Biblical Theology 2005

Dan,

This is a good idea. We talked briefly in class yesterday about how the time to develop a theology of death with your congregation is not in the wake of a tragedy, but on a bright, sunny, summer afternoon when everything is hunky-dory. That's when people can concentrate on stuff like the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. If they can concentrate on it, and it is talked about enough in a clear, pastoral, and educational manner, it might begin to sink in. Then, when something inevitable does happen, they have that in their background to inform their reaction and their grief. This same method works for most every other topic we're covering too. The last thing we want to hear when we're down in the dumps over something is, "Give it to Jesus. Jesus will carry your load." "Yeah, well, if Jesus will carry my load how come my back still hurts?" It's not the time to develop a theology of suffering or angst, but rather, when we're feeling at the top of game is when we need to think about that kinda stuff. Anyway, just a few thoughts. I'd love to hear more about your conference!

-R

I have heard something similar to what Dan expressed many times. "Oh, God needed a little flower in his garden, so he called your baby to heaven" or "I have cancer (or some other disease) because I did such and such a thing." I have a real problem with a theology that says that God punishes sins by afflicting people with calamities, misery, and sickness. I can see where the idea comes from. "Obey and live." Or, "disobey and die." I just have a hard time reconciling that with God who is Love and who sent his Son to become incarnate for us to free us from sin and give us life to its fullest. "I have called you by name? I love you? Now I'm going to make you suffer for all the times you didn't do the right thing?" Where does that fit with God's steadfast love, compassion, and mercy?

Gutierrez points out in the assigned reading that suffering is not God's "ideal" for us (136). I don't believe, as someone once told me, that we are born to suffer all our lives and then die. I will agree that suffering is a part of every human life. But, it is a part for which we cannot give a very good explanation, and for which the questions we ask are not resolved by Scripture. Answering the question by saying that suffering is a punishment for our sins or is a test of faith doesn't fit well for me. Unfortunately, our readings and my search through Scripture have't given me any better answer. For now, I will just have to be satisfied with knowing that, when those things that cause suffering come around, I am not alone in my adversity. As the psalmist says, God is strength, shield, rock, protector, deliverer, and comforter.

Christian Formation of Children spoke to this last night. The professor was talking about preaching as a form of Adult Formation and how our delivery of a sermon can lead people into a relationship with scripture, if we allow it to. I was captivated by the focusing of the lens on this point: one of the things people struggle with in their relationship with God is not having a relationship with scripture. I think many people, myself included, have a relationship with scripture where it seems we have come in in the middle of the story and don't really have a grasp of the whole BIG PICTURE. Part of my call is to move away from the use of scripture as a tool for teaching only moral imperatives (Do this and don't do that) and into a dramatic engagement with God's living story which is given to us.