Prophetic imagining
Wednesday
A long day today which culminated with a public lecture in the chapel at St Kentigens. Prof Bruggermann does a great lecture and I think we are all finding his approach accessible, somewhat surprising for an Old Testament specialist.
We are, of course, running behind time, only beginning Jeremiah towards the end of the day when we should have started this morning with the weeping prophet. However, we are enjoying spirited discussions and there are a variety of practical applications which will impact on the way I think about ministry. One of the many interesting things he said today was that he felt it was too dangerous to be a prophet in the US today. His portrayal of the prophetic task was to articulate the huge gap between what is publicly accepted as political and economic reality and God’s reality. For example, many Americans seem to assume that God is on their side. But what if he isn’t? Try saying that in an American context and watch the sparks fly! But Prof Bruggerman said one of the inspirations he gained from Jeremiah was that the task of scribe was also important and he felt he could manage that. So the challenge for us could be to just spend more time in the text. Doesn’t matter if we don’t understand bits, it’s poetry, you’re not supposed to get it the first time through. But the images are important.
So, when was the last time you read through Jeremiah? Or Isaiah? Or Ezekiel for that matter? Big hint – don’t try to do it all in one go, Jeremiah’s the longest book in the Bible!
So I’m off to do my homework now, having had a swim, a shower and dinner. It’s all good.
A long day today which culminated with a public lecture in the chapel at St Kentigens. Prof Bruggermann does a great lecture and I think we are all finding his approach accessible, somewhat surprising for an Old Testament specialist.
We are, of course, running behind time, only beginning Jeremiah towards the end of the day when we should have started this morning with the weeping prophet. However, we are enjoying spirited discussions and there are a variety of practical applications which will impact on the way I think about ministry. One of the many interesting things he said today was that he felt it was too dangerous to be a prophet in the US today. His portrayal of the prophetic task was to articulate the huge gap between what is publicly accepted as political and economic reality and God’s reality. For example, many Americans seem to assume that God is on their side. But what if he isn’t? Try saying that in an American context and watch the sparks fly! But Prof Bruggerman said one of the inspirations he gained from Jeremiah was that the task of scribe was also important and he felt he could manage that. So the challenge for us could be to just spend more time in the text. Doesn’t matter if we don’t understand bits, it’s poetry, you’re not supposed to get it the first time through. But the images are important.
So, when was the last time you read through Jeremiah? Or Isaiah? Or Ezekiel for that matter? Big hint – don’t try to do it all in one go, Jeremiah’s the longest book in the Bible!
So I’m off to do my homework now, having had a swim, a shower and dinner. It’s all good.
posted by Unknown at 7:34 PM
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