Fifth Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

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The Raising of Lazarus Lectionary:  34 Reading 1 -  Ezekiel 37:12-14 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 130:1-8 Reading 2 -  Romans 8:8-11 Verse - John 11:25a, 26 Gospel -  John 11:1-45 Lazarus, come out! LESSON: The Power of God Through Those Who Believe We’re a week away from the start of Holy Week. Our Lord now has his sights set on Jerusalem, and the pace is quickening. In these next two weeks, we’re living just one part of the Gospel passage from today: an encounter with the reality of suffering and death. Jesus is asking us to have faith in him. In today’s First Reading the prophet Ezekiel reminds us of the Lord’s promise to not only to bring us back to life but to bring us home. The background of this passage is the famous "Valley of Dry Bones." The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. They weren't just sad; they were spiritually and nationally "dead." Their common saying was: "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off." They d...
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Review: The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World

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The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World by Phillip J. Long

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As mentioned in the Intro, this is not a full translation of 1 Enoch, but is a guided summary into the history, content and context of this very interesting pseudepigrapha that helps to also set the milieu of the second temple period of Jesus. The author starts with a summary of each book (includes a Facts at a Glance bulleted call out) before reviewing the specific book in sections. These sections are further broken down into an historical and contextual review, followed by a “Key Verse” and commentary and often an added boxes digging a little more deeply into terms and concepts … such as “Who ARE the Watchers?” or “Demons in Early Judaism.”

Over all, this was an accessible academic work that I found absolutely fascinating from an historical and theological context that definitely can contribute to canonical biblical exegesis … or simply as a history buff interested in that time period. The only downside I had was that it apparently doesn’t include the complete text, so this is really more of a companion piece .. albeit one that you should definitely use with a complete copy if you care to read it. As an added bonus, it is currently available on Kindle Unlimited making it super easy to take for a test drive.

Part One: An Introduction

Part Two: Uncovering the Five Books
- Book I: The Book of the Watchers
- Book II: The Book of Parables
- Book III: The Book of Astronomical Writings (aka The Book of Luminaries)
- Book IV: The Book of Dream Visions
- Book V: The Epistle of Enoch

I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#Enoch #NetGalley #KindleUnlimited

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