B240 Pentecost 18

[00:00:05] Speaker A: You're listening to by the well, a lectionary based podcast, preachers recorded on the land of the Wurundjeri people. Hello, everyone. I'm Fran Barber. [00:00:19] Speaker B: And I'm Monica Melanchthon. [00:00:21] Speaker A: And this week, Monica and I have a lot on our plate. The reading's from 18th week after Pentecost, and we're going to be looking at psalm one, proverbs 31 1031, James 313 to chapter four, verse three, then verses seven and eight, and Mark's gospel, chapter nine, verses 30 to 37. And there is a common thread through these readings around, broadly speaking, themes of wisdom and of living right faithfully. And I would say to images of God around wisdom. So it's a rich set. We're going to begin with the psalm, aren't we, Monica? Psalm number one. Nice and short. [00:01:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Psalm one, along with psalm two, are placed at the beginning of the psalter to serve as an introduction to the entire collection as a whole. And the two are considered therefore together in most commentaries. And it is interesting that neither of them have a title like other psalms. Okay. But they are framed by what is called an inclusio. So if you compare psalm one, one, chapter one, verse one, with chapter two, verse eleven, it ends with what is called the blessed formula. It begins with happy are those who are, you know, or blessed are those who are. And ends with similarly. So what are the ways to happiness? And so, in a way, this introduction is telling you that the way to go or the way you conduct your life is what is outlined here within this altar. So as you read the psalms, you receive wisdom, you receive insight about how to live your life, how you relate to God, how you relate to other people, etcetera. But what is really interesting about the psalter is that it is filled with images, okay? With the use of poetic devices, the psalmist will use metaphors and similes, etcetera, to make a point or to convey a message. And this psalm, you will notice that the main image is that of a tree. Tree. Okay, so what kind of a tree? So the thing is, when you read, I was just thinking to myself this morning, as I was preparing for this, is if I were asked, what kind of a tree are you? Go through a Bible study workshop on sam one. What kind of a tree are you? How would you picture yourself? What kind of a tree would you ascribe to yourself? Are you an oak or a maple or a. I'm not a very good horticulturalist or, you know, and why do you pick that tree to represent you. [00:02:58] Speaker A: Indulge myself because I've often liked the snow gum. So that's a eucalypt that's very droopy, but has a white patina over its branches and very beautiful flowers. [00:03:09] Speaker B: Okay? So, okay, if we had time, I would ask you why. What is it about that tree that appeals to you? Therefore, you see yourself as that tree. So similarly, here it is. You know, the psalmist is inviting you to picture yourself as a tree, okay? When you read the psalm, what is the color of its leaves? Does it have fruits? Does it have flowers or both? So in a way, the tree is a picture of your life, okay? And your life can be like that tree, rooted, okay? Productive, perhaps flexible, you know, alive, marked with beauty. And so, therefore, the psalm is inviting you to think, what kind of a tree can you be? So that you are represented or described as being productive, beautiful fruit, giving, you know, nourishing, growing and growing. Yeah, yeah. Alive, alive, yeah. So in the rest of the psalm, therefore, the righteous person is like this tree, okay? And this righteous person is one who is described first of all with the use of three negatives in the first three verses and two, three positives again in the first three verses. So this righteous person is one who is blessed or happy, represented by this tree, because this person delights in the law of the Lord, meditates day and night on the law of the Lord. And therefore, righteous people are like trees planted by streams of water. They are nourished by. So I guess the question for us is, if we see ourselves as being happy and blessed, we need to be able to identify the sources of life. What is it that gives us life? What is it that nourishes us and sustains us in our journey through life? Are we like this tree? And what is the water? [00:05:05] Speaker A: And presumably, what is preventing that growth, too? What around us or what influences us or what tempts us to go, in the words of the psalm, the way of the wicked. [00:05:18] Speaker B: Yes. And what is really interesting is that the psalm uses the word meditate, meditates on the law. And the law is the instruction the Torah, of course, in the case in the context of the Hebrew Bible. But the word meditate, haga in Hebrew also is not just the quiet, pious, sit in a corner, think about yourself and God, etcetera and all that. But it is also a word that has been translated in other contexts in the Hebrew Bible, such as Isaiah 37 or in Joshua one, as one that growls. So how can it be, you know, somehow those two words seem to be, you know completely the opposite. But basically what it is, what the psalmist is saying, that, yes, you meditate, but meditate also means to tell, to utter, to talk about it, to reflect about it and share your thinking, your insights. So in a way, it's a confession as well. [00:06:19] Speaker A: Okay, the growling word. And I don't know whether I take that too literally in your description, but that also speaks to me of struggle or something. [00:06:30] Speaker B: Wrestling. [00:06:30] Speaker A: Wrestling. You know, it's not an easy word when we say someone's growling. [00:06:36] Speaker B: Well, the thing is, it's used in Isaiah 37 as a lion or a young lion growls over espray. So it's the same word that is used. And that is why I'm saying, so what does it. But in Joshua one, the same word is used when Joshua is being instructed that you will be successful if you meditate upon the word. And there it is more about teaching and reflecting, but it is not just a quiet introspection, but it is also about sharing your understanding of the word. So therefore, I just want to problematize the word meditate. [00:07:17] Speaker A: Don't. Sorry, but no, that we mustn't domesticate that word. Or. [00:07:21] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:21] Speaker A: Or make it something sort of a serenity in an otherworldly way about it, that it's something that we grapple here and now with. [00:07:29] Speaker B: Right. Because the word meditate tends to evoke those images, you know, where you are quiet. [00:07:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:36] Speaker B: Whereas here it is not just about being silent, it's about. [00:07:39] Speaker A: And not about removal of yourself from the world. From the world, that sort of thing. No, that's a really helpful account of that first part of the psalm. What strikes me about it immediately, that psalm itself, is how. I mean, as is often the case with literature around wisdom, but there's an orderliness to the world that we can see clearly. And there's the wicked and there's the happy. And I'm struck by the fact that we live in a world where it isn't always clear what that is. You know, we've got demonstrations going on in our city today, disrupting traffic, people demonstrating against an arms exhibition, using some, it's contended some are using violence, and then it's against violence. So. But, you know, the whole dilemma. Who is. Who is. Right? [00:08:21] Speaker B: Right. [00:08:22] Speaker A: Where's the. Everyone's calling everyone else a hypocrite. Everyone's like, I'm doing this because I believe in it. And this is where. So, yeah, I guess I'm problematizing the reality. This. Sometimes it's clear, but mostly it isn't. [00:08:35] Speaker B: It doesn't necessarily. Yeah. It is not necessarily clear. Yeah. So verses four and five describe those who are wicked. And the wicked are likened to. To chaff, you know, which blows away in the wind. In other words, they dilly dally. They are not firm in their. In their positions. They go where, you know, it benefits themselves and no one else may be. I mean, one can. One can. [00:08:56] Speaker A: And chaff isn't full of substance either, is it? [00:09:00] Speaker B: No, it's light, not nutritious. [00:09:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:02] Speaker B: Yeah, it's very light. So. And then verse five comments on the ultimate end of the. Of the wicked. Which is? Which is basically saying that they will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. So they clearly set apart from the righteous. And the psalm wraps up with the assurance that the Lord will watch over the righteous. So I think it's an interesting psalm. For me, the tree metaphor is really quite appealing. And it's an exercise that I would like to go through at some point. [00:09:34] Speaker A: Yeah. And I was thinking, if you had children in your community, it's not a bad way to introduce the psalm to them in the service with that exercise of what tree they would pick and why. And what is it about this image in the psalm? I think that's. I mean, it's good for everyone, but it's a good invitation for younger children. [00:09:52] Speaker B: Yep. Yep. That is true. Yeah. [00:09:55] Speaker A: Shall we move on to James? Will we go? [00:09:59] Speaker B: Okay. We can do James. [00:10:01] Speaker A: I can't remember what order we decided. [00:10:02] Speaker B: We can do that, James. [00:10:08] Speaker A: Sorry, folks. It's when you've got four that you get a bit confused. So we're going to now look at James, chapter three, verse 13 to chapter four, verse three. And then I think it's seven and eight. If you'd like to know more about Bythewell or any of our hosts, please visit bythewell.com dot au. Now, I think Shawn and Sandy had a conversation about James in a bit of depth about the background of it. So I won't do much here. I think their episode was about three weeks ago or two weeks ago, but it's a letter written not to a specific community, to a general. Well, yeah, to people seeking to live with wisdom. So following on from the psalm we just heard. [00:10:59] Speaker B: Yeah. So, I mean, here, too, for me, what the episode writer here, James, is saying that your claim to wisdom or to be a wise person, the stipulation that wisdom reveals itself not just through faith, but also through action. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So basically, that's what he's saying. So basically, a wise person is one who engages in behavior that contributes to the nourishing and the establishment of peace. Perhaps, you know, is willing to be flexible to change one's opinions based on listening and hearing and assessing and reflecting. [00:11:42] Speaker A: So this has a power to create healing and wholeness. [00:11:48] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:11:49] Speaker A: So it's not just a quality or an adjective to describe something, but it has a forceful effect in the world. [00:11:56] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah. So therefore, your thinking, your reflecting, your actions will result in harmony, you know, will contribute to the establishment of peace and mercy in the world rather than conflict. [00:12:12] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. I mean, with the sermon on this passage, you can really play with these alongside wisdom and what that is biblically and in James specifically, but also knowledge and wisdom and the player and expertise and what all the different nuances those things have. And expertise is a very, I suppose, worldly way of describing knowledge, but it's not really the sort of wisdom that's being talked about here. [00:12:46] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, in very, very simple terms. For me, what the lesson seems to be calling for is to engage in a process of observation, of listening, of hearing, you know, not passively, but actively, and then allowing your decision on a particular issue to arise out of that process of reflection and not an immediate, you know, reactionary. Reactionary response. So therefore, you know, James is saying that we need to reflect in order to be able to respond wisely to the conflicts and the struggles in the. [00:13:30] Speaker A: World, which, while this is a general letter that he is talking here about moments of conflict and disruption in a community, verse 17 particular talks about wisdom from above. Godly wisdom. It's pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits without trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And the fruit is righteousness sown in peace by those who make peace. So, yeah, a very creative and forceful power, humility and so on. One of our colleagues, Craig Thompson, has a really fantastic sermon on this passage where he reads this text alongside a poem by TS Eliot that goes, all our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance and all our ignorance brings us nearer to death and about. So, clearly that's about the worldly nature of knowledge and expertise and how they're important, but they can trap us in the past in the sense that we. They're information, but they might be tied to the past, whereas this is a very outward looking, you know, from God. [00:14:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:14:45] Speaker A: Quality. [00:14:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So I think it's. It's. It's, you know, we can. It can be. It can trap us in ourselves as well. So, basically, I understand the writer to be calling for a way of action or a way of thinking and acting that will align our power to be what we are with God's power as well. So, in other words, there is a resonance between how God wants us to behave and the way we behave that will bring about peace, gentleness, mercy, and righteousness. [00:15:21] Speaker A: Now, traditionally, we know that Luther did not like this book, did he? [00:15:25] Speaker B: Yeah. The epistle of straw or something. [00:15:27] Speaker A: Yeah, because. [00:15:29] Speaker B: Was it James? Yes. [00:15:30] Speaker A: Yeah, it was James. Because for Luther, it spoke of faith, faith by works, not grace, which, if I might disagree, like, I mean, yes, it can be read in that way, but it is really, as we've been saying, about wisdom rather than faith and works here. But there isn't actually a lot of theology in this book at all in any explicit way. There's nothing really about the end times or apocalypse or. Jesus is only mentioned twice right at the beginning and in the start of chapter two. There's nothing much about mission. [00:16:06] Speaker B: Okay. [00:16:07] Speaker A: So I think it's a challenge for preachers, and I've mentioned this a few times on this podcast, not to end up with a sermon that's just telling people what to do or how to do things better, like, where's the grace of. You know. But James. It's a challenge to preach from James and not to do that, given that theology is fairly implicit in the book. So just a comment and a slash, I guess. Alert for preachers who want to use it. [00:16:36] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I guess it is. How, you know, how does one behave with integrity? Okay. And so this is not, you know, an acceptance of everything that goes on in the world, the conflicts, you know, but to engage in those, in reflection on those issues, in freedom. Okay. You are free to take positions, but make sure that the positions that you take have consequences for yourself and for other people. [00:17:10] Speaker A: And the source of that moral virtue is God's wisdom, not from our own resources. [00:17:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:18] Speaker A: Would that be enough on James? [00:17:21] Speaker B: Well, that's. I'm sorry, but I'm not an expert on James. [00:17:23] Speaker A: Me neither. So that's good. People can go and look up a book if they want to read a bit more about it, but, yeah, let's move on to proverbs. Proverbs 31. Ten to 31. Now, this is a wonderful long passage, isn't it, Monica, that probably not only probably has been used to constrain women to the home or as a very oppressive. It's been put to a very oppressive purpose for some people. [00:17:57] Speaker B: For some people in some cultures, of course, there are a lot of resonances between what this particular poem at the end of the book of proverbs is calling for and the way in which the expectations that are placed on women in some very, very traditional cultures, because a majority of the tasks that the woman is involved in center around the home, for the good of the children, for the good of the family as a whole, or for the good of the husband and his position and status. So there's nothing about what it does for the woman herself, you know? And so if you look at the Isam really carefully, one finds a rather composite picture of a woman engaging in a flurry of activities. She comes across as a woman who is perhaps in the higher socioeconomic level or strata of society, who has adequate access to food and shelter and slaves. And so it's not just the staple food of the people in an agrarian culture, but overdose, luxury, and has control over luxury goods as well. She has control over her environment. It seems, you know, the right to work. She acquires raw material for wool and for flax and works with happy hands as she transforms this raw material into fabric that she can make clothes for her children and for her husband and for bedding. She is someone who considers a field and buys it. Clearly, she's able to own property. She also has relationships with multiple people. So husband, children, slaves, and the community. She's one who does charity work and therefore gives to the poor. So. And she. There's. There's a. There's clear evidence of this woman's ability to imagine, to think and reason, who buys and sells, and she's one who speaks with wisdom. And therefore, this particular poem is often titled as the, you know, the valiant woman or the substantial woman, the strong woman, the wise woman. Yeah. [00:20:14] Speaker A: My reading of this passage has been really influenced by Sally Douglas new book, Jesus Sophia. Sally wants to say this is not. Well, says many things, of course, about wisdom and the evocative divine female. Divine there. But this isn't just a hymn of praise for a woman. But isn't it not a hymn to Sophia? And Sally draws on a divine language about God prior in proverbs and in Sirach and others, but that there's a pre existent quality to this Sophia. There's. There's pre existent with God all the time, imaged as God next to God, with God. So that this has a very disruptive potential, this passage, to challenge really male and patriarchal images of God and to bring God from the courts, so to speak. Because historically, this is. Is it not just straight after the exile has finished? And so life of faith is kingly language and so on is less drawn upon because of their experience. And so faith starts to be experienced a lot more from the court into the home. And so can we not image God as this unafraid, resourceful, powerful woman? Which I find a very compelling way to read this text. [00:21:51] Speaker B: Yeah, I think. I mean, that's a good insight to hold on to. And I'm not disregarding the wisdom within that portrayal of the woman, but from the perspective of the ordinary reader who reads this, the strong woman here receives praise only for what she does for her husband and her children. [00:22:14] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. For her work. [00:22:15] Speaker B: So you will find that at least scholars in the global south have talked about the fact that it doesn't say anything about self care. It doesn't say anything about the beauty of this woman. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know, but still. [00:22:28] Speaker A: Interesting. [00:22:29] Speaker B: Yeah. It doesn't say anything about how she cares for herself or how she beautifies herself. But again, as you mentioned, the psalm, this. Sorry, this particular passage was written, or it's a post exilic text. And I can't step away from noting the fact that the political circumstances of the time is that the people have now returned. They have some autonomy. Not complete, but they do have some autonomy. And it is. You know, we have very little information about how women actually participated in the struggle for, you know, independence or the struggle for the right to return home and so on. It's all written from the male perspective. But now that the battle is almost won or finished, there's sufficient evidence in the world from historical records that once the struggle is over, women who have been at the forefront helping men in the struggle now are said, okay, you can go back to the homes now. [00:23:32] Speaker A: Yes. Well, I mean, that happened after the world wars. [00:23:34] Speaker B: Yeah. So you can go back home. And you're. Therefore, your contribution to nation building is this. You take care of your husband, you take care of your children. You take it. So it's all confined to the. To the domestic sphere. And that is the dangerous potential of this poem, because that is how most people will read it. Yeah. I value Sally's insight of bridging this gap as God, as being somewhere, or wisdom being somewhere up and now brought down to earth. Very, very pragmatic and practical. Yeah. [00:24:09] Speaker A: I mean, I am struck by the last words in the last verse that she's at the city gates. Well, for a start, her works, let her works praise. So that said of God multiple times, particularly in the psalms. But also, she's praised her in the city gates. So the city gates is a long way outside the home. [00:24:28] Speaker B: Yes. [00:24:29] Speaker A: So there's something about her reach even depicted here. [00:24:33] Speaker B: Yeah, but the place of the mail. But she's only praised for what she has enabled her husband to accomplish. That's what a lot of feminist authors will. Will say, that the. All of her work is directed towards the well being of her family. So it's debatable. But that is something that you can ponder on. [00:25:02] Speaker A: I mean, she could be a widow, except she doesn't say she is. [00:25:06] Speaker B: Yeah, but the other thing is, of course, the author is basically a male. And, you know, the world has many, many insights, instances of men telling women who a woman is, you know, and what constitutes womanhood, etcetera. So those are the. Those are the things that we need. [00:25:22] Speaker A: To keep in mind. [00:25:24] Speaker B: But definitely here, you know, if you were to take it in more practical terms, who is a wise woman? And I think we need to emphasize, yes, responsibility within the home, but also the outside, you know, that she bridges both the public and the private sphere and has contributions to make to both those fears. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:25:45] Speaker A: Let's look at Mark, chapter nine, verses 30 to 37. So this passage is in the middle of the section where the disciples are being taught about what the way is, the way of Jesus. And we're reading here the second passion prediction. The first one was in chapter eight. And the previous passage has been about the transfiguration and the exorcism of the demonic boy. So they're heading down south to Jerusalem and they're passing through Galilee. And the poor old disciples are just not grasping the magnitude of what or the radicality of what Jesus represents and what Jesus brings. And there's two very loud silences in the passages we have before us today. The first one, verse 32. So when Jesus has just said that he will be. He is to be betrayed and killed and would rise, and they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. So more silence. And then the second one is immediately after that they came to Capernaum and. And he says, what were you arguing about? And they were silent because they knew what they were arguing about was the greatest appalling given what Jesus represented. So who is the greatest? So I think we don't have a lot of time left because of the number we've covered today. But I would emphasise the importance in this passage and the use of it and looking a bit further is to really resist the saccharine little child imagery that faith has produced. In paintings and in sentiment over the hundreds of years. This is really raw stuff, where a little child in an ancient culture had zero status. And the notion that another family might take care of, you know, is really bizarre to them. So to hear Jesus calling the children to him and embracing them like that and asking adults to be like that, adults with status and agency and so on, is so topsy turvy and so disruptive. Let's not make it like 19th century paintings of angelic blonde children with blue eyes, which they normally are, you know, and evoke that for people. [00:28:20] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I guess. I guess the disciples were perhaps were anticipated, anticipating that Jesus would talk about someone who has status, who has education, who has knowledge, you know, acquired in varied ways, etc. Etc. But here, as you said, he turns it upside down. And it is not those people, but it's the innocence, the openness, the flexibility of children. And as I was reading this passage this morning, I couldn't step away from the images of children in Gaza at the moment and the number of them who have lost their lives. [00:28:58] Speaker A: And. [00:29:01] Speaker B: I think in most situations of conflict, some of the largest percentage of people affected are children in varied ways, either through by death or, as you say, loss of limbs, logical trauma. [00:29:19] Speaker A: I mean, it is a statement about a community or a culture or the world's, how we're getting things right or wrong in terms of the wicked and the not wicked. You know, how we treat our children. And if this is the images we're having presented to us, you know, what is to be done. [00:29:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So, yes, so Jesus, in a way, by embracing children, is embracing all these kids whose images appear on our screens day in and day out, you know, and is saying that whoever receives one such child. Yeah. Receives me and the one who sent me. In a way, it's. Here's another metaphor. Jesus says, when you feed someone who is hungry or when you give water to someone who. Who is thirsty, you're doing it to me. So, in a way, here, Jesus is also. I don't want to use the word diminished, but is coming down to the. [00:30:21] Speaker A: Well, humbling himself like the Philippians, him. [00:30:25] Speaker B: Like a child, you know? So if you receive the kingdom, if you want to receive the kingdom, therefore you have to be like a child. [00:30:33] Speaker A: And the serving, then there's also the language about serving, that you come first, to be last and to be servant of all. Dear Connos, again, who wants to be a servant in that culture or any culture? But we're looking at the text at the time. I'm really taken also, I was reading Brendan Burns book on Mark costly freedom earlier today, and he makes a really good connection in this passage in terms of a preaching approach. But is the pain that goes with the church's loss of status in western culture in particular. So loss of, you know, the marginalization. And I don't mean that at all in a poor me way. I just mean literally, it's not the centre of anything. No one cares really what we say half the time. Is that akin to the experience of the disciples in this passage as they struggle to hear and resist what Jesus is saying? So, like them, we are on the way to Jerusalem with Jesus, but we've been in Constant. We've been under Constantine, metaphorically speaking. You know, that's been our cultural traditional experience. And some of us are still living out that it's not the way to be. It is to be on the margins and the voice of the little ones and so on. [00:31:46] Speaker B: Yeah. So in a way that the church has to reshape itself, you know, from this pompous. I know it lavish. We have the answer to all your questions to be the humility, the vulnerability of servant. Yeah. Of children. And so. Yeah. So in a way, the church is perhaps beginning to experience some sense of insecurity. [00:32:19] Speaker A: Oh, definitely. And very appropriate humility and repentance in respect to, you know, extremely serious misdemeanors. [00:32:30] Speaker B: Right. And so we, in some ways, the church is. The other is like the disciples. [00:32:35] Speaker A: Yes. I think that's a very powerful theme to play with coming out of this passage. So I think that might bring us to the close of our conversation today. Monica. [00:32:47] Speaker B: Okay. Yep. Thank you. [00:32:51] Speaker A: By the well is brought to you by Pilgrim Theological College and the Uniting church in Australia. It's produced by Adrian Jackson. Thanks for listening.