": Prophetic Oracles, Wisdom Sayings, Commands, Psalms and Laments, and the Traditions of Jesus. They are intended for meditative and contemplative reading (lectio divina), rather than scholarly research or apologetics.
These redactions are not meant to "prove" anything in the apologetical sense, although they do indicate the extensive concern in Holy Scripture for justice issues. They have been taken completely out of their biblical context and juxtaposed with other biblical materials from different contexts, all jumbled together and arranged as a continuous narrative. In particular, the "Traditions of Jesus" is not meant to be a "harmony" of the Gospels or a full picture of the ministry of Jesus. Rather, it focuses on the materials in the New Testament that are relevant to social justice.
Also included is a redaction of material from Paul's epistles arranged as though it was a "Letter to Oklahoma City". This was prepared for Easter in the year following the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building and was distributed by Catholic Action at Oklahoma City University.