thoughts and themes from G&M through the second half of 2009


+ + +

July and August 2009

Through July and August, we will take a look at some of the characters who we think of as the rogues or "baddies" of the Bible.

10. Pontius Pilate (September 13th)

Pilate had ample opportunity to question Jesus, and according to the Gospels, asked some fairly profound questions, "What is truth?", "Are you a king?", "Who are you?" (the same questions that confront us in coming to a decision about what to make of Jesus?). I wonder what we make of Mrs Pilate's message to her husband and his decision to ignore her advice?! And what of Pilate's hand washing? The action of a weak leader, more concerned with saving his own skin than in seeing justice and righteousness done? It seems as though Pilate agonized over the decision - what are the decision that we lose sleep over? Whose advice do we follow? Who are our advisors?

9. Judas Iscariot (September 6th)

 

 

Is Judas the baddest baddie? Certainly he's been demonized, but why are we so unforgiving of Judas, when we're so ready to forgive Peter and the rest? According to Matthew, Judas tried to undo what he'd set in motion, but was unable to forgive himself or to live with his actions. All the Gospel writers make clear their belief that Jesus could have stopped or at least changed the course of events, but chose not to. It seems as though the line between friendship and betrayal is very thin indeed . . . . 

 

8. The Pharisees (August 30th)

Today we jump forward to the New Testament and take a look at the Pharisees. These religious folk get a really bad press in the Gospels, portrayed as hypocritical, opposed to Jesus and failing to understand what Jesus was about. Who were they? Were they really as misguided as the Gospel writers would like to have us believe? What can we learn from them?

7. Ahab and Jezebel - 1 and 2 Kings (August 23rd)

A jump ahead this week to the time of the monarchy. God's voice was heard through a succession of prophets, of whom the best known is probably Elijah. His lifetime coincided with the rule of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Jezebel is presented as a true bad girl, because she was a fervent worshipper of a god other than the God of Israel. During Jezebel's reign, many prophets of God were killed as she sought to extend the worship of asherah and baal. These Canaanite gods of fertility and the weather were well established and probably seemed of more relevance to the lifestyle of the people than Elijah's sometimes elusive God. Elijah and Jezebel never actually met face to face, but issued challenges and threats to one another in support of their own deity. I wonder what and where the present day parallels might be of this story? 

6. The Joseph story - Genesis 37-50 (August 16th)

After thinking about Jacob last week, we move onto Jacob's family. Jacob seems to have lacked a certain amount of common sense in his parenting skills, fuelling the rivalry between his sons by lavishing blatant favouritism on Joseph. Was Joseph bullied by his elder brothers? He didn't exactly help matters by taking bad reports of them to his father and by sharing with them the details of his dreams. I wonder how our childhood experiences have played their part in shaping our adult lives? Genesis 39 brings Joseph to Egypt and into the house of Potiphar. Is Mrs Potiphar really the wicked foreign temptress we make her out to be? Was she simply a victim of her circumstances? After all, doesn't Potiphar himself need to accept some responsibility? According to Gen 39:6, the only thing he concerned himself with was the food he ate!  Joseph is later able to affirm that despite all the bad that happened to him through the actions of others, God was able to work for good. 

5. Jacob - Genesis (August 9th)

"Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" is a formula often found in the Bible, referring to the patriarchs, the founding fathers of the faith. Jacob certainly was far from perfect. Remember how he cheated his father in order to steal his brother Esau's birthright? In the light of present day uproar over MPs expenses claims and the like, are we right to put our leaders on pedestals? 

4. The Lot family - Genesis 12-19 (August 2nd)

Here's an X rated story. Plenty of very nasty bits too, like Lot's horrifying offer to hand over his own daughters to the men of Sodom in Genesis 19. We perhaps know more about Mrs Lot than about her husband and family, because of the mysterious story of how she is turned to a pillar of salt. What we make of this "looking back" episode, told in just one verse? There's a biblical imperative to remember the past and the great story of salvation, yet Jesus too has harsh words for those would-be disciples who look back. Perhaps there's a difference between remembering the past and wishing we were still living in it? And what do we make of Lot himself? If he's the best of Sodom's citizens, it says something about the moral state of that city. I wonder if these are the highest scorers so far on the 0-10 scale of "Biblical baddies"??

3. Cain - Genesis 4 (July 26th)

The story of Cain and Abel picks up from where we left off last week. Again it's a story that raises plenty of questions. What picture of God are we given here? There's no explanation given for why Abel and his offering are acceptable, while Cain and his offering fail to please God. We can surely sympathize with Cain for feeling a little aggrieved. Cain is warned not to let his anger lead him to sin. I wonder what makes us angry and how we handle or manage our anger? This passage contains that haunting question "Am I my brother's keeper?" - how does this question challenge us in our personal, Church and global responsibilities and relationships?

2. Adam and Eve - Genesis 2 and 3 (July 19th)

Plenty to talk about today! This story which forms such a small part of the Bible has been used to shape Christian thinking through the ages. Whatever we make of the Adam & Eve story, it's one that happens - the truth is that life is like this! Faced with choices, human beings often make the wrong one. Despite the disobedience, God's mercy continues. So we too would affirm "God's goodness at the heart of humanity, planted more deeply than all that is wrong" (words from the Iona Community Daily Office)

1. Herod and Herodias - Mark 6:14-29 (July 12th)

What do we make of Herod's actions? and what of Herodias? and then there's the dancing girl! Are we shocked by this story? How do we relate this story to today's world where hatred, violence and murder are everyday realities? And . .  perhaps most importantly, why does Mark feel it necessary to include this episode in the broader, bigger story of Jesus?