Liebe KHGler,

bei meiner Suche nach einer Bibelstelle habe ich wieder in Knuths Buch 3:16 geblättert, das
manchen von Euch noch Mittwochsfrühstück bekannt sein könnte. Donald E. Knuth, ein bekannter
Informatiker, hat einen interessanten Querschnitt der Bibel aufbereitet, indem aus jedem Buch
den Vers 3:16 studiert und kommentiert hat. Dazu haben namhafte Kalligraphen jeden Vers
illustriert. Einen Auszug aus dem Kommentar habe ich angefügt - ich hoffe, das Englisch macht
Euch nicht zu viele Probleme. Doch nun zur Bibelstelle:


2 Thess, 3:16-18

16 Der Herr des Friedens aber schenke Euch den Frieden zu jeder Zeit und auf jeder Weise.
Der Herr sei mit Euch allen.
17 Den Gruß schreibe ich, Paulus, eigenhändig. Das ist mein Zeichen in jedem Brief; so
schreibe ich.
18 Die Gnade Jesu Christi, unseres Herrn, sei mit euch allen!


Dies ist der Schluss des zweiten Briefes an die Thessalonicher. Vers 17 bezieht sich auf
die Möglichkeit gefälschter Briefe, wie in 2:2 angedeutet wird. Doch daneben schließt
Paulus nicht mit "MfG", sondern mit einem umfassenden Segenswunsch, dem Wunsch nach dem
Frieden Gottes. Frieden in der Welt, Frieden unter uns, Frieden mit uns selbst - den
"Frieden Gottes auf jede Weise" haben wir oft allzu nötig. Denken wir an die Weite dieses
Wunsches, wenn wir uns im Gottesdienst diesen Frieden wünschen.

Ich gebe weiter an Thomas Bartsch.

Peace

Rainer



2 Thess, 3:16

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace, at all times and in all ways.
The Lord be with you all.


THE PEACE of THE LORD! Christians in thousands of churches around the
world regularly ''share the peace'' with each other as part of their
Sunday worship, saying ''The peace of the Lord be with you.'' This
phrase becomes more and more meaningful the more we read the Bible and
grow in faith. Christianity is the ''good news of peace through Jesus
Christ'' (Acts 1O:36). ...

The Greek word for peace, eirene, means the absence of hostility. Paul
has this notion of peace in mind when he says that Christ is the basis
for peace between Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14). He also explains
that faith in Jesus Christ leads to peace with God (Romans 3:22, 5:1).
Such peace is a wonderful state of harmony.

But the Hebrew word shalom has an even richer meaning, including
health and prosperity. When Jesus says ''Peace I leave with you''
(John 14:27) and ''Peace be with you'' (John 20:19,21,26), he is
speaking in a Hebrew dialect and thereby implying much more than
abatement of conflicts. He clearly deserves the title Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6).

Paul's prayer in verse 16 includes three uses of the word 'all', each
of which is signihcant in itself and reinforces the others. First,
Paul asks for peace at all times. This means that the peace should be
continual, continuous; ''peace like a river'' (Isaiah 48:18).

Secondly, Paul asks for peace in all ways. Several ancient manuscripts
of the New Testament have a different word here (Greek topo instead of
tropo), which would make it 'in all places' instead; but the oldest
and best surviving copies of Paul's letter say 'in all ways', and this
phrase has a much more profound meaning. Paul is not asking for a
superfcial peace, a Pax Romana that is enforced by military might. Nor
is he asking for just one kind of peace. He is asking for peace in its
broadest possible sense.

Earlier in the letter he has referred to persecution that the
Thessalonians are suffering (1:4-5), and in the third chapter he has
just discussed an internal conflict about lazy people in the church
who interfere with everybody else (verses 6-15). Now Paul asks God for
peace of all kinds, including an end to these struggles, and including
the conccept of shalom.

Finally, Paul asks for the Lord's presence as well as his peace. To
have God as our companion, as part of ourselves, is his fervent wish;
this will be a permanent source and guarantee of peace. And - most
significantly - Paul wishes it for all, including the idlers he has
just been castigating. Nobody is left out of this prayer; true peace
involves everyone.

The same words 'with you all' occur at the very end of this letter
(verse 18), where Paul includes an additional prayer for the Lord's
grace (that is, for God's generous gifts). Grace and peace
traditionally go together (see 1:2 and Numbers 6:24-26). ...

Once I was camping in a desert region; I had time to forget everyday
concerns and to think about my life as a whole. And I remember
especially being struck by a realization that, deep down, in some way
I can't define, I am at peace with God and with the world. This means
a lot to me; in fact, I think it's the basis of my whole life. And I
think this is what is meant by the peace of the Lord, the peace that
transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7). It must be the
greatest of God's gifts. ''Great peace have they who love God's law''
(Psalm 119: 165). No wonder we often end our own letters, as Paul did,
by saying ''Peace.''





Wen das Buch interessiert:
http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/316.html
Donald E. Knuth
3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated A-R Editions, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
ISBN 0-89579-252-4
Ein paar nette Vorträge gibt es in:
http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/things.html
Donald E. Knuth
Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About
CSLI Publications, Standford, California, USA
ISBN 1-57586-327-8



Eine Übersicht zur KHG Bibel-Stafette 2003 gibt's unter
http://www.dfki.uni-kl.de/~elst/html/bibel2003/

Die Bibel-Stafette wird mittels eines List-Servers am RHRK der Uni Kaiserslautern verwaltet:
http://sun.rhrk.uni-kl.de/wws/info/khg-bibel