Troubling Passages

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 -- Week of Proper 4

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 968)
Psalms 119:49-72 (morning) 49, [53] (evening)
Deuteronomy 13:1-11
2 Corinthians 7:2-16
Luke 17:20-37


There is a great deal of conflict and angst in the readings today. Some of it leaves me troubled and wondering.

In the theology of the author of Deuteronomy, there are two particularly grievous sins. One is to worship, follow, or acknowledge other gods; the other is to practice any form of sacrificial offering at any shrine other than the central sanctuary. These were contemporary issues of identity and control during the composition of the book. Exclusive worship of the God of Israel was threatened by syncretistic practices related to neighboring peoples and their gods of fertility or power. The author believed those threats were magnified by the uncontrolled worship practices at ancient Jewish shrines and holy places scattered throughout the land. The book may have been compiled largely during the religious reform of King Josiah who tried to centralize worship in Jerusalem and unite the nation behind a revival in religious observance.

Today we read an instruction that anyone, even family members, who might leave the faith or invite others to should be executed. We see a similar injunction being practiced in some parts of the Islamic world today. In some places, if a Moslem converts to Christianity, that person must be killed to protect the religion. If Jews followed this passage today, the same fate would be suffered by any Jewish person who might become Christian or maybe marry a Christian. Since some Christians read the Hebrew scriptures as being binding instructions for us, it would be easy to make the same interpretation for Christians. And the way some denominations regard others, believing them to be false and different religions, it is not inconceivable that it could be argued that if a daughter leaves one Christian denomination to join another church, or urges family members to do so, that person should be stoned to death. These are troubling verses.

Paul's chapter references another letter (vs. 8) that he sent to the church in Corinth, rejoicing that its injunctions were successful, producing their repentance and some form of punishment for his enemies and opponents in the congregation. Many scholars believe that this "tearful letter" is probably chapters 10-13 of 2 Corinthians.

I went back to skim through that portion of 2 Corinthians, the other letter. It is strong language. It makes even the harshest rhetoric of our contemporary disputes among Anglicans sound pretty mild. Life in the church has rarely been conflict free. It certainly wasn't in the days of the early church.

Finally, there is the end of Luke 17. Our reading begins with the helpful reminder that the kingdom of God is among (or within) us. It is not something that we need to expect in some future. Despite that rejoinder, there is an apocalyptic passage anticipating a swift and cataclysmic time of a last judgment, like that pictured in Daniel 7, when the righteous will be vindicated and the evil punished. In my opinion, the church is historically most unhealthy when it becomes fascinated and sometimes obsessed about these apocalyptic passages.

A section of today's reading is part of the mythology of many of the end-time scenarios of the rapture. "There will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left." It strikes me that there is no direct indication which of these is the righteous, the one taken or the one left. The most direct interpretation is the opposite of the popular rapture picture. The one taken is more likely to be the unrighteous, and the taking is more likely death than some snatching away into the air. When Jesus is asked, "Where, Lord?" he answers, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." The picture is of those taken being corpses lying around for the vultures.

And the other New Testament images of the last day are of Jesus' return to the earth to reign in a just kingdom among those who are left behind. Elsewhere Paul tells his readers not to worry about those who have already died before the return, they will meet the Lord in the air, presumably to join his triumphal procession back to an earthly reign of peace and justice. A very different picture from the rapture speculations.

I don't find that kind of stuff helpful. I don't think God wants us to kill relatives who convert. I don't think it is helpful to speculate on end-time scenarios. For me, these are signs of an unhealthy need to control. The Kingdom of God is among us and within us. That's enough for me. The presence of Christ and the invitation of the present day is sufficient. And none of us should be so religiously certain that we would be willing to kill those who disagree with us. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. No more stones.


Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

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