Youth is not necessarily an asset in my line of work, and so I have managed up to this point to avoid the cultural obsession with youth. I have smiled into the mirror at the development of small wrinkles, and watched my body start to age with more curiosity and wonder than anxiety. Anyway, I'm only 27 (soon to be 28, thank you very much), so what do I have to worry about at this point anyway, right? Well, this week I experience my first ever moment of gripping terror at the idea that I am getting older.
It was all the result of being the cabin counselor for a group of 13 year old girls. I would never, never, NEVER wish to be 13 again (great shudders of agony). Nevertheless, their energy and ability to be unabashedly silly reminded me of all the energy I no longer have and of the fact that for me - especially since becoming a pastor - being silly usually equates with other undesirable words like "undignified," "ridiculous," and "wierd."
Then, about halfway through the week, the girls developed a corporate obsession with one of the male staff members. They followed him around incessantly. They talked about him unceasingly. They giggled. They became so flustered in his presence that they lost all control of their bodies: one of the girls hit him in the face while trying to show him her watch. They even composed a poem about the guy (which they actually intended to use as the before-breakfast grace).
I wandered around camp one afternoon, reading this "grace" and being amused at these pre-teen girls' group crush on someone my age...and suddenly I realized, this guy is not my age. He's probably a college student, and therefore at least five or six years younger than I am. Inexplicably, I was hit with the realization that I am too old to date college boys.
Let me clarify that I have no desire to date college boys in general, nor do I have any interest in this college boy in particular. I have not dated any college boys for, well, at least five or six years. Yet, there is something about 22 year olds, about people who are adults but who have a lifetime of possibilities ahead of them. There was something truly painful about the realization that not only am I too old to date people of that age; I too old to be someone of that age, of that limitless and barely tapped potential. This insight set off a whole list of things I am too old to do. Most of them were irrational - things I've never actually wanted to do anyway (like being a summer camp staff member). But there is nothing I hate more than having a door slammed in my face, even a door I don't really care to enter.
Fortunately, this nearly-paralyzing fear of aging only lasted about 10 minutes, and has now ebbed into excessive analysis of the moment, and a few further ponderings. Like, will this happen again? Will it happen with increased frequency as I actually get older? What will I do with this anxiety when it crops up? How will I live so that aging continues to be primarily a blessing of growth and progress, without regret or wondering about what life would have been like "if...?"
Further reflections on the camp experience to follow, but I'm exhausted and filthy, and so I am off to enjoy a couple of things I haven't had enough of in the last week: a shower and some sleep.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Saturday, July 23, 2005
The Face I Would Often Like to Make
This is my niece, Emily, making a face quite characteristic of her - which is not to say that she is always a pouty and unhappy child. On the contrary, she is often just as giggly and excited as one would hope a nearly-4-yr.-old would be. However, she is also one of the most demanding people I've ever met. She knows what she wants, she expects to get it, and when she doesn't, well, this face is about as good as it gets.
An example of a classic conversation with Emily follows...
Emily: I don't care about playing with things that don't belong to me.
Me: Well, I do.
Emily: Well, I don't!
Me: You're very opinionated.
Emily: I am not.
Me: Yes, actually you are.
Emily: I am not...What's 'opinionated?'
Me: It means you have a lot to say.
Emily: I do not have a lot to say. I have only three things to say.
Me: Oh really? And what are your three things to say?
Emily: I DON'T CARE!!!!!! *catapults herself into pool*
I am so very glad that I just get to be the fun aunt who comes to visit and do special things, and that I don't have actually raise her.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Refining Resistance
Lately I've been reading and commenting on a new blog for sharing the experiences of women in ministry called "Remembering the Alabaster Jar," at www.breakthealabasterjar.blogspot.com. My latest comment was about how the resistance I've experienced to my calling to vocational ministry has actually strengthened and affirmed my sense of call. It's true; the negative comments and the attempts to keep me from teaching, going to seminary, preaching, etc. have forced me to look deeply into Scripture and spend long periods of of time in focused prayer, and I've emerged with a fuller and more certain sense that this really is the ministry to which I've been called by God. Times of trial have honed and refined my Christian life.
Although it's encouraging to realize that God has used all the resistance to build me up, there's a darker side to the affects of experiencing a steady stream of obstacles to one's calling. That 'darker side' for me is that I now expect resistance at every turn. I expect my male colleagues in classis to treat me as not-quite-an-equal. I expect my congregation at any time now to decide that they really don't care to have a woman in the pulpit - that they'd like to have a "real minister." At the very least, I expect them to criticize my hair, my clothes, my feminine presence in the pulpit; they wouldn't be the first. I expect that I will be dispensable to my denomination. I expect to have to defend my calling every time I walk into an ecumenical worship service, a Bible study, or any sort of gathering of Christians.
In short, I don't trust other Christians to support or encourage me. Often they have not.
I've heard people talk about women ministers as overly aggressive and somewhat abrasive. Usually I write this off as the "bitch syndrome;" any woman in a position of authority is bound to be thought of as a bitch. But lately I've been wondering if there's a kernal of truth in these assessments. I've wondered if some of us really do become harsh and aggressive as a result of being constantly on our guard, just waiting for the next person to insult or demean us. I've wondered if we really do become bitter from working and waiting so long just to be allowed to exercise our gifts and be recognized for it on an equal basis with men.
Difficulty, suffering, and resistance are part of the Christian life. But what about when that resistance comes from the people who are supposed to be your family in Christ? What are the effects of encountering these constant obstacles from within? More importantly, how do we overcome these obstacles - not just find a way past them, but truly get over the negative influences they have in our lives? How do we turn our journeys of resistance into faithful and compassionate lives of hope?
Although it's encouraging to realize that God has used all the resistance to build me up, there's a darker side to the affects of experiencing a steady stream of obstacles to one's calling. That 'darker side' for me is that I now expect resistance at every turn. I expect my male colleagues in classis to treat me as not-quite-an-equal. I expect my congregation at any time now to decide that they really don't care to have a woman in the pulpit - that they'd like to have a "real minister." At the very least, I expect them to criticize my hair, my clothes, my feminine presence in the pulpit; they wouldn't be the first. I expect that I will be dispensable to my denomination. I expect to have to defend my calling every time I walk into an ecumenical worship service, a Bible study, or any sort of gathering of Christians.
In short, I don't trust other Christians to support or encourage me. Often they have not.
I've heard people talk about women ministers as overly aggressive and somewhat abrasive. Usually I write this off as the "bitch syndrome;" any woman in a position of authority is bound to be thought of as a bitch. But lately I've been wondering if there's a kernal of truth in these assessments. I've wondered if some of us really do become harsh and aggressive as a result of being constantly on our guard, just waiting for the next person to insult or demean us. I've wondered if we really do become bitter from working and waiting so long just to be allowed to exercise our gifts and be recognized for it on an equal basis with men.
Difficulty, suffering, and resistance are part of the Christian life. But what about when that resistance comes from the people who are supposed to be your family in Christ? What are the effects of encountering these constant obstacles from within? More importantly, how do we overcome these obstacles - not just find a way past them, but truly get over the negative influences they have in our lives? How do we turn our journeys of resistance into faithful and compassionate lives of hope?
Friday, July 15, 2005
Her Highness, the Queen of New York
This is my dog, Laila. Some who have not seen her have asked for pictures. This is sort of a doofy one, but it's all I have in digital format until I can figure out how to connect my camera to my computer.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Persuading God: Rhetoric and Relationship in Jeremiah 11:18-12:13 (WARNING: VERY LONG POST)
Just found this paper online...it's one I wrote during (I think) my second...or third...year of seminary. I was just so excited to find it, even though I haven't read it in three years and now have no idea whether it's really any good. But this is the only copy I've seen in a couple of years, having switched from defective computer to defective computer several times in the last few years. Anyway, this is my thing - the Hebrew prophets - so I thought maybe you other Bible geeks out there might like to read it.
Like the utterances of most biblical prophets, the language in Jeremiah is persuasive, bursting with stark images, harsh accusations, and emotionally powerful metaphors of God's relationship with the people. YHWH takes the sin and rebellion of Israel as disgusting infidelity that wounds as well as offends YHWH, and the prophet is imbued with the same passion, manifested in both tender concern and raging anger. But the prophet is not merely a megaphone for God's message; prophets are people with their own ideas and emotions.
Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in Jeremiah, where the prophet's persuasive language is aimed nearly as often at YHWH as it is toward the people to whom he is called to preach. All of the prophetic books reflect to some degree the inner tension of prophets' "rhetorical attempts to reach their antagonistic audiences."(1) However, in this passage, the antagonistic audience is YHWH, whom Jeremiah claims has allowed Jeremiah's enemies to torment him.
Although his oracles ring with the clarity of one who is called to bring YHWH's message, Jeremiah is not a prophet full of certainty or unquestioning devotion to YHWH. That YHWH in some way possesses him is clear; whether Jeremiah really agreed (or was given the option of not agreeing) to this intimate connection, or knew what he was getting into when he did, is doubtful. Jeremiah seems to have confidence in his calling and in God's righteousness, but he takes no comfort in this assurance as his preaching brings rather unpleasant results.
The dialogue between Jeremiah and God in verses 11:18-12:13(2) clearly demonstrates this tension in Jeremiah's prophetic commission.This conflict first becomes evident in 11:18-19. Jeremiah first acknowledges YHWH's past aid: "YHWH made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds."(3) The repetition emphasizes God's action: YHWH made it known, and YHWH showed. But Jeremiah directly follows this recognition of God's initiative with an accusation: "But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter, and I did not know that it was against me that they plotted plans of ruin." The complaint seems on the surface to be about his enemies. However, if YHWH knew of their evil deeds and still called Jeremiah into the midst of their schemes, couldn't YHWH be held at least indirectly to blame for Jeremiah's predicament?
The second half of 11:19 reveals the nature and extremity of the plots against Jeremiah: "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,(4) let us cut him off from the land of the living, and his name will not be remembered again." Again, the obvious accusation is against the people of Anathoth. However, the prophet sees YHWH as the source of all life, with the sole power to give or take away life. Only YHWH can really "cut him off from the land of the living." In this sense, Jeremiah's complaint joins the ancient chorus of those who ask the question of theodicy. If YHWH has the power to ease his suffering, why is Jeremiah's life still being threatened?
Jeremiah was reluctant to fulfill his role as prophet from the very first chapter, when he protests that he is too young to be a prophet to the nations (1:6). YHWH's initiative is emphasized by the statement that Jeremiah was chosen even before his birth (1:5). Jeremiah is powerless against the force of YHWH's decision for his future, and he does and says as YHWH commands, to his own detriment. In 11:18-20, Jeremiah essentially holds his calling up to YHWH and asks him to make good on it. YHWH has shown him their evil deeds; now Jeremiah asks to be shown their punishment.
The promise of retribution comes as an oracle from Jeremiah's lips. Despite his complaints, he has been given a deep-seated assurance of YHWH's ultimate protection. YHWH has instructed him, "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," and YHWH in some sense repeats this promise in his declaration of the vengeance to come against the people of Anathoth.
In the face of YHWH's responsiveness to his complaint, it may seem strange that this dialogue continues, not with praise or thanks, but with further accusations. Jeremiah refuses to be comforted. YHWH's promise is still only a promise, not a present reality. Jeremiah uses the rhetoric of a courtroom, turning the judge into the defendant. He begins again with a statement of faith, but it is brief, conciliatory, and followed immediately with his charges: "You are righteous, YHWH, when I contend with you, but judgments I speak against you" (12:1). He knows that YHWH defines what is right, but the idea of justice he has been preaching seems to be turned on its head. Those whom YHWH has condemned continue to prosper while he, the chosen prophet, lives in isolation with his life constantly threatened. YHWH is in the mouths of the wicked, but "far from their innards;"(5) they pay lip service only to YHWH. In contrast, YHWH is implanted deeply within Jeremiah's very being (lev in 12:3), which causes words to spring forth from his mouth. In Jeremiah's worldview, YHWH is the sole giver of life. The prosperity of the wicked grows only by the hand of YHWH, who plants them and enables them to produce more and more of their "fruit," disobedience against YHWH and persecution of the prophet.
Jeremiah appeals again in 12:3 to his established relationship with YHWH. While YHWH is far from the hearts of the people, Jeremiah's heart is with him. He has been faithful to his calling to preach God's message to a resistant people; surely YHWH will remember the promise of deliverance from 1:8. Since YHWH sees, tests, and knows Jeremiah and therefore recognizes his obedience, certainly YHWH will restore right order to the world. Jeremiah pleads with the judge for a different sentence, a reversal of the present state of events. Instead of allowing him to be the "gentle lamb led to the slaughter" (11:19), YHWH should "draw them out like sheep to the slaughter and sanctify them for the day of slaughter" (12:3). Fulfill your promise now; bring a just sentence upon them now, Jeremiah pleads. Through repetition he implies that his enemies should suffer doubly for what they have inflicted on him in his innocence and obedience.
Part of the power of Jeremiah's persuasive rhetoric comes from his use of YHWH's own words. YHWH called Jeremiah saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (1:5), and Jeremiah voices his appeal, "But you, YHWH, know me" (12:3). YHWH speaks of having planted Israel as a "choice vine" and a "green olive tree" (2:21, 11:16), but Jeremiah accuses him of planting the wicked (12:2). In 2:7, 3:1-2, 4:23-27 and 9:10, YHWH describes the totality of the people's rebellion in terms of the devastation of the land, birds, and animals; Jeremiah hurls this image back at YHWH and challenges him to end the destruction of creation (12:4). How long must the whole creation mourn over the rebellion these people commit against you?
It takes nerve to accuse YHWH. Surely the prophet of all people realizes the extraordinary power he is questioning. Thus, it is when Jeremiah's painful accusations are directed at YHWH that the reader is most struck by what it really means to be YHWH's prophet. To be a prophet is to be affected and infected with what Abraham Heschel called God's pathos, the very personal emotions and mindset of the divine. It is to experience "the overwhelming impact of the divine pathos upon his mind and heart, completely involving and gripping his personality in its depths, and the unrelieved distress which sprang from his intimate involvement."(6)
In all intimate relationships, difficulties arise in the tension of being both a differentiated individual and one bound up with another; Jeremiah's inner turmoil is compounded because he is bound up with one who has ultimate authority. Only in a truly intimate relationship can there exist such unpredictable language; the words of God issue forth from Jeremiah's mouth in one moment, and in the next he brings God into a courtroom and accuses him of injustice and unfaithfulness. Through the tension and inconsistency, a true relationship and a true person become visible.In the dialogue between Jeremiah and YHWH, the prophet is not the only personality that comes into clarity. In dealing directly with one person rather than issuing edicts to a whole nation, God's emotions come into focus, and God's relationship both with Jeremiah as an individual and with the people as a whole become more transparent. Because of his relationship with YHWH, Jeremiah's rhetoric has "performative force, that is, the capacity to create"(7) what it conveys. Jeremiah's series of rhetorical devises - praise for his audience, questions and charges, repetition of key points, and use of the past words of his audience - accomplishes its goal; he convinces YHWH to listen and respond.
YHWH first addresses Jeremiah's concern for himself in 12:5-6. YHWH's words are not especially comforting: "If on foot you raced and they wearied you, how will you contend with horses? And if in a peaceful land you fall down, how will you make do in the thicket of the Jordan?" Apparently the worst is still to come in Jeremiah's life. This is merely preparation for the suffering he will have to endure later. As if it is not enough that his enemies continue to plot against him, his own family will join the fray and betray him.
In the book of Hosea, the prophet experiences the pathos of God by living a metaphor of God's relationship with the people. In Hosea's case, the relationship is compared to that of a husband and wife when one spouse is unfaithful. God's pain at the rebellion of the people is likened to the anguish of marital infidelity. Jeremiah is placed in the similar situation of living an approximation of God's side of what he is preaching. YHWH warns Jeremiah that he can no longer trust his family, but this isn't just a statement about Jeremiah's kinsfolk. It is also a declaration about the family of God, who is no longer trustworthy or faithful. YHWH uses words similar to Jeremiah's to bring him to a realization of the reality of the situation.
"I have forsaken my house, I have cast off my inheritance, I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she lifted up her voice against me, therefore I hate her" (12:7-8). YHWH points out that Jeremiah is not the only one who must give up his familial ties. YHWH too has cast off those who were once beloved. Jeremiah is not the only one suffering; YHWH too is experiencing the pain of betrayal. Jeremiah's relatives are in "full cry" against him (12:6); YHWH's family has "lifted up her voice" against him.
In 12:9-11, YHWH draws on Jeremiah's earlier language of the land, the birds, and the animals. The structure of Jeremiah's argument in 12:4 is reversed in YHWH's response as follows:
Jeremiah:
The land mourns
The grass of the fields withers
The animals and birds are swept away
The cause: the people complain against YHWH
YHWH:
The people complain against YHWH
The animals (hyenas, birds of prey, wild animals) return to devour
The vineyard is trampled and destroyed
The land is desolate and mourns
YHWH demonstrates in this response that Jeremiah has been heard. The words have multiple layers: YHWH expresses agreement with Jeremiah's observations, expands on the sense of mourning, and implies action.
The whole of 12:1-13 is set in a larger rhetorical structure of YHWH meeting each of Jeremiah's laments with a corresponding complaint or judgment.
A - The way of the guilty prospers (12:1)
B - You plant them and make them grow (12:2)
C - Bring them like sheep to slaughter (12:3)
C - The land mourns and the animals are gone (12:4)
D - Jeremiah's family cries out against him (12:6)
D - YHWH's family cries out against him (12:7-8)
C - The animals return and the land mourns (12:9-10)
C - The sword of YHWH devours (12:12)
B - The wicked sow wheat but reap thorns (12:13)
A - They will not prosper, but will be punished by YHWH (12:13)
Although the initial cause and the final result are located at the beginning and end of the dialogue, respectively, the primary cause for this whole impassioned conversation is found at the center, in the parallelism of Jeremiah's relationships to YHWH's. It is not enough for Jeremiah, or any prophet, to merely have the words of YHWH within him, at least not in the sense that modern readers think of "words." The broader Hebrew sense of davar as "thing" or "affair" implies that the prophet is taken into the very events of God. Jeremiah's suffering, although unjust, gives him a unique perspective on God's anguish, which is also unjust. This knowledge of God's character and of the intimate, passionate nature of the relationship between YHWH and the people enables Jeremiah to continue performing his prophetic function of interceding and mediating between YHWH and the people.
The dialogue between Jeremiah and YHWH in this passage bestows upon the reader a rare opportunity to listen in on a conversation between those who are involved in an intimate relationship. Through their interaction, we come to know both characters better. We receive insight into the inner struggle of a person whose life has been swept up into the purposes of YHWH. This sort of conversational, one-on-one dialogue is largely overwhelmed by utterances of judgment and lament to the people in the book of Jeremiah. However, we see a little more clearly here that those indictments flow out of the people's betrayal of the deep connection YHWH has to them. Most of all we come to know what a relationship between God and one who has been chosen for a difficult purpose might look like. The rhetorical devices used by Jeremiah and YHWH enable the current reader to step inside a relationship with the openness to withstand questioning and accusation.
Works Consulted
Gitay, Yehoshua, ed. Prophecy and Prophets. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Prophets. New York: Harper and Row, 1962.
Holladay, William L. Jeremiah: A Fresh Reading. New York: Pilgrim Press, 1990.
Patrick, Dale. The Rhetoric of Revelation in the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999.
Patrick, Dale and Allen Scult. Rhetoric and Biblical Interpretation. Sheffield: Almond Press, 1990.
(1) Yehoshua Gitay, "The Projection of the Prophet: A Rhetorical Presentation of the Prophet Jeremiah (According to Jer 1:1-19), Prophets and Prophecy (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997), 41.
(2) This is only the first of Jeremiah's complaints about the results of his calling. 15:10-21, 17:14-18, 18:18-23, and 20:7-18 include similar accusations against YHWH and requests to bring vengeance upon Jeremiah's oppressors, as well as similar responses from YHWH.
(3) Translations mine.
(4)Literally bread or food.
(5)Kileyah, literally kidneys.
(6)Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 26.
(7)Dale Patrick, The Rhetoric of Revelation in the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999), 119. Patrick discusses performative force in the prophets mostly in relation to prophetic oracles expressing the words of YHWH. I have expanded his emphasis in this case to encompass the persuasive power exercised by the prophet in relation to YHWH.
Like the utterances of most biblical prophets, the language in Jeremiah is persuasive, bursting with stark images, harsh accusations, and emotionally powerful metaphors of God's relationship with the people. YHWH takes the sin and rebellion of Israel as disgusting infidelity that wounds as well as offends YHWH, and the prophet is imbued with the same passion, manifested in both tender concern and raging anger. But the prophet is not merely a megaphone for God's message; prophets are people with their own ideas and emotions.
Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in Jeremiah, where the prophet's persuasive language is aimed nearly as often at YHWH as it is toward the people to whom he is called to preach. All of the prophetic books reflect to some degree the inner tension of prophets' "rhetorical attempts to reach their antagonistic audiences."(1) However, in this passage, the antagonistic audience is YHWH, whom Jeremiah claims has allowed Jeremiah's enemies to torment him.
Although his oracles ring with the clarity of one who is called to bring YHWH's message, Jeremiah is not a prophet full of certainty or unquestioning devotion to YHWH. That YHWH in some way possesses him is clear; whether Jeremiah really agreed (or was given the option of not agreeing) to this intimate connection, or knew what he was getting into when he did, is doubtful. Jeremiah seems to have confidence in his calling and in God's righteousness, but he takes no comfort in this assurance as his preaching brings rather unpleasant results.
The dialogue between Jeremiah and God in verses 11:18-12:13(2) clearly demonstrates this tension in Jeremiah's prophetic commission.This conflict first becomes evident in 11:18-19. Jeremiah first acknowledges YHWH's past aid: "YHWH made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds."(3) The repetition emphasizes God's action: YHWH made it known, and YHWH showed. But Jeremiah directly follows this recognition of God's initiative with an accusation: "But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter, and I did not know that it was against me that they plotted plans of ruin." The complaint seems on the surface to be about his enemies. However, if YHWH knew of their evil deeds and still called Jeremiah into the midst of their schemes, couldn't YHWH be held at least indirectly to blame for Jeremiah's predicament?
The second half of 11:19 reveals the nature and extremity of the plots against Jeremiah: "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,(4) let us cut him off from the land of the living, and his name will not be remembered again." Again, the obvious accusation is against the people of Anathoth. However, the prophet sees YHWH as the source of all life, with the sole power to give or take away life. Only YHWH can really "cut him off from the land of the living." In this sense, Jeremiah's complaint joins the ancient chorus of those who ask the question of theodicy. If YHWH has the power to ease his suffering, why is Jeremiah's life still being threatened?
Jeremiah was reluctant to fulfill his role as prophet from the very first chapter, when he protests that he is too young to be a prophet to the nations (1:6). YHWH's initiative is emphasized by the statement that Jeremiah was chosen even before his birth (1:5). Jeremiah is powerless against the force of YHWH's decision for his future, and he does and says as YHWH commands, to his own detriment. In 11:18-20, Jeremiah essentially holds his calling up to YHWH and asks him to make good on it. YHWH has shown him their evil deeds; now Jeremiah asks to be shown their punishment.
The promise of retribution comes as an oracle from Jeremiah's lips. Despite his complaints, he has been given a deep-seated assurance of YHWH's ultimate protection. YHWH has instructed him, "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," and YHWH in some sense repeats this promise in his declaration of the vengeance to come against the people of Anathoth.
In the face of YHWH's responsiveness to his complaint, it may seem strange that this dialogue continues, not with praise or thanks, but with further accusations. Jeremiah refuses to be comforted. YHWH's promise is still only a promise, not a present reality. Jeremiah uses the rhetoric of a courtroom, turning the judge into the defendant. He begins again with a statement of faith, but it is brief, conciliatory, and followed immediately with his charges: "You are righteous, YHWH, when I contend with you, but judgments I speak against you" (12:1). He knows that YHWH defines what is right, but the idea of justice he has been preaching seems to be turned on its head. Those whom YHWH has condemned continue to prosper while he, the chosen prophet, lives in isolation with his life constantly threatened. YHWH is in the mouths of the wicked, but "far from their innards;"(5) they pay lip service only to YHWH. In contrast, YHWH is implanted deeply within Jeremiah's very being (lev in 12:3), which causes words to spring forth from his mouth. In Jeremiah's worldview, YHWH is the sole giver of life. The prosperity of the wicked grows only by the hand of YHWH, who plants them and enables them to produce more and more of their "fruit," disobedience against YHWH and persecution of the prophet.
Jeremiah appeals again in 12:3 to his established relationship with YHWH. While YHWH is far from the hearts of the people, Jeremiah's heart is with him. He has been faithful to his calling to preach God's message to a resistant people; surely YHWH will remember the promise of deliverance from 1:8. Since YHWH sees, tests, and knows Jeremiah and therefore recognizes his obedience, certainly YHWH will restore right order to the world. Jeremiah pleads with the judge for a different sentence, a reversal of the present state of events. Instead of allowing him to be the "gentle lamb led to the slaughter" (11:19), YHWH should "draw them out like sheep to the slaughter and sanctify them for the day of slaughter" (12:3). Fulfill your promise now; bring a just sentence upon them now, Jeremiah pleads. Through repetition he implies that his enemies should suffer doubly for what they have inflicted on him in his innocence and obedience.
Part of the power of Jeremiah's persuasive rhetoric comes from his use of YHWH's own words. YHWH called Jeremiah saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (1:5), and Jeremiah voices his appeal, "But you, YHWH, know me" (12:3). YHWH speaks of having planted Israel as a "choice vine" and a "green olive tree" (2:21, 11:16), but Jeremiah accuses him of planting the wicked (12:2). In 2:7, 3:1-2, 4:23-27 and 9:10, YHWH describes the totality of the people's rebellion in terms of the devastation of the land, birds, and animals; Jeremiah hurls this image back at YHWH and challenges him to end the destruction of creation (12:4). How long must the whole creation mourn over the rebellion these people commit against you?
It takes nerve to accuse YHWH. Surely the prophet of all people realizes the extraordinary power he is questioning. Thus, it is when Jeremiah's painful accusations are directed at YHWH that the reader is most struck by what it really means to be YHWH's prophet. To be a prophet is to be affected and infected with what Abraham Heschel called God's pathos, the very personal emotions and mindset of the divine. It is to experience "the overwhelming impact of the divine pathos upon his mind and heart, completely involving and gripping his personality in its depths, and the unrelieved distress which sprang from his intimate involvement."(6)
In all intimate relationships, difficulties arise in the tension of being both a differentiated individual and one bound up with another; Jeremiah's inner turmoil is compounded because he is bound up with one who has ultimate authority. Only in a truly intimate relationship can there exist such unpredictable language; the words of God issue forth from Jeremiah's mouth in one moment, and in the next he brings God into a courtroom and accuses him of injustice and unfaithfulness. Through the tension and inconsistency, a true relationship and a true person become visible.In the dialogue between Jeremiah and YHWH, the prophet is not the only personality that comes into clarity. In dealing directly with one person rather than issuing edicts to a whole nation, God's emotions come into focus, and God's relationship both with Jeremiah as an individual and with the people as a whole become more transparent. Because of his relationship with YHWH, Jeremiah's rhetoric has "performative force, that is, the capacity to create"(7) what it conveys. Jeremiah's series of rhetorical devises - praise for his audience, questions and charges, repetition of key points, and use of the past words of his audience - accomplishes its goal; he convinces YHWH to listen and respond.
YHWH first addresses Jeremiah's concern for himself in 12:5-6. YHWH's words are not especially comforting: "If on foot you raced and they wearied you, how will you contend with horses? And if in a peaceful land you fall down, how will you make do in the thicket of the Jordan?" Apparently the worst is still to come in Jeremiah's life. This is merely preparation for the suffering he will have to endure later. As if it is not enough that his enemies continue to plot against him, his own family will join the fray and betray him.
In the book of Hosea, the prophet experiences the pathos of God by living a metaphor of God's relationship with the people. In Hosea's case, the relationship is compared to that of a husband and wife when one spouse is unfaithful. God's pain at the rebellion of the people is likened to the anguish of marital infidelity. Jeremiah is placed in the similar situation of living an approximation of God's side of what he is preaching. YHWH warns Jeremiah that he can no longer trust his family, but this isn't just a statement about Jeremiah's kinsfolk. It is also a declaration about the family of God, who is no longer trustworthy or faithful. YHWH uses words similar to Jeremiah's to bring him to a realization of the reality of the situation.
"I have forsaken my house, I have cast off my inheritance, I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she lifted up her voice against me, therefore I hate her" (12:7-8). YHWH points out that Jeremiah is not the only one who must give up his familial ties. YHWH too has cast off those who were once beloved. Jeremiah is not the only one suffering; YHWH too is experiencing the pain of betrayal. Jeremiah's relatives are in "full cry" against him (12:6); YHWH's family has "lifted up her voice" against him.
In 12:9-11, YHWH draws on Jeremiah's earlier language of the land, the birds, and the animals. The structure of Jeremiah's argument in 12:4 is reversed in YHWH's response as follows:
Jeremiah:
The land mourns
The grass of the fields withers
The animals and birds are swept away
The cause: the people complain against YHWH
YHWH:
The people complain against YHWH
The animals (hyenas, birds of prey, wild animals) return to devour
The vineyard is trampled and destroyed
The land is desolate and mourns
YHWH demonstrates in this response that Jeremiah has been heard. The words have multiple layers: YHWH expresses agreement with Jeremiah's observations, expands on the sense of mourning, and implies action.
The whole of 12:1-13 is set in a larger rhetorical structure of YHWH meeting each of Jeremiah's laments with a corresponding complaint or judgment.
A - The way of the guilty prospers (12:1)
B - You plant them and make them grow (12:2)
C - Bring them like sheep to slaughter (12:3)
C - The land mourns and the animals are gone (12:4)
D - Jeremiah's family cries out against him (12:6)
D - YHWH's family cries out against him (12:7-8)
C - The animals return and the land mourns (12:9-10)
C - The sword of YHWH devours (12:12)
B - The wicked sow wheat but reap thorns (12:13)
A - They will not prosper, but will be punished by YHWH (12:13)
Although the initial cause and the final result are located at the beginning and end of the dialogue, respectively, the primary cause for this whole impassioned conversation is found at the center, in the parallelism of Jeremiah's relationships to YHWH's. It is not enough for Jeremiah, or any prophet, to merely have the words of YHWH within him, at least not in the sense that modern readers think of "words." The broader Hebrew sense of davar as "thing" or "affair" implies that the prophet is taken into the very events of God. Jeremiah's suffering, although unjust, gives him a unique perspective on God's anguish, which is also unjust. This knowledge of God's character and of the intimate, passionate nature of the relationship between YHWH and the people enables Jeremiah to continue performing his prophetic function of interceding and mediating between YHWH and the people.
The dialogue between Jeremiah and YHWH in this passage bestows upon the reader a rare opportunity to listen in on a conversation between those who are involved in an intimate relationship. Through their interaction, we come to know both characters better. We receive insight into the inner struggle of a person whose life has been swept up into the purposes of YHWH. This sort of conversational, one-on-one dialogue is largely overwhelmed by utterances of judgment and lament to the people in the book of Jeremiah. However, we see a little more clearly here that those indictments flow out of the people's betrayal of the deep connection YHWH has to them. Most of all we come to know what a relationship between God and one who has been chosen for a difficult purpose might look like. The rhetorical devices used by Jeremiah and YHWH enable the current reader to step inside a relationship with the openness to withstand questioning and accusation.
Works Consulted
Gitay, Yehoshua, ed. Prophecy and Prophets. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Prophets. New York: Harper and Row, 1962.
Holladay, William L. Jeremiah: A Fresh Reading. New York: Pilgrim Press, 1990.
Patrick, Dale. The Rhetoric of Revelation in the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999.
Patrick, Dale and Allen Scult. Rhetoric and Biblical Interpretation. Sheffield: Almond Press, 1990.
(1) Yehoshua Gitay, "The Projection of the Prophet: A Rhetorical Presentation of the Prophet Jeremiah (According to Jer 1:1-19), Prophets and Prophecy (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997), 41.
(2) This is only the first of Jeremiah's complaints about the results of his calling. 15:10-21, 17:14-18, 18:18-23, and 20:7-18 include similar accusations against YHWH and requests to bring vengeance upon Jeremiah's oppressors, as well as similar responses from YHWH.
(3) Translations mine.
(4)Literally bread or food.
(5)Kileyah, literally kidneys.
(6)Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 26.
(7)Dale Patrick, The Rhetoric of Revelation in the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999), 119. Patrick discusses performative force in the prophets mostly in relation to prophetic oracles expressing the words of YHWH. I have expanded his emphasis in this case to encompass the persuasive power exercised by the prophet in relation to YHWH.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
The Great Fire of 2001
In a comment, I mentioned that I might be tempted to share the story of a certain experience I once had with fire. Since I am in the mood to write but have no coherent insights to share, now seems as good a time as ever to do so.
During my first year of seminary, I lived in a seminary-owned townhouse with two roommates, one of whom was a woman from Uganda. After a stress-filled day, I decided to take a nice, hot bath, so I gathered a book and a bottle of beer, slipped into my bathrobe, and retreated to the bathroom. As I lit the final candle, I noticed a spark fly from the match, but assumed that like all previous sparks, it would die in the air. I turned to step into the bath, and discovered that my assumption, like many assumptions, was incorrect; the spark had flown into my bathrobe, and in a matter of seconds, the robe and the towels hanging on a rack had burst into flames.
Modest Scandinavian that I am - and lacking my robe or a towel - I was hesitant to dash across the hall in my nude state, so I shouted to my Ugandan roommate that we had a fire, and she should go downstairs and call 911. I left the bathroom, shutting the door to contain the fire, and donned the first clothes I saw. Then I dashed downstairs and found my roommate - who, being from Uganda, was not familiar with 911 - calling everyone she knew and yelling "Help, help, we have fire!" and then immediately hanging up. I located the fire extinguisher, but was unable to release it from its wall bracket, so I ripped it out of the wall, bracket and all, ran upstairs, threw open the door, and pulled the trigger....NOTHING.
I closed the door again, ran downstairs, read the instructions, and learned that I had to pull the pin to activate the extinguisher. So, I headed back upstairs, flung open the door again, and promptly sprayed the blaze into oblivion.
By this time, my neighbors had heard the smoke alarms going off and called 911. I wandered downstairs in a daze to find three fire trucks and two police cars blocking off my entire street, and half the seminary standing on my lawn. It was only then that I noticed that I was wearing a button-down shirt - inside out, and with only half of the buttons closed, and those quite crookedly - and pants, also inside out. I was also lacking undergarments. This is not the state in which I wish half of the seminary to see me, but alas, the fire-fighters would not allow me to go back inside and make myself presentable.
Thanks to my brilliant door-shutting idea, only the bathroom was damaged...but damaged it was, one wall having been severely burnt by the flaming robe and towels, and anything plastic having melted into puddles. Excellent.
The next day, the maintenance director, financial director, and seminary president checked out the scene. Lucky for me, they did so before my church history class, which was taught by the president, who opened class by commenting on the mysterious presence of a capsized beer bottle amid the wreckage. I maintain to this day that my reputation as a bit of a lush is entirely due to this one beer bottle (since of course I have been in all other situations nearly a teetotaler), which sadly had not had a single sip taken from it at the time of the fire.
During my first year of seminary, I lived in a seminary-owned townhouse with two roommates, one of whom was a woman from Uganda. After a stress-filled day, I decided to take a nice, hot bath, so I gathered a book and a bottle of beer, slipped into my bathrobe, and retreated to the bathroom. As I lit the final candle, I noticed a spark fly from the match, but assumed that like all previous sparks, it would die in the air. I turned to step into the bath, and discovered that my assumption, like many assumptions, was incorrect; the spark had flown into my bathrobe, and in a matter of seconds, the robe and the towels hanging on a rack had burst into flames.
Modest Scandinavian that I am - and lacking my robe or a towel - I was hesitant to dash across the hall in my nude state, so I shouted to my Ugandan roommate that we had a fire, and she should go downstairs and call 911. I left the bathroom, shutting the door to contain the fire, and donned the first clothes I saw. Then I dashed downstairs and found my roommate - who, being from Uganda, was not familiar with 911 - calling everyone she knew and yelling "Help, help, we have fire!" and then immediately hanging up. I located the fire extinguisher, but was unable to release it from its wall bracket, so I ripped it out of the wall, bracket and all, ran upstairs, threw open the door, and pulled the trigger....NOTHING.
I closed the door again, ran downstairs, read the instructions, and learned that I had to pull the pin to activate the extinguisher. So, I headed back upstairs, flung open the door again, and promptly sprayed the blaze into oblivion.
By this time, my neighbors had heard the smoke alarms going off and called 911. I wandered downstairs in a daze to find three fire trucks and two police cars blocking off my entire street, and half the seminary standing on my lawn. It was only then that I noticed that I was wearing a button-down shirt - inside out, and with only half of the buttons closed, and those quite crookedly - and pants, also inside out. I was also lacking undergarments. This is not the state in which I wish half of the seminary to see me, but alas, the fire-fighters would not allow me to go back inside and make myself presentable.
Thanks to my brilliant door-shutting idea, only the bathroom was damaged...but damaged it was, one wall having been severely burnt by the flaming robe and towels, and anything plastic having melted into puddles. Excellent.
The next day, the maintenance director, financial director, and seminary president checked out the scene. Lucky for me, they did so before my church history class, which was taught by the president, who opened class by commenting on the mysterious presence of a capsized beer bottle amid the wreckage. I maintain to this day that my reputation as a bit of a lush is entirely due to this one beer bottle (since of course I have been in all other situations nearly a teetotaler), which sadly had not had a single sip taken from it at the time of the fire.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
More on everyone's favorite topic
Just found this link from Walter Wink, and wanted to share it...He talks about debunking this whole idea of biblical "sexual ethics" and instead approaching homosexuality from the "love ethic" of Jesus. Interesting.
In related news, the UCC General Synod is currently in session in Atlanta. A decision may be made today on whether to embrace same-sex marriages and unions. The general minister and president, John Thomas, has been asked to resign for his stance in favor of this proposal, by some group whose name I currently cannot locate...something including "Biblical Witness," I think. Hmm. I'll comment more on all this later.
Still listening to myself (it was a long gig) and contemplating a time when I sang songs like "The Pointless Yet Poignant Crisis of a Coed" and "I Never Really Loved You Anyway" far more frequently than "In Christ Alone" and "Great is Thy Faithfulness" (this morning's selections). And that's not even to mention the songs chosen for early worship this morning (not by me). I know it's 4th of July weekend, but seriously, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "America the Beautiful" in a worship service?????
In related news, the UCC General Synod is currently in session in Atlanta. A decision may be made today on whether to embrace same-sex marriages and unions. The general minister and president, John Thomas, has been asked to resign for his stance in favor of this proposal, by some group whose name I currently cannot locate...something including "Biblical Witness," I think. Hmm. I'll comment more on all this later.
Still listening to myself (it was a long gig) and contemplating a time when I sang songs like "The Pointless Yet Poignant Crisis of a Coed" and "I Never Really Loved You Anyway" far more frequently than "In Christ Alone" and "Great is Thy Faithfulness" (this morning's selections). And that's not even to mention the songs chosen for early worship this morning (not by me). I know it's 4th of July weekend, but seriously, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "America the Beautiful" in a worship service?????
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
