Fulfilled Faith Journey
Commentary
In an effort to challenge my own faith along my spiritual journey, I explored a book about “theodicy” (God’s justice, why do the righteous suffer?) from a non-human creation point of view. Christopher Southgate’s book Groaning of Creation: God, Evolution, and the Problem of Evil (Westminster John Knox Press, 2008) has some disquieting suggestions as to why tsunamis and hurricanes kill people and destroy property. God works through evolution and survival-of-the-fittest patterns. “[T]he forces that gave rise to earthquakes and other natural disasters are the very forces that made this biosphere possible” (Southgate, p. 38). Humans play a small role in what Southgate calls the “scaffolding” of periods of time when the universe makes seismic changes that result in natural disasters (Southgate, pp. 38-39). Beauty and creation are forged out of suffering. God suffers alongside humans in this process, and takes ownership for such suffering on the cross. The fulfilled life as one of the “midwives” to bring about the next phase of God’s creation is one way to answer the unjust suffering question while retaining a God that is worthy of being worshiped (Southgate, pp. 85-91). In each of the lessons today, there are insights as to how believers can realize a fulfilled faith journey, regardless of where life takes them. Joseph in Genesis 37 remains a classic example.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
This text is selected portions of the longer Joseph narrative which concludes at Genesis 50:19-21: “But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.’ In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.” This is the happy ending after a very difficult faith journey for Joseph and his family. For preaching, one can simply tell the story with various sidebars such as betrayal, lying, and doing God’s will under difficult circumstances.
One theme that immediately comes to surface is that of parents who favor one child over the other. If a parent has a favorite son or daughter, do they simply own it and let the other family members know, or do they attempt to treat all of the offspring the same? Intertwined in this question is that of blended families. Does the child of a past relationship rate higher or lower than offspring from the new marital union? To probe deeper into this “rabbit hole” might make one wonder: “Does God have favorites, or are all people loved equally?” One can make a case in either direction with the Jacob and Esau account, yet any one of the psalms speak of a loving Lord who cares for all creation equally.
This could also dovetail into the direction of sibling rivalry. Who is most successful in any given family, and who has simply had bad luck? Who has had natural gifts that lead to success, while others are always running up against a brick wall in life?
Another theme here is that of the dream versus the “killers of the dream.” Every organization has dreamers who imagine future events in various ways, which might even depart from the natural course of current life directions. Is there a time to listen to dreamers? What if the resources of the organization are scarce, such as lack of money or the human resources to carry out tasks? Joseph had to overcome all of the above. However, it took him a lifetime to do so.
Power and the use of control over other peoples’ lives is included in this narrative, from the first time Joseph’s brother sold him into slavery, through his employment for Potiphar and accusations of sexual impropriety by the wife of Potiphar, right through to the end of the account where a now-established imperial manager named Joseph has the upper hand when his older brothers seek food during a famine in Egypt.
Each of these areas serves to shape a person’s faith journey at some chapter of his or her life. A favored son or daughter will view the contribution of family through a different lens than the sibling who has always had to scratch and fight his or her way toward progress. The God they experience will have varying nuances. Will those whose dreams are brutally crushed continue on, or concede that one cannot overcome the powers in control at a given time?
Also, Judah was the brother who knew better than the rest of the siblings that destroying a younger, possibly brash and spoiled brother was wrong. However, he did not step up to the plate for Joseph but cut a compromise to sell him into slavery. This might be compared to a supervisor at a business finding a way to prevent an employee from being terminated by arranging for him or her to have a dirty job in another area of the company or even transferred to another state. How has this shaped Judah’s faith journey? As Joseph would later sit in a jail cell in Egypt after the Potiphar’s wife incident, he might think back on which of his brothers were really after him and which ones could have prevented this but did not. Does he continue to remain resentful throughout the years in Egypt?
Another area that bears exploration is after Joseph proves himself to the Pharaoh through dream interpretation; he takes the daughter of an Egyptian priest as his wife named Asenath (Genesis 41:45). This continues the ambivalence that the Hebrew Bible has for or against foreign women taken as wives/mates by men of Israel. [Source: Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Genesis (John Knox Press, 1982)]
Romans 10:5-15
I tend to divide this text into two topics. First, there is new kind of righteousness. Paul uplifts the Holiness Code from Leviticus 17-26 (18:5), along with selections from Deuteronomy 9 and 30, to make the case that as Moses proclaimed these laws, God did not believe them to be unreasonable for the nation to follow. However, Paul reinterprets these texts in light of the Christ event to make the point that Jesus is the completeness (Greek: teleos) of the Hebrew Bible law. Paul is applying the words of Deuteronomy 30:11-14 to the gospel, in which he believes God is revealing God’s self in a manner consistent with the scriptures of Israel. Yet this is a new righteousness of faith or trust in the same God of Israel who delivered the Torah through the words of Moses. The new way to be made right with God in righteousness is through Jesus as Lord. The confession of “Jesus is Lord” is cited elsewhere in Philippians 2:9-11 and 1 Corinthians 15:25. It is a recurring Pauline theme that has shaped the apostle’s faith journey and provided fullness which he did not quite find in his own previous training. Yet he does not discount the nature of the laws found in the Torah. He is integrating these areas of his faith. Where do we integrate new insights about God, scripture, and how we find fulfillment in our lives?
An example might be how at one time computers were seen as huge science-fiction machines with unforeseeable consequences if fallen into the wrong hands. Only specialists were deemed to have access to such electronic powers. In our day and age, a simple android device has computer capabilities. It can be used for good or bad purposes. There are stories of people using cellphones to save lives, as well to invade other people’s privacy. Use and abuse of laws in the Torah and any sacred scriptures can have a similar application.
Also, to preach in this direction one might want to explore if people really believe they need to be made right with God. If so, how is this accomplished? In what Charles Taylor calls “a secular age,” I am unconvinced that many North Americans fear God will strike them down with lightning bolts for an infraction they committed at work, home, or in recreation. However, who is the Lord of our life, or provides meaning in our lives, could provide a fruitful direction.
The second portion of this text which I am drawn to is verses 12-13 regarding no distinction between Greek or Jew under this Lordship. Ethnic barriers are no more. “For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (cf. Joel 2:32). This text along with the reference from Isaiah 28:16 serves as a guarantee of God’s presence with those who confess Jesus as Lord.
For preaching, what does it mean to consider Jesus as Lord of our lives? We do live in times when other power brokers lay similar claims such as employers, businesses to whom we owe money, and yes, even medical staff and facilities who have the power to decide which health care treatments we are entitled to, or can afford. [Sources: Roy A. Harrisville, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Romans (Augsburg Fortress, 1980); Arland J. Hultgren, Paul’s Letter to the Romans: A Commentary (Wm. B. Erdman, 2011); Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Harvard University Press, 2007)]
Matthew 14:22-33
This text might be subtitled “Epiphany at sea.” Jesus has continued to do ministry to those who are part of the lost house of Israel as he fed 5,000 men, besides women and children (Matthew 14:21). As Jesus dismissed and disperses the crowds, he tells the disciples to get into a boat and go before him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The approximate time for this journey is between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. As the boat went further away from the shore, strong winds battered against the disciples in the boat.
The disciples then saw Jesus walking on the water. Ancient legends of that time believed that those who were killed at sea often walked on these same waters. So the disciples believed Jesus to be a ghost and were afraid (Greek: phobos, fear or terror [Newman, p. 194]). Jesus announced, “It is I.” The Greek words are ego eimee. Unlike John’s usage of the Greek term to indicate signs, Matthew intends to reference a divine presence. This same set of words is used in the Septuagint (LXX) in Hebrew Bible texts to indicate a divinity or Godly presence (Deuteronomy 32; 39; Isaiah 41:4, 43:10, 25; 46:4; 51:12). Such a list of texts suggests a reasonable case that this is intended to be an epiphany event for the disciples. They responded accordingly by worshiping him and declaring that he is truly the son of God. This would also foreshadow Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16.
What major unexpected epiphany experiences have folks had in their lives that have impacted their faith journey? Do some people need an exciting or epiphany experience to re-validate their faith? Are those who do thrill-seeking hobbies and adventures also experiencing mini-epiphanies of sorts? Then there are those who simply refuse to get into the boat and cross to the other side of the sea. They will take the land route instead. Where does a divine epiphany such as seeing Jesus walk on water amidst a storm fit into a fulfilled spiritual journey? For instance, a congregation youth group takes a detour from a trip through a bad neighborhood of a city. They stop at the red lights and hear the sounds and experience the smells of a declining urban neighborhood, not the downtown photos they see on television. Could this sort of epiphany make them aware of other places in need of ministry that the congregation might avail itself to considering? [Sources: Barclay Newman, Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament (United Bible Societies, 1970); Charles H. Talbert, Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament: Matthew (Baker Academic, 2010)].
Application
Do we believe in ghosts? Are there metaphoric ghosts from our past that still haunt us? If so, how do we expose them and deal with them in a way worthy of people of faith? For example, a church parsonage is vacant since the last pastor died there. However, previous pastors who occupied this parsonage either left the ministry altogether or left the congregation in less than favorable terms. Does this reminder of the vacant parsonage speak of the building, or the relationship between the pastors, families, and members of the particular church?
Are there ghosts or bad memories that haunt a particular individual or group of people? If so, this Matthew text suggests that a divine presence such as that of the Son of Man can diffuse such fears.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
This text is selected portions of the longer Joseph narrative which concludes at Genesis 50:19-21: “But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.’ In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.” This is the happy ending after a very difficult faith journey for Joseph and his family. For preaching, one can simply tell the story with various sidebars such as betrayal, lying, and doing God’s will under difficult circumstances.
One theme that immediately comes to surface is that of parents who favor one child over the other. If a parent has a favorite son or daughter, do they simply own it and let the other family members know, or do they attempt to treat all of the offspring the same? Intertwined in this question is that of blended families. Does the child of a past relationship rate higher or lower than offspring from the new marital union? To probe deeper into this “rabbit hole” might make one wonder: “Does God have favorites, or are all people loved equally?” One can make a case in either direction with the Jacob and Esau account, yet any one of the psalms speak of a loving Lord who cares for all creation equally.
This could also dovetail into the direction of sibling rivalry. Who is most successful in any given family, and who has simply had bad luck? Who has had natural gifts that lead to success, while others are always running up against a brick wall in life?
Another theme here is that of the dream versus the “killers of the dream.” Every organization has dreamers who imagine future events in various ways, which might even depart from the natural course of current life directions. Is there a time to listen to dreamers? What if the resources of the organization are scarce, such as lack of money or the human resources to carry out tasks? Joseph had to overcome all of the above. However, it took him a lifetime to do so.
Power and the use of control over other peoples’ lives is included in this narrative, from the first time Joseph’s brother sold him into slavery, through his employment for Potiphar and accusations of sexual impropriety by the wife of Potiphar, right through to the end of the account where a now-established imperial manager named Joseph has the upper hand when his older brothers seek food during a famine in Egypt.
Each of these areas serves to shape a person’s faith journey at some chapter of his or her life. A favored son or daughter will view the contribution of family through a different lens than the sibling who has always had to scratch and fight his or her way toward progress. The God they experience will have varying nuances. Will those whose dreams are brutally crushed continue on, or concede that one cannot overcome the powers in control at a given time?
Also, Judah was the brother who knew better than the rest of the siblings that destroying a younger, possibly brash and spoiled brother was wrong. However, he did not step up to the plate for Joseph but cut a compromise to sell him into slavery. This might be compared to a supervisor at a business finding a way to prevent an employee from being terminated by arranging for him or her to have a dirty job in another area of the company or even transferred to another state. How has this shaped Judah’s faith journey? As Joseph would later sit in a jail cell in Egypt after the Potiphar’s wife incident, he might think back on which of his brothers were really after him and which ones could have prevented this but did not. Does he continue to remain resentful throughout the years in Egypt?
Another area that bears exploration is after Joseph proves himself to the Pharaoh through dream interpretation; he takes the daughter of an Egyptian priest as his wife named Asenath (Genesis 41:45). This continues the ambivalence that the Hebrew Bible has for or against foreign women taken as wives/mates by men of Israel. [Source: Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Genesis (John Knox Press, 1982)]
Romans 10:5-15
I tend to divide this text into two topics. First, there is new kind of righteousness. Paul uplifts the Holiness Code from Leviticus 17-26 (18:5), along with selections from Deuteronomy 9 and 30, to make the case that as Moses proclaimed these laws, God did not believe them to be unreasonable for the nation to follow. However, Paul reinterprets these texts in light of the Christ event to make the point that Jesus is the completeness (Greek: teleos) of the Hebrew Bible law. Paul is applying the words of Deuteronomy 30:11-14 to the gospel, in which he believes God is revealing God’s self in a manner consistent with the scriptures of Israel. Yet this is a new righteousness of faith or trust in the same God of Israel who delivered the Torah through the words of Moses. The new way to be made right with God in righteousness is through Jesus as Lord. The confession of “Jesus is Lord” is cited elsewhere in Philippians 2:9-11 and 1 Corinthians 15:25. It is a recurring Pauline theme that has shaped the apostle’s faith journey and provided fullness which he did not quite find in his own previous training. Yet he does not discount the nature of the laws found in the Torah. He is integrating these areas of his faith. Where do we integrate new insights about God, scripture, and how we find fulfillment in our lives?
An example might be how at one time computers were seen as huge science-fiction machines with unforeseeable consequences if fallen into the wrong hands. Only specialists were deemed to have access to such electronic powers. In our day and age, a simple android device has computer capabilities. It can be used for good or bad purposes. There are stories of people using cellphones to save lives, as well to invade other people’s privacy. Use and abuse of laws in the Torah and any sacred scriptures can have a similar application.
Also, to preach in this direction one might want to explore if people really believe they need to be made right with God. If so, how is this accomplished? In what Charles Taylor calls “a secular age,” I am unconvinced that many North Americans fear God will strike them down with lightning bolts for an infraction they committed at work, home, or in recreation. However, who is the Lord of our life, or provides meaning in our lives, could provide a fruitful direction.
The second portion of this text which I am drawn to is verses 12-13 regarding no distinction between Greek or Jew under this Lordship. Ethnic barriers are no more. “For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (cf. Joel 2:32). This text along with the reference from Isaiah 28:16 serves as a guarantee of God’s presence with those who confess Jesus as Lord.
For preaching, what does it mean to consider Jesus as Lord of our lives? We do live in times when other power brokers lay similar claims such as employers, businesses to whom we owe money, and yes, even medical staff and facilities who have the power to decide which health care treatments we are entitled to, or can afford. [Sources: Roy A. Harrisville, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Romans (Augsburg Fortress, 1980); Arland J. Hultgren, Paul’s Letter to the Romans: A Commentary (Wm. B. Erdman, 2011); Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Harvard University Press, 2007)]
Matthew 14:22-33
This text might be subtitled “Epiphany at sea.” Jesus has continued to do ministry to those who are part of the lost house of Israel as he fed 5,000 men, besides women and children (Matthew 14:21). As Jesus dismissed and disperses the crowds, he tells the disciples to get into a boat and go before him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The approximate time for this journey is between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. As the boat went further away from the shore, strong winds battered against the disciples in the boat.
The disciples then saw Jesus walking on the water. Ancient legends of that time believed that those who were killed at sea often walked on these same waters. So the disciples believed Jesus to be a ghost and were afraid (Greek: phobos, fear or terror [Newman, p. 194]). Jesus announced, “It is I.” The Greek words are ego eimee. Unlike John’s usage of the Greek term to indicate signs, Matthew intends to reference a divine presence. This same set of words is used in the Septuagint (LXX) in Hebrew Bible texts to indicate a divinity or Godly presence (Deuteronomy 32; 39; Isaiah 41:4, 43:10, 25; 46:4; 51:12). Such a list of texts suggests a reasonable case that this is intended to be an epiphany event for the disciples. They responded accordingly by worshiping him and declaring that he is truly the son of God. This would also foreshadow Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16.
What major unexpected epiphany experiences have folks had in their lives that have impacted their faith journey? Do some people need an exciting or epiphany experience to re-validate their faith? Are those who do thrill-seeking hobbies and adventures also experiencing mini-epiphanies of sorts? Then there are those who simply refuse to get into the boat and cross to the other side of the sea. They will take the land route instead. Where does a divine epiphany such as seeing Jesus walk on water amidst a storm fit into a fulfilled spiritual journey? For instance, a congregation youth group takes a detour from a trip through a bad neighborhood of a city. They stop at the red lights and hear the sounds and experience the smells of a declining urban neighborhood, not the downtown photos they see on television. Could this sort of epiphany make them aware of other places in need of ministry that the congregation might avail itself to considering? [Sources: Barclay Newman, Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament (United Bible Societies, 1970); Charles H. Talbert, Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament: Matthew (Baker Academic, 2010)].
Application
Do we believe in ghosts? Are there metaphoric ghosts from our past that still haunt us? If so, how do we expose them and deal with them in a way worthy of people of faith? For example, a church parsonage is vacant since the last pastor died there. However, previous pastors who occupied this parsonage either left the ministry altogether or left the congregation in less than favorable terms. Does this reminder of the vacant parsonage speak of the building, or the relationship between the pastors, families, and members of the particular church?
Are there ghosts or bad memories that haunt a particular individual or group of people? If so, this Matthew text suggests that a divine presence such as that of the Son of Man can diffuse such fears.
