Hear Yee, Hear Yee: Note from Scott

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"Ruth and Naomi" by He Qi, from the cover of Yee's book

EfM invites us to look for ourselves in the scriptures, and also to reflect on our own reactions to what we read. Remember how we responded to the story of Na'aman the Leper from our own perspectives? A soldier among us saw the consequence of disobedience; a soft-spoken woman saw how the action was precipitated by a modest serving girl. A retired drama teacher saw how the prophet staged the comeuppance of an arrogant officer as a comedy for an audience of foreign soldiers and Hebrew servants.

A young woman reading the first five books of Hebrew scripture could be forgiven if she thought that there's nothing in them for her. In Year One's reading for this week, "Character, Conflict, and Convenant in Israel's Original Traditions" (in Yee's book), the author Carolyn J. Sharp points out that men wrote the books and compiled them for instruction in male-only schools. I know from experience that 13-year-old boys resist reading about females except as objects of fun or danger.

So a young woman would see herself only rarely in the first five books. When women are mentioned, from Eve onward, they are presented as tempters, problems, or property whose value depends on childbearing. In stories and in laws, women are set apart as unclean, and a father or husband decides her fate.

Carolyn Sharp is writing for that young woman who looks for herself in scripture, telling her what other theologians have found between the lines. So, when Sharp writes about the portrayal of God as "Him," she tells us that theologians have long noted the feminine word for the "spirit" over the waters before Creation, and what theologians have sometimes seen in the phrase about God creating humankind in his own image, "male and female."

And so on through each of the first five books, Sharp points to clues in the text that the God of the Hebrew Bible can be seen as valuing women. For that hypothetical young woman reader, Sharp writes again and again what a feminist might see. Opening at random to pages 56-57, I see that Sharp tells us what a text offers, how we are invited to see a different perspective, how we may find a model for "resilience" and liberation in the story of Moses, what backstory we might reconstruct from the few references to Miriam as a leader.

While Sharp is at it, she also finds angles for others disturbed by what they find or can't find in Scripture. Disturbed by the slaughter of animals, and even more by the slaughter of whole families by Moses and the Levites at God's command? Unable to square the vengeful warrior God with our image of Jesus as a good shepherd? Not heterosexual male and seeing nothing about yourself except for two lines that condemn you? Sharp offers comfort, though it's sometimes just the balance from other scriptures "in dialogue" with the ones that bother you.

So let's read Sharp and the rest of Yee's book in the spirit that it's written. It offers ways for all of us to see ourselves in Scripture, and to see our neighbors in scripture, too.

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Yr. C, Wk. 10: Legacy - Writing Ourselves in the Story

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Worship and Gathering
Scott led worship for Halloween, including a dramatization of Saul's visit to the Witch of Endor (see picture). The gathering question was about experiences we've had of ghosts, witches, or monsters. Scott as a child was fascinated by the Endor picture in his family's Bible; others told of reading ghost stories and Harry Potter; a presence felt during sleep paralysis; a school field trip to "The Devil's Stomping Ground"; elders' stories and darkness in Haiti. Tom regaled us with a true ghost story from his family's time in Japan -- the creaking of floorboards where no one was walking, and the approach of the ghost as he was alone in the house packing to leave. We were spooked!

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 2 Theological Reflection as a Life Skill: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred, Scott; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Jessica, Marilyn.

Discussion of the Readings

Y1s responded to the RRG’s question, “How do Leviticus and Numbers demonstrate the maturing of God’s People?” Joyce said that sacrifices that had once been thought of as a way to feed the gods or to appease Yahweh’s anger grew into being an expression of gratitude. Tom pointed up two conflicting strains in these books – exclusion of foreigners, and concern for both foreigners and the poor, including the fact that Moses himself married a Midianite woman. Donfred pointed out the command for the landowners to leave whatever drops during harvest for the poor to “glean.” Tom saw the Hebrews becoming more obedient and faithful from one generation to the next. Scott laughed at how scared the Israelite spies were when they saw “men of great stature” in the Promised Land; Tom added a personal anecdote about 12 Spies Winery.

Another thread of the discussion concerned a question that bothered Nuno when he was younger, who’s saved and who’s not? It used to be as simple as checking the right boxes on a questionnaire, he said, but no more. Pete found a process of maturing in Church history, as the Church has thought about salvation in multiple different ways over the centuries, each way being what Ford calls an “intensification” (a personalization, an imaginative way to express an abstraction in a way that affects the emotions and the will). Susan said that Bishops’ debates at the Council of Chalcedon were more than “fussing over theological details” but finding solutions that effectively expanded salvation and re-connected to Judaism.

Scott highlighted what Collins discussed in his chapter regarding the nature of the Deuteronomic editor/writer. The book Deuteronomy (second giving of the law) is itself is a more mature, developed, centralized interpretation of the law given in Exodus. For example, the Deuteronomic Author softens the "holiness code's" harsh purity with concern for ethics. Donfred wondered about those dietary laws, and so do scholars. Collins gives several theories for the reasons behind different restrictions, but concludes that no theory explains them all.

Theological Reflection
Pete brought us images from a Bible passed down in his family from the 1870s, the ornate engraved wood cover, the gold lining the pages, etchings of Bible scenes, numerous extras described in an advertisement early in the book, and page after page where generations of parents and children can record their births, marriages, and deaths. We had a wide range of reactions before we chose to focus on a couple of ideas from Donfred and Nuno: Legacy -- writing ourselves into the story.

We explored the "world of the book" through some Old Testament categories: Creation, Sin, Judgment, Redemption. Beautiful at its printing, it has become cracked and smudged from usage -- and that's a good thing, we decided. Its pages are a repository of keepsakes (petals, peacock plume, death certificate).

We connected variously through sources of Tradition, Culture, Action, and Position. What's more depressing than an estate sale or antique shop, we wondered, where all those precious photos are suddenly lumped together as trash, and other heirlooms are commercialized? The geneologies in the Bible and the mania for online geneology today -- why? "Let us now praise" with the famous those whose names are not remembered, says Ecclesiasticus: their contributions are still felt. Example of the niece in her 30s who has asked her family to make their Christmas gifts everyday objects that connect to their collective past.

We listed these insights:

• The book is a metaphor for this strong feeling, urge to preserve and continue forward the legacies of those before us.
• Seeking to maintain or rediscover the connection…
• Objects that belonged to someone are somehow connected to them… breaking or losing the objects is like losing them again
• Immortality / salvation? The names in the book – could be tracing the family separate from the rest of the community, but if we go further back, we see historical association and connection. Adding the names to the front of the book makes them part of this story… living in this story.

We used "chat" to collect lines of gratititude or petition for God, which made a prayer. Seeing these, Tom improvised a collect to "collect" all these thoughts:

PrayerThanking God my name was added, resolving that more be added, my prayer is to make more effort to make our children, nieces and nephews part of the continuing narrative, and that I may follow Jesus and his teachings, in the same manner of dignity and faith as my ancestors did before me.

Collect Almighty and everliving God, you are the source of all lasting connections, so connect us to you that we may also be connected to one another and those who have gone before and will come after, You who are eternally connected to Your Son our savior and to your Holy Spirit. Amen.

For Next Week
We're reading the assignments for Wk. 11 in the RRG. Donfred brings worship and a question to gather us at the start; Nuno will bring a source for the TR.

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Yr. C, Wks. 8 & 9: Naaman, Elisha, and a Little Serving Girl

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Worship and Gathering
Joyce led us in worship, with Psalm 121 as a lead-in to Prayers of the People, Form IV. Her gathering question was to share our go-to scripture or Bible story for times "when life goes crazy?" We cited the Song of Simeon, Ps. 121, Ps. 23, the dark scriptures in Job and Ecclesiastes, daily meditations (shoutout to Forward Day by Day), Exodus 14, and a gospel tune, "Sing to the Mountain."

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 2 Theological Reflection as a Life Skill: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred, Scott; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Nuno.

Discussion of the Readings

Pete set a theme of leadership that emerged from his breakout discussion with Donfred and Tom. “Moses was frustrated to tears!” So was God, Joyce reminded us, until Moses talked the Lord down from a reboot. Scott hopped in with the theory relayed by Collins that a strain of anti-priestly text mixes in Exodus with pro-priestly text, refecting the centuries-long conflict for leadership between local Levite priests and what became Temple priests when worship was centralized. Tom spoke of leadership “in the details” of constructing the ark, the tabernacle – God involved in the details of our lives, not far off. Pete spoke up for the long view – seeing God in the overarching narratives of our lives. Susan was amused to realize that Emperor Constantine constructed the Hagia Sophia to house remains of all 12 apostles with himself, to make his capital a world-wide tourist attraction.

Jessica challenged us to guess which one of the miracles of Jesus appears in all four gospels? We got it in two guesses: feeding the 5000. She enjoyed using the charts that Collins provides for synoptic comparisons. Marilyn enjoyed a quote from Y4, the crucifixion “tied the knot between the mission of Jesus and his person.”

Theological Reflection
Scott brought a source from our Tradition, II Kings 5.1-19, which we read together in English and in French, with some phrases in Russian. What stood out for us were, variously, Na'aman's self-importance, his expectations of what a miracle should look like, the "little serving girl" whose remark about the God of Israel sets off the whole story, and the contrast between her and the officers, two kings, and the great prophet in the rest of the story. We also enjoyed how Na'aman thinks it necessary to worship the God of Israel on the soil of Israel - so he loads two donkeys up with dirt.

We found ways to connect to the story. Jessica found in the Culture source an Oz connection, that what Dorothy needed was within reach throughout all her travels and brave deeds. From the sources of Tradition and Action (personal experience), Tradition: Jesus and the crucifixion not the Kingship that the Apostles expected… then it’s a sweet surprise ... I’ve been that little girl. Growing up, (Joyce) a lot was asked of me. “I want a percentage.” ... Our expectations of college: what I came away with was something more personal than what I got in class... Military school, like Na'aman's experience, was about being broken down and humbled. Expectations so inappropriate!

Among our insights and applications: People still fight over bits of earth... Obedience: when God says it, you do it... “Wait” – We build it up and we have an expectation – and in the end it doesn’t make sense... When it comes to a decision, think first… be patient … things don’t work right away, you have to listen to others... So important to acknowledge that we have to get over ourselves – pets help us to do that.

We postponed writing a collect, as we were maxed out on time. UPDATE Here's what I came up with, working with these elements of our discussion: leprosy, the voice of servants, from armor to the skin of little child, obedience to the unexpected order, waiting, not my will but thy will be done, carrying the soil of Israel back home with him to worship the true Lord…

Collect for ListeningLord of all nations, you speak to Na’aman through Kings and Prophets, but also through a young maid: We pray that we, too, may set aside the armor of our pride and listen with patience to your voice so that, being cleansed of anger and disdain, we may carry on our worship of you wherever we go. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Next Week
We do the readings assigned in the RRG for week 10. Scott will bring a Halloween-themed worship; Pete will bring a source for the TR.

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Yr. C, Wk. 7: Tensions and Journeys

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Worship and Gathering
Tom brought us prayers from the 1927 BCP, familiar to him from childhood. His question concerned a character or story of the Bible that we each identify with? Joseph and Elijah because they went down a hole and came up again; Peter who at first sought the easy way out; Paul who learned to be content with all circumstances; Sarah and the many women in Scripture who were described as barren; the story of feeding 5000; the stories of Jacob and of Abraham and Isaac; Joseph; Nehemiah a normal guy putting together a big production with help from friends and God.

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 1 Spiritual Biography and Listening: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings
A theme that emerged from our discussion was tension – between different perspectives on Biblical stories even among the writers of Scripture; between being a spectator and a participant; between approaches to the problem of evil, and between acknowledging the good that God can make from evil while retaining repugnance for the evil itself. Collins used a wonderful image for the many different ways that scholars, believers, and theologians have for approaching any passage of Scripture: different keys open different doors, so collect as many keys as you can.

Pete highlighted “idolatry” in Ford as the root of human evil, i.e. putting something besides God at the center of one’s life or society. Tom said that the Exodus is to the Old Testament what the Resurrection is to the New. (But what was manna? Donfred wants to know!)

Theological Reflection
Reflecting on the stories we've told about ourselves over the last several weeks, we each presented an image for our spiritual journey. Before any of us made any comments about our images, the rest of us explored those images (as we will do in Theological Reflections!). Here's a collage of the ones I have on file.

I'm sorry it did not occur to me to take screen shots of the other wonderful images. If you send me yours, I can add it to the collage.

For Next Week
Nuno will be out: thanks for the heads up! Homework: Skim the essay in the RRG Week 8 (first four pages at least) and then do the readings assigned for week 9. Joyce will lead worship and bring a gathering question for us. Scott will bring a source for our first TR.

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Yr. C, Wk. 6: Imperatives and Narratives

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Jacob wrestling: "relationship with God is not transactional or distant but as close to us as our own bodies"

Worship and Gathering
Susan brought "Compline for Tuesday 10/11/2023" from the Northumbrian Community. The gathering question required a little creative thinking: how something small had a big impact on our week? There were tiny horses, a microscopic virus, a little surgical snip to redirect a puppy's life, the little Brady Bunch pitcher that's a big reminder of growing up, a little rest that went a long way after a hectic work week, little seeds on a big lawn, a little child on a big horse (and he tried to eat it), and just a little visit to an aunt where two cousins filled in the gap of many years since they last saw each other.

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 1 Spiritual Biography and Listening: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings

After small groups of two or three met 20 minutes in breakout rooms, our discussion started a theme that carried throughout the rest of the discussion: relationship with God is not transactional or distant, but as close to us as our own bodies.

The relationship requires alertness to God, responsibility, and risk. These three elements showed up in the stories of the patriarchs read in Year One – think of Abraham’s leaving his home, or taking young Isaac for a sacrifice, or Jacob’s returning to face Esau. They also showed up in the Hebrew conception of economics and the world at the time of Jesus. MacCulloch shows how theology set boundaries in the context of historical human experience,.

Pete said of Christian ethics that so much hinged on the desire to do the right thing, knowing that what is desirable is not always responsible, and vice versa. Through all the angles on ethics, Marilyn saw the unavoidability of taking personal action. Tom saw the taking of personal action repeated in the lives of the Patriarchs, “so human, so struggling, so usable” (he cited poor Joseph in that dungeon, forgotten for years)… so alert to God and ready to take the consequence” … “Patriarchs aren’t exactly up on law”… morality based on their situation.

Near the end of the discussion, Nuno opened another angle. We typically hear that the Gnostics believed they had “secret knowledge,” but that was not what constitutes their heresy. (We discussed how we know what they believed, since so much of it was expunged from our sacred texts). The heresy was in their denial of this physical world and our physical bodies, a view that persists today. Christ in his humanity runs counter to that view.

Our discussion had brought us back to the beginning. Our relationship with God is both spiritual and physical. Episcopalians are especially willing to celebrate the physical world's delights that Gnostics deny. Tom paraphrased Psalms, “we are wondrously made.” Desire to use body and its abilities is GOOD, especially when used in response to GOD.

Theological Reflection
After the break, before Scott even had a chance to read out the question from the RRG p. 46 about any image we have for anxiety, Joyce provided that image in her takeaway from the stories of the patriarchs: they "walked in their fear" (and that's what we, too, have to do.)

Our stories about the roles of imperatives in our spiritual growth remain private; but the imperatives themselves are worth noting here: "Thou shalt not...!" Consistent worship. Pray for others (especially in times of illness). Wait (because, over time, what's essential seems to come in waves, or "snowballs"). Leave room for God to act. Stay part of a community. Always go to the funeral.

For Next Week
Tom will bring worship and a gathering question. We will follow instructions directed to our years and those "to all years" in week seven of the RRG (pp.48ff).

Instead of a new story, we're reflecting on the ones we've already told, to find an expression of our spiritual growth as an image -- in words, in paint, or in pixels. Pete led the way when he described his life as a succession of "waves" of growth. I'll ask that we each share our image and explain how it expresses our spiritual journey.

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Yr. C, Wk. 5: Questions that Spurred our Spiritual Growth

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Animals who bless us: Jessica's camel and Nuno's poodle Louis

Worship and Gathering
Jessica led us in worship, an olio of sources that hit the main targets for any worship service in our BCP --praise, confession, purpose, petitions, Trinity, benediction.

For a gathering question, Jessica asked about any blessing we experienced in the past week. Nothing fragile broke during the cross-country move...coordinating baptism and a wedding...family time at Calloway Gardens...just waking up each morning and coming home each evening...a normal week -- "Normal is good"...Father/daughter time with oysters...girls' weekend at a football game with Dad...little Tomas at the evening eucharist.

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 1 Spiritual Biography and Listening: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings
To be sure that everyone gets to share some of their reactions and questions, we met in breakout rooms for 20 minutes. Five minutes were for quiet review of markings in our texts for things that we most want to talk about. For fifteen minutes, we listened to each other's responses and questions.

When we returned to the plenary session, these were some of the ideas that stood out to us: How apocalyptic thinking can stifle the work for social justice, as true 1000 CE as 2000 and beyond. How odd that Paul says little about what Jesus taught, and that the resurrection itself isn’t described the way other key moments are. Tom grew up with the Deist “clockmaker” God, while Pete is learning to accept that “God is great, God is good” beyond what we can imagine. Marilyn expounded, “God as Trinity – identified through the people who worship – known for compassionate suffering. There’s always more, always springing surprises in history.” Donfred and Joyce were both struck by God’s softening of harsh punishments for Adam, Eve, and Cain – modeling for us. Nuno had assumed that Augustine's Confessions were about a bad boy, but they're mostly about his theological errors, Manicheanism (duality) chief among them. Nuno marveled that theological conclusions are worked out by worshipers in engagements with each other and culture… and how the Bible is a model for this!

I see a couple of common themes here: God’s engagement with us, and His intention that we engage with each other.

Theological Reflection
We shared stories about questions that opened our minds to spiritual growth. Without supporting details, questions included Does God care? How would I know? Why do such painful things happen? A couple of us gave answers: Learn to be comfortable with unanswered questions. Whatever God asks, say 'yes.'

For Next Week
Susan will lead worship. We're reading what's assigned to our year for Week Six in the RRG (pp.44ff). I recommend the exercise for all years on page 46, to come up with an image that, for you, speaks to the anxieties many of us feel. Let's take time to share your image on screen when we meet.

Nuno asked for our prayers during the next several days while he drives cross-country with two daughters.

Our personal stories this week will be 3-5 minutes about an imperative (commandment? rule? ritual? goal?) in our lives that we relate to our spiritual growth.

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Yr. C, Wk. 4: People and Events in our Spiritual Growth

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PHOTO:  Our EfM class made up half of the worshipers who attended the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels Friday at St. James: Tom, Susan, Nuno (with Elizabeth Gray and little Tomas), Scott behind the camera, with graduates Mariel and Jane. Seated right is Sue, mentor for the morning EfM class.

Worship and Gathering
Marilyn started worship with silence. Then we each read prayers she collected from sources ancient and contemporary. She asked when we had felt closer to someone in the past week? Several cited experiences from church at an evening eucharist, at an outreach meeting, and on the job as verger or usher. We heard of a car accidentally locked, a painting class, season seats for football, long-distance relationships maintained through communication and prayers, and a chance meeting of two families at a museum out of town.

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 1 Spiritual Biography and Listening: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings
Scott started with kudos from discussion last week for those who invited another who hadn't spoken, who said just one thing per turn, who related to another year's reading, who got beyond "I liked it," and who said, "It was hard, but I'll do better."

Jessica started us off by saying she was shocked to learn that homosexuality was considered to be a mental illness until quite recently. Marilyn picked up on the theme of past and present, movements passing like "waves" (Yee). Joyce had an "ah-HA" moment when she connected her own personal development to what the organization N.O.W. was doing during her childhood.

Susan brought up something from MacCulloch that informs all the other years' study: The scriptures that tell of the earliest times were probably written late, when elite Jews in the Babylonian captivity were trying to maintain their identity. The prophets probably were among the earliest texts.

Pete and Nuno commented how different sorts of institutions have different purposes for studying theology. Scholarly theology and worship SHOULD go hand in hand, Pete said, "as we do in EfM." Nuno was struck by Ford's putting religious "conservatives" and "liberals" together on a spectrum that ranges from a practical/social approach where they're relatively unconcerned with the religious tradition, to a very individual approach where they see their tradition as the whole unchanging truth. "Conservatives" and "liberals" are at both extremes rigid. Between the extremes, there's a variety of other approaches that both conservatives and liberals take.

Theological Reflection
After the break, we spent a few minutes on the "respond" question on page 40 of the Reading and Reflection Guide (RRG). We reflected on themes that emerged from listing our own favorite books and movies. Some of us responded to stories about "hidden" things, whether those were fantastic beings or the unsuspected evil beneath the surface events in noir films. Good characters vs. evil was preferred theme, so long as the characters are real, not just types. John Wayne was an examplar of good guy, complicated. We liked to see the pursuit of justice. One romantic comedy made our list: the story of a prince who comes to America to find a woman who won't know who he is.

We shared our stories of people and events who contributed to our spiritual growth.

For Next Week
Jessica will lead worship. We're reading what's assigned to our year for Week Five in the RRG (pp.41ff). Our personal stories this week will be 3-5 minutes about questions or a question that have contributed to our spiritual growth.

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