Epiphany 4: Lectionary Reflections

January 27, 2012 By Guest Contributor 1 Comment

By John C. Holbert

Lectionary Reflections on Deuteronomy 18: 15-20

Epiphany 4: Sunday, January 29, 2012
Many Bible passages are quite fascinating in multiple ways, but today’s Hebrew Bible pericope is especially interesting for several reasons, reasons that I hope will become apparent in this article. And it is peculiar at first blush just what it may have to do with the season of Epiphany. Well, on the surface that seems obvious; the text speaks of a promised prophet who will arise from among the people of Israel, and Jesus, certainly a kind of prophet, has so arisen. But there is much more here than a simple promise and its subsequent fulfillment.

The context is Deuteronomy, usually assigned by scholarship to the 7th century BCE, a document having something to do with the discovery of a scroll in the rebuilding temple of Jerusalem by some workers employed by King Josiah for the task. Upon examination of the scroll, and upon its authentication by the rather surprising female prophet, Huldah, Josiah proceeds to alter the course of Israel’s life following the commands he has read. He centralizes the worship of Israel in Jerusalem, thereby ordering the demolition of all ancient shrines outside of the capital. This action surely had a profound effect on the rural economies, many of which were centered in those shrines and their priests and their sacrificial practices. And that was only one symptom of a more general crackdown on what was now seen as a laxness in religious beliefs and practices. Deut 18:15-20 must be seen in that light.

The literary fiction of Deuteronomy is that Moses is preaching a series of sermons to the Israelites who are assembled at the verge of the land of promise, having survived their long forty-year sojourn in the wilderness of Sinai. In his sermons Moses warns and cajoles and promises and challenges with laws and statutes that he has received from YHWH, among which are included the famous ten words of the Decalogue (Deut 5: 6-21 and echoed in Exodus 20:2-17—which of these lists is chronologically primary is a mystery sealed in the past forever). As a part of the current sermon of Chapter 18, the preacher turns to the subject of prophets and what is to happen after the great Moses himself is no longer with them, a reality they will experience far sooner than many had imagined (see Deut 34).

“A prophet from among you, from among your kin, just like me, YHWH your God will raise up; you all must listen to him.” Moses first tells his congregation that they need not fear his absence, since YHWH is always in the business of raising up prophets just like Moses. Moreover, the new prophets will be “just like him,” presumably equal in stature and reliability. Furthermore, they will not be strangers, but rather “from among you, your own kin.” They all know Moses; he is one of them, one who has suffered with them and because of them. YHWH’s new prophets will be the same, he promises. And because all that is so about the new prophet, they all “must listen to him.” They must take his word as authoritative just as they accepted the word of God from Moses’ lips.

This will happen, Moses continues, precisely because this is “in accordance with all that you asked from YHWH your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly.” When Israel gathered at the base of the sacred mountain (sometimes called Sinai), they showed great fear, and demanded an intermediary who would stand between them and the fiery YHWH. They said, “I never again wish to hear the voice of YHWH my God nor see that great fire lest I die!” Perhaps in the background of this fear lies the memorable tale of the calf of gold and the heroic actions of this same Moses to rescue them from the fury of their God (Ex 32). And YHWH can only agree with them, telling Moses that ‘they are right in what they say.” And as a result, “A prophet I will raise up for them from among their own kin, just like you, Moses, and I will place my words on his lips, and he will speak to them all that I command them.” And with that final “them,” the text becomes a bit less clear. For now it could be that Moses is not referring to one future prophet only but to many prophets who will follow him and YHWH. Indeed, the NRSV footnotes to this passage’s translation suggest that the complex movement between one prophet only and multiple prophets is common in this Hebrew text. Of course, it is obvious that the early Christian communities much preferred to read the passage as speaking of one prophet so as to tie the promise to the one they called the Christ. The text, however, is more ambiguous.

“Now anyone who does not listen to the words that I command in my name, I will seek after that one” (NRSV—“I myself will hold accountable”). Vs 19 warns that all must listen to the new prophet for fear of YHWH’s deep displeasure. But vs 20 moves toward the danger for the prophet him or herself. “Yet, any prophet who dares to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him or her to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet will die!” Harsh words indeed! The people had better listen to the prophets “like Moses” who are sure to come, and the prophets had better speak what they are called to speak and to speak only in the name of YHWH.

Well, all that is clear enough: listen only to YHWH-inspired prophets like Moses, and, if you are one of them, speak only words inspired by that same YHWH. But an obvious problem lingers: how can you know who speaks for YHWH, and so how can you know that the one to whom you are listening is in fact inspired by YHWH to speak? The answers to those questions hardly have easy answers, and the one very soon offered by Deuteronomy is patently useless. “How can we recognize a word YHWH has not spoken,” some smart Israelite asks the preacher, Moses? He replies, “If a prophet speaks in the name of YHWH, and the thing does not happen nor appear, the word is not YHWH’s word; it is a presumptuous word. Do not fear it” (Deut 18:21-22)!

Well? The question remains: how are we to know? How are we to know that a new Moses-like prophet has come among us? How are we to test whether she speaks the word of YHWH or not? Perhaps Deuteronomy’s vain attempt to provide physical criteria for truth shows us where we always must turn: persistent and active faith in a God who will always give us prophets like Moses. We finally cannot absolutely KNOW. We can only trust. But such trust is not a one-time thing; it is a struggle over time, involving keen effort and deep persistence. What we can know is that God will always give us prophets. But it is always up to us to discern their truth—or the lack thereof.

Filed Under: Uncategorized 1 Comment

Why Mark Driscoll Needs an Elephant

January 27, 2012 By Roger Wolsey 42 Comments

So there’s this fundamentalist, ultra-Calvinist , hyper-macho leader of a mega-church in Seattle named Mark Driscoll. He’s known for reaching out to young males by appealing to their latent misygony and homophobia; i.e.,

to build them up by putting others down.

Disturbing as that is, that’s not why I’m writing today.

I write because I care about Mark, the members of his Church – and us. You see, he’s so in control that he’s out of control. He and his ministry are heading toward a train-wreck. And if all we do is point fingers and say “Look at that!”; or merely drive by, slowly rubber-necking as if it were a freak-show on the side of the road; or somehow assume that “someone else will get involved,” we’re no better than the priestly leaders Jesus told about who walked past the beaten up man on the side of the road to Jericho.

It’s been apparent to many of us in the wider Christian community that Mr. Driscoll is likely dealing with some serious demons and that he’s repressing his shadow side to the point that he’s acting-out more and more. There is evidence that he may be self-sabotaging himself and his ministry. I fear that some of us may have a selfish delight in watching his ministry gradually implode and are on pins and needles waiting for the final card to be pulled so we can watch his entire house of cards come tumbling down.

To the extent that any of that is going on within us, let’s name it, admit it, engage in a small amount of it, and let God’s grace help us release it as we move forward. That’s the best way to deal with shadows. Sure, it’s a little embarrassing for me to admit to this, but, there’s no judgmental shame or guilt-trip here (those are counter-productive. hint, hint). I’ve had some of that going on within me. I’d admit to being slightly jealous of Mark’s fame and success. I admit to wondering what it’d be like to speak to so many people on such a regular basis. I admit to being envious of him having a young man in his ministry whose youtube clip went viral.

To remind us, in the past year Mark has mocked “effeminate-looking male pastors” and denied women’s role in church leadership. The 2nd of those could be a valid stance for a Church to take. A couple of weeks ago, Mark’s thoughts about women in leadership were made known. Quite a few Christian denominations and ministries choose to employ archaic, patriarchy as their norm. Whatever. There are plenty of churches that do affirm and celebrate women in leadership. The critique there is in Mark’s language that implies that women “can’t be protective.” I dare him to get between a mother bear or deer, or even my son’s mother, and their offspring. He’d also do well to become more familiar with that Bible that he thumps as there are several passages where God is described as a protective mother bear or eagle.

The first of those two instances of his acting-out is completely out of line. For someone to go out of their way to mock men who he deems as looking “effeminate” suggests someone with issues. Serious issues. It was a female Church leader, Rachel Held Evans, who called him out on that — proving that women can indeed be protective.

I wouldn’t feel inspired to get involved with all of this if it weren’t for the most recent mirror being held up for Mark’s Church to gaze upon. In the past three days a series of blogs have been written by Mattthew Paul Turner where he recounts the horrific story of “Andrew” – a young member of Mark’s Mars Hill ministry. Andrew approached Pastor Mark for some help regarding his sex life and… instead of responding pastorally

— for instance: thanking him for feeling safe enough to meet with him, deeply listening to the young man, extending Christ’s unconditional love, normalizing his experience, sharing about Church teachings on those matters and why they might be helpful for him to embrace, and then reminding him of God’s forgiveness and grace, praying with him, and offering to be there for him as he continues on his journey –

…Mark (and/or other church leaders) threw the book at the poor chap, read him the riot act, and demanded that he sign a “legally binding contract” to

repent — or be ex-communicated!*

That description about what unfolded understates what happened and how. The blogger provides all of the emails between the young man and his church.

Here’s Parts II “’Gospel Shame’: The Truth About Discipline, Excommunication, and Cult-like Control at Mars Hill” and III  “Spiritual abuse must stop.”

Matthew’s blogs tell Andrew’s story well and his intention (I think) is to wake up the Church to help prevent these sorts of things that happened to Andrew to happen in other churches in the world.

My intention is to try to inspire those who are in connection, or who could be in connection, with Mr. Driscoll to find some inner courage and to help him get the help he needs. I’m urging such people to do an intervention.

You see, I have some skin in this game. I’m a Christian pastor who works with young adults in campus ministry. Increasingly, young people are falling away from Christianity – and in no small part because of the kinds of rhetoric and behavior exhibited by Mr. Driscoll. Simply put,

Mark is making it harder for me to do my work as a pastor.

One of the beauties of being a part of a Christian denomination is that there are generally established mechanisms to help rein in pastors who go off the deep-end. The United Methodist Church which I belong to, seeks to allow pastors freedom of the pulpit, but there are structures in place to help rein in a pastor who goes off the deep-end. Each Conference of the Church has a cabinet comprised of a bishop and district superintendents, there are resources for spiritual direction and psychological counseling, and there’s a Board of Ordained Ministry that ultimately can place a pastor on probation or even revoke their credentials.

Mark’s Church, while having a board of elders, is an independent ministry, and it’s one where the buck stops with him. Mark’s ministry reaches thousands of people and with such success comes responsibility and danger.

I’m not calling for Mars Hill to adopt an episcopal form of polity, I’m not calling them to adopt more of the “religion” that they seem to loathe, but I have a hunch about what might work.

Mark appreciates strong males. He respects them.

As I understand it, in India where rural people live and work with elephants, they’ve come to learn things about elephant behavior. Like humans, elephant calves stay close to their mothers side longer than most other animals. When young male elephants are finally sent forth on their own, they sometimes form wild gangs that terrorize villagers with their rampages.

The villagers have learned that introducing a fully grown bull elephant into the gang of hoodlums mellows them out almost instantly. They thrive when there’s a large male around who they all know could kick their butts (that’s the paradigm that Mark operates out of). It’s not really about the potential to kick-ass. It’s that they respect a fully grown mature male and know that they can learn much about how to socialize from being around him. They learn patience, self-control, and they blossom into maturity.

I would submit that

we need to introduce the Christian equivalent of some bull elephants into Mark’s village where he is on a rampage.

I’m willing to be part of such a team.. though I’m fully aware that I’m still maturing myself.  Aside from being in ministry for 17 years and have served a wide range of churches. While not particularly big in stature, I’m disproportionately strong for my size and age. I’m currently a fit 43 and weigh in at 155 lbs and can bench press 230lbs (if you give me a couple of months to work back up to it — I’ve been doing a lot of yoga recently). I realize that I may not be big enough or bull enough … and he’d likely dismiss me out of hand because I’m a progressive Christian who embraces Arminianism instead of Calvinism. And, he probably doesn’t care for my style of masculinity.

Rev. Jim Wallis however, may be the sort of guy we have in mind. Jim has been a major leader of the liberal wing of Christian evangelicalism. He’s been significant player in Church leadership, has been on the evening news a lot, has spoken before thousands of people on countless occasions, and he helped negotiate a truce between the Bloods and the Crips. Moreover, the guy has been lifting weights for most of his adult life and could bench-press Mark several times. Jim’s burly.

Blogger, Jonathan Martin might also be one to consider, or perhaps Stanley Hauerwas (“a pacifist who you want on your side in a bar-fight”), Tex Sample (a blue collar theologian and preacher) or Vincent Harding (veteran activist of the Civil Rights movement – who may be the most non-anxious presence on the planet)– we need to utilize them while we still can!

But let’s not get too literal here. What Mark needs is for some seasoned, mature brothers (and sisters) in the faith who have “done their work,” who have integrated their shadows, who are used to the pressures of the public eye, and who have practiced being a non-anxious, pastoral presence.

Based upon the amount of time and energy that Mark devotes to sex, sexuality, and gender issues, my personal hunch is that Mark may have issues with his sexuality. Given the pastoral adage

“that which we criticize most in others is that which we struggle with most ourselves,”

the logical tool of Occam’s Razor would suggest that this simplest cause is what’s likely going on here.

It’s an example of someone repressing their shadow. Shadows don’t like being repressed and they tend to explode like volcanoes if not dealt with, owned, and integrated into our lives. An obvious example of this is what happened to Ted Haggard former head of the New Life mega-church and former leader of the National Evangelical Association.

Jesus told a story about someone helping a man who’d been beaten-up and left for dead by highwaymen by the side of the road. Though a stranger, a good Samaritan proved himself to that man’s neighbor by getting involved and taking care of the man and restoring him to health. Church, we’ve just heard about Andrew who was “beaten up by the side of the road” (a victim of clergy abuse). Left unchecked, Mark may well do the same thing to other people in his ministry. That simply will not do.

What do we propose to do about it?

In the scriptures, Jesus came across a man whose town felt he was out of control. When he arrived, they’d chained him to a pillar outside of the community. Jesus unbound the troubled man and freed him from his demons.

That is our prayer for Mark. Mark has great talent and potential to be a wonderful pastor of God’s grace and love. He has much of what it takes to be a great Christian leader.

But, he needs help.

And liberating this troubled man is more likely to happen if we don’t walk-by, or rubber-neck, or gawk, or encourage him to self-destruct. He needs some elephants who

… feel safe enough to meet with him, deeply listen to him, extend Christ’s unconditional love, normalize his experience, share about Church teachings on those matters and why they might be helpful for him to embrace, remind him of God’s forgiveness and grace, and pray with him and offer to be there for him as he continues on his journey..,

Mark and Andrew need healing hugs and that can only happen if we get involved.

May God’s amazing, transforming, comforting, strengthening, and healing Grace, Peace, and Love be with Mark, Andrew, and the Mars Hill Church during this difficult time. Amen.

 

Rev. Roger Wolsey

* we don’t know for certain to what extent Mark himself was involved in the incident with Andrew, but we can be certain that Mark is a proponent of this form of “discipline,” and, likely was an actor in Andrew’s experience.
======

Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist pastor. He is the author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don’t like christianity. He blogs for Patheos, Huffington Post, and Elephant Journal.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 42 Comments

The Secrets We Keep: Reflections on Mark 1:29-39

January 26, 2012 By Alyce McKenzie 8 Comments

Lectionary Reflections on Mark 1:29-39

Epipany 5: Sunday, February 5, 2012

There is an old and not terribly funny joke about a sea captain who was at the top of his profession. He had earned a reputation as one who could make excellent decisions in times of crisis. People did notice, though, that just before it was time to give his orders to the crew, he would go down to his stateroom, open his safe, and pull out a slip of paper and read it. Then he would stride on deck and make the right call.  Naturally, curiosity was high.  It was no surprise, that, when he died, one of the first things the crew did after his funeral service, was to gather in his stateroom and watch while the first mate opened the safe and pulled out the well worn slip of paper.  He read it aloud:

Port left, Starboard right.

In difficult times, the captain knew to remind himself repeatedly of the basics.

The captain’s little slip of paper held information that everyone already knows.

But it was his secret, the basic source of his ability to act.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is a little like that Captain. He has a secret.  It is often called “The Messianic Secret” and it is especially pronounced in Mark.

He is secretive about his identity. Jesus refrains from appropriating any Messianic title for himself (8:29031; 14:60-62; 15:2-5).

He chooses an enigmatic teaching genre. He teaches in parables in which the secret of the kingdom of God lies hidden. (4:11; 33)

He repeatedly “sternly orders” people not to tell his secret.  “Shhhh,” is Jesus’ message to demons he exorcizes (Mark 1:25, 34; 3:11f).  “Shhhh,” is his word to a leper healed (1:44), a synagogue leader whose daughter he restores to life (5:43), a deaf man he restores to speech (7:36), and a blind man at Bethsaida he restores to sight (8:26).

“Shhhh,” Jesus orders Peter after his confession “You are the Messiah” in 8:30.

“Shhhh,” Jesus commands Peter, James and John as they descend the Mount of Transfiguration.

William Wrede in 1901 proposed that the “Messianic Secret” was Mark’s face-saving creation, a way to explain why Jesus was not recognized as the Messiah until after his resurrection.

Other scholars have contested Wrede’s theory on the ground that it may well be that the “Messianic Secret” permeated the traditions on which Mark drew. Still others point out that the Messianic Secret is not a damage control strategy Mark made up.

For Mark it functions throughout his gospel like the little slip of paper in the captain’s safe. It expresses the heart of Jesus’ divine identity.

The healings and exorcisms reveal the effects of Jesus identity and divine power, but the good news is not reducible to them. Jesus’ immediate withdrawal in verse 35 early in the morning while was still very dark to a deserted place to pray emphasizes that the power and authority of his exorcisms and healings came from God.

Says New Testament scholar Hugh Anderson: “Such externals might satisfy the popular craving for the spectacular, but they do not ever constitute the good news. For Mark the good news begins with Jesus and what is decisive about Jesus is his suffering and death and call to follow him” (Anderson, 93)

Jesus’ repeated  stern injunctions to people “not to tell” are not completely successful. The demon knows him in 1:24-28. The healed leper spreads the news (1:45) and a whole crowds observes the healing of the paralytic let down through the roof by his friends (2:12). In the Transfiguration, the disciples are witness to his supernatural glory (9:2-8).

Is the Messianic secret really a secret? No, and yes. It is and remains a secret to those who define power and authority in conventional ways. Those who seek conventional power and authority seek far different advice for living. It is available in countless books, blogs and seminars offering  “secrets for success. “

Jesus’ authority and power come from his willingness to submit himself to God in sacrificial love for us. We are called to do the same for one another.

Those who would be disciples of the enigmatic Messiah of Mark’s gospel keep a slip of paper in a safe place on which is written the real secret of the kingdom of God in Mark:  Divine power only flows through a cruciform life.

In a culture and a time that holds an opposite understanding of the source and purpose of power, we continually need this reminder.

As Christians, we all know at an intellectual level the secret of the kingdom of God: divine power only comes from a cruciform life. We know it the same way we know our left from our right. But the whole person has to get involved, not just the intellect and the lip service, when it comes to moving in one direction or another.

An old drunkard gentleman (drunkards are a group related to the Church of the Brethren) was once walking down the street in a little Pennsylvania town.  A young evangelist approached him and handed him a tract, and asked him “Sir, have you been saved?” The old gentleman took the tract, peered at it a moment, then pulled a pencil out of his pocket and began writing on the tract. The younger man stood by impatient and curious. Finally the old man handed him back his tract.

“I’ve written down the names and phone numbers of several of my family and friends. Ask them if I’ve been saved. I could tell you anything.”

If we are living faithful lives, seeking to serve others and love them as Christ loved us, it’s no secret to anyone.

Filed Under: Uncategorized 8 Comments
« Older Posts