Daniel's Response
This may be too long and occasionally off-topic, but here it is anyhow:
As I was searching for commentary for these readings of the first Sunday of Lent in Year B I found that the common theme among them is the theme of baptism.
If one had to tie the readings together as a unified whole - the goal of the assignment, as I understand it - this would seem to be as theologically good a tie-in as any. Like most overriding themes, however, it necessarily suffers from the almost inherent thematic need to silence dissonance in favour of harmony. To be less rhetorical and more to the point, it appears to me that, while the New Testament readings involve baptism, this theme is entirely absent from the Old Testament readings (for obvious reasons); the idea of covenant, however, is present in the Old Testament readings. Historically, a great many Christian sects - my own Reformed tradition included - have equivocated these two ideas, and in that sense a valid reading exists from that foundation; in another sense, however, there are serious problems with this reading.
To play a quasi-deconstructionist for a moment, there are other themes within these passages that might encompass elements of each of the readings: the idea of overcoming suffering, the revelation of the way/desire/path of God, the proclaimation of God...
This being the first Sunday of Lent, we find that the purpose of Lent is to renew the vows of our baptismal covenant with God through Christ Jesus.
As an aside, I don't feel that any healthy covenant should need to be renewed annually... or that the Lent season of temporary sacrifice - the churches that I have been to that find Lent to be important have stressed a 40-day sacrifice of some sort - really does anything at all conducive to this...
This covenant in which is initiated by God (Gen. 9:9, 9:11, 9:12) is not only a covenant to a specific people (Sinai) but rather with all of creation (Gen. 9:15, 9:16, 9:17).
Or rather, to all flesh... or perhaps even better, to all flesh that withstood the deluge...
The floods have come and gone, whether in truth or the understanding, of a phenomenon, so what can we learn from them? We learn how God relates to the world.
Indeed we do... God relates to the world quite poorly. He must have an amazing PR department though; not many would be able to pull off a stunt like the flood and retain popularity.
The purpose in which God created the floods (Gen. 6:5-7) gave Him enough reason to “scrape off” what He didn’t like and keep what He did like. God wanted to renew creation.
And Hitler wanted to renew Europe... it's actually quite amazing how innocuous the imagery of the flood can remain until people start to emulate it... to be perfect, as their heavenly father is perfect...
...The third interpretation in which I find myself inclined to is that the water has saved Noah and his son’s from a world in which could have been ruled by evil.
I dunno... considering the flood phenomenon, is evil really all that bad? It makes one pause to wonder if it'd be worse to live in a world ruled by evil or a world ruled by God...
The water has wiped all that may have overcome Noah and his son’s if God would not have taken action.
Judging by Noah's drunken reaction to the flood, it doesn't seem like this is so.
In a sense Noah’s family has overcome the evil of the earth and remained victorious over evil only with the relationship of God.
Where, exactly, does a relationship with God factor into any of these passages? I've often heard relational terms being used in reference to God, but I've been hard pressed to find relational references in God's love letter to me.
In the same way Peter explains that baptism is not a physical cleansing but a conscientious renewal of creation through Christ alone.
The forest-fire effect, I assume, with reference to the flood...
As Christ has became victorious of the temptations faced (cleansed His conscience) He then is able to return to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God (Mark 1:14).
I'm not entirely sure I like this imagery... as though this victory necessarily involves some un-cleanliness...
We may find a sense of renewal in creation and we may also find a spiritual cleansing that renews our relationship with our Creator.
Our creator often is made to sound like some finnicky Victorian lady who constantly needs people to bathe before she'll see them.
...a deeper sense of Lent would be to allow the season of Lent to “Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
A popular psalm, though I tend to sing "Why Can't We Be Friends?" and "Get Together" whenever I read it. Again, perhaps somewhat off topic, but I'm not entirely sure I want to get much closer to God... from what I've experienced, God can be pretty... abyss-mal.
3/01/2006 03:12:20 AM
As I was searching for commentary for these readings of the first Sunday of Lent in Year B I found that the common theme among them is the theme of baptism.
If one had to tie the readings together as a unified whole - the goal of the assignment, as I understand it - this would seem to be as theologically good a tie-in as any. Like most overriding themes, however, it necessarily suffers from the almost inherent thematic need to silence dissonance in favour of harmony. To be less rhetorical and more to the point, it appears to me that, while the New Testament readings involve baptism, this theme is entirely absent from the Old Testament readings (for obvious reasons); the idea of covenant, however, is present in the Old Testament readings. Historically, a great many Christian sects - my own Reformed tradition included - have equivocated these two ideas, and in that sense a valid reading exists from that foundation; in another sense, however, there are serious problems with this reading.
To play a quasi-deconstructionist for a moment, there are other themes within these passages that might encompass elements of each of the readings: the idea of overcoming suffering, the revelation of the way/desire/path of God, the proclaimation of God...
This being the first Sunday of Lent, we find that the purpose of Lent is to renew the vows of our baptismal covenant with God through Christ Jesus.
As an aside, I don't feel that any healthy covenant should need to be renewed annually... or that the Lent season of temporary sacrifice - the churches that I have been to that find Lent to be important have stressed a 40-day sacrifice of some sort - really does anything at all conducive to this...
This covenant in which is initiated by God (Gen. 9:9, 9:11, 9:12) is not only a covenant to a specific people (Sinai) but rather with all of creation (Gen. 9:15, 9:16, 9:17).
Or rather, to all flesh... or perhaps even better, to all flesh that withstood the deluge...
The floods have come and gone, whether in truth or the understanding, of a phenomenon, so what can we learn from them? We learn how God relates to the world.
Indeed we do... God relates to the world quite poorly. He must have an amazing PR department though; not many would be able to pull off a stunt like the flood and retain popularity.
The purpose in which God created the floods (Gen. 6:5-7) gave Him enough reason to “scrape off” what He didn’t like and keep what He did like. God wanted to renew creation.
And Hitler wanted to renew Europe... it's actually quite amazing how innocuous the imagery of the flood can remain until people start to emulate it... to be perfect, as their heavenly father is perfect...
...The third interpretation in which I find myself inclined to is that the water has saved Noah and his son’s from a world in which could have been ruled by evil.
I dunno... considering the flood phenomenon, is evil really all that bad? It makes one pause to wonder if it'd be worse to live in a world ruled by evil or a world ruled by God...
The water has wiped all that may have overcome Noah and his son’s if God would not have taken action.
Judging by Noah's drunken reaction to the flood, it doesn't seem like this is so.
In a sense Noah’s family has overcome the evil of the earth and remained victorious over evil only with the relationship of God.
Where, exactly, does a relationship with God factor into any of these passages? I've often heard relational terms being used in reference to God, but I've been hard pressed to find relational references in God's love letter to me.
In the same way Peter explains that baptism is not a physical cleansing but a conscientious renewal of creation through Christ alone.
The forest-fire effect, I assume, with reference to the flood...
As Christ has became victorious of the temptations faced (cleansed His conscience) He then is able to return to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God (Mark 1:14).
I'm not entirely sure I like this imagery... as though this victory necessarily involves some un-cleanliness...
We may find a sense of renewal in creation and we may also find a spiritual cleansing that renews our relationship with our Creator.
Our creator often is made to sound like some finnicky Victorian lady who constantly needs people to bathe before she'll see them.
...a deeper sense of Lent would be to allow the season of Lent to “Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
A popular psalm, though I tend to sing "Why Can't We Be Friends?" and "Get Together" whenever I read it. Again, perhaps somewhat off topic, but I'm not entirely sure I want to get much closer to God... from what I've experienced, God can be pretty... abyss-mal.
3/01/2006 03:12:20 AM
posted by Stephen Martin at 7:17 AM
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