History Lessons

Monday, June 15, 2009 -- Week of Proper 6, Year One
Evelyn Underhill, mystic and teacher, 1941

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 970)
Psalms 80 (morning) 77, [79] (evening)
1 Samuel 1:1-20
Acts 1:1-14
Luke 20:9-19

Today we begin the sequential reading of the great Deuteronomic History which will take us through mid-October -- the narrative of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings. (This section is part of a larger unit which includes Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges.) This epic was composed sometime after the exile (586 BCE) by scholars who were trying to help a nation understand its history and its plight as a people in exile.

The central figure of the story is David, the ideal king. Samuel the last of the judges and the first prophet and Saul the first king are the other main characters. Samuel and Saul prepare the way for David. Saul is a particularly tragic figure, who in this narrative can do nothing good. David is presented as one who consistently trusts God. According to this version of the history, God was not with Saul and God was with David.

The authors have a theological message. They look to the past to communicate a teaching for a nation in exile in the present. According to the Deuteronomic History, God has blessed Israel whenever Israel has been obedient to God's law and faithful to maintain Jerusalem as the central place of worship. When Israel has failed in its obedience to God's laws and whenever it has compromised the purity of its worship, God abandoned Israel and disaster ensued. The writers raise up David as the ideal king, and offer his leadership as a model and hope for Israel's future redemption.

Today we begin with the story of the birth of Samuel, the prophet who will anoint David. The narrative opens with the sadness of a barren women, Hannah, the beloved wife of a righteous man. Like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Sampson's mother, God takes a woman who has been unable to bear children and God brings forth a special birth.

In a time of barrenness and need, for a people in a barren and distant land, the story narrates the hope that God will act and bring forth a new future.

Deuteronomic editors look to the past to inspire hope in the future. The writers reshape the story of their history so it becomes an object lesson which will give vision for the present. Many commentators have remarked how the authors have worked the narrative so that it serves a teaching purpose. They don't intend to write objective history. Undoubtedly Saul was not as bad as he is portrayed and David was not as good as he is pictured. But the writers wish to give us gifts and meaning, identity and purpose through a new understanding of the past.

They want to inspire an exiled community to new obedience to God's law. They tell the story of Israel's successes and failures through the prism of obedience. Look at our history, they say. Whenever we have been obedient, God has blessed us. Whenever we have been disobedient, God has punished us. Be obedient now, in this tragic time, and God will restore us again. We will reclaim our glorious past, as in the days of David.

Their work was a powerful gift that helped the dispersed community of Israel to survive. Many other exiled peoples were unable to retain their identity and disappeared from history.

For this time of challenge in our ownhistory, how might we find inspiration from the past? How might we reshape our narrative in order to give meaning and identity in this time of our history?

I can imagine a history that reminds us of our modest beginnings -- we were a poor people in a land of challenge. We can retell the stories of hope and hard work that helped fashion a nation out of a wilderness. We can remind ourselves of the character and principles of our founders, their commitment to honesty and to fair dealing. We can tell stories of how people took care of one another and provided for the weak and the ill. We can trace the expansion of liberty from male property owners to all men and eventually to slaves and women, the continuing evolution of our vision of liberty and justice for all.

How would you re-tell the story of our past in order to help us reclaim a healing and inspiring vision for our future? We will be reading a great version of that project for the next four months as we immerse ourselves in the Deuteronomic History of Israel. It will give us opportunity to reflect on origins, identity, purpose and renewal.

Lowell

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About Morning Reflections
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


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas