Two Days Worth - Tuesday
Today we returned to the classroom and once again engaged in Bible with Bill. Today we looked at a some passages that people had problems with (Matthew 10:34-39 for instance) And we looked at a couple of parables (the Prodigal Son, and the King's Wedding Guests - Matthew 22 and after).
The also unpacked for us the Myth of Redemptive Violence. This is something else I have written about before in this medium but bears repeating. This myth is an etiology and Bill taught us today that "Your etiology forms your moral universe." It goes like this:
Everything is fine... until an agent of chaos asserts itself... then an act of violence against that chaos... causes everything to be fine again...
It is pervasive in our culture - every sitcom, novel, short story, comic book has this form. For instance:
Everything is fine in Gotham... until the Joker comes and makes serious trouble... then Batman swoops in punches the Joker and takes him to prison... then everything is fine again.
This etiology is based on two lies. First that everything is fine in the world... this is obviously not true. And second that an act of violence will put an end to chaos.
Look at it this way:
Everything is fine in Jerusalem... then Jesus rides into the Holy City on a Donkey and drives out the money changers... then Jesus must die... so that everything will be fine again.
Bill taught us that the Biblical etiology that stands against this looks like this:
In the beginning there was chaos and God hovered over the chaos... then in an act of creation God brought order to chaos and brought about abundant and exuberant life.
In this etiology there is no violence, only creation and life.
Looking at the Resurrection for me now looks like this:
Before the Resurrection we were imprisoned in the chaos of sin and death... then in an act of creation God brought order to that chaos and brought about abundant and exuberant eternal life for all people.
This is what we ought to be celebrating our freedom from in our liturgies!
Second on the docket today was the Reverend Dr. Todd Townsend who teaches homiletics and will soon be appointed Dean of Theology at Huron. Todd gave us some good tools for effective preaching in any context. In particular he taught us a fascinating equation:
He said to preach only "trouble" is not enough... "if you want trouble turn on your nightly news." To preach only "grace" is to ignore the troubles of this world. And in the end preaching should give people hope. He taught us how to do this best is to involve stories rich in "image, narrative and metaphor". And that in the end most Christian burnout - both clergy and lay - are based on an "insufficient knowledge of the Resurrection."
After lunch I once again 'creatively hung out' at the residence and was once again rewarded with good conversation.
This evening we learned another Theological Reflection Tool using music. We were asked to take a song with theological implications - be it hymn or popular music - and ask a number of questions about it:
- Who is God in relationship to us?
- Who are we (or what are we to do) in relationship to God?
- Who are we (or what are we to do) in relationship to the world around us?
- Where is the consolation/good news?
- Where is the desolation/conflict?
We found it to be a good tool that will help young people unpack the music they listen to and perhaps even critique some of the music we use in our Sunday worship.
We ended the day with worship lead by Jenny and during with I told the Godly Play story "Creation One".
Now it is late and I am tired after a long, good day.
Until anon.
The also unpacked for us the Myth of Redemptive Violence. This is something else I have written about before in this medium but bears repeating. This myth is an etiology and Bill taught us today that "Your etiology forms your moral universe." It goes like this:
Everything is fine... until an agent of chaos asserts itself... then an act of violence against that chaos... causes everything to be fine again...
It is pervasive in our culture - every sitcom, novel, short story, comic book has this form. For instance:
Everything is fine in Gotham... until the Joker comes and makes serious trouble... then Batman swoops in punches the Joker and takes him to prison... then everything is fine again.
This etiology is based on two lies. First that everything is fine in the world... this is obviously not true. And second that an act of violence will put an end to chaos.
Look at it this way:
Everything is fine in Jerusalem... then Jesus rides into the Holy City on a Donkey and drives out the money changers... then Jesus must die... so that everything will be fine again.
Bill taught us that the Biblical etiology that stands against this looks like this:
In the beginning there was chaos and God hovered over the chaos... then in an act of creation God brought order to chaos and brought about abundant and exuberant life.
In this etiology there is no violence, only creation and life.
Looking at the Resurrection for me now looks like this:
Before the Resurrection we were imprisoned in the chaos of sin and death... then in an act of creation God brought order to that chaos and brought about abundant and exuberant eternal life for all people.
This is what we ought to be celebrating our freedom from in our liturgies!
Second on the docket today was the Reverend Dr. Todd Townsend who teaches homiletics and will soon be appointed Dean of Theology at Huron. Todd gave us some good tools for effective preaching in any context. In particular he taught us a fascinating equation:
Trouble + Grace = Hope
He said to preach only "trouble" is not enough... "if you want trouble turn on your nightly news." To preach only "grace" is to ignore the troubles of this world. And in the end preaching should give people hope. He taught us how to do this best is to involve stories rich in "image, narrative and metaphor". And that in the end most Christian burnout - both clergy and lay - are based on an "insufficient knowledge of the Resurrection."
After lunch I once again 'creatively hung out' at the residence and was once again rewarded with good conversation.
This evening we learned another Theological Reflection Tool using music. We were asked to take a song with theological implications - be it hymn or popular music - and ask a number of questions about it:
- Who is God in relationship to us?
- Who are we (or what are we to do) in relationship to God?
- Who are we (or what are we to do) in relationship to the world around us?
- Where is the consolation/good news?
- Where is the desolation/conflict?
We found it to be a good tool that will help young people unpack the music they listen to and perhaps even critique some of the music we use in our Sunday worship.
We ended the day with worship lead by Jenny and during with I told the Godly Play story "Creation One".
Now it is late and I am tired after a long, good day.
Until anon.
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