Question: Should we stand by and do nothing as corrupt people/ systems take advantage of weaker people? Or should we conform to this system that we believe is unjust?
Answer:
Do not conform to a system that you believe is unjust. Never lose sight of your humanity; if a person/ system takes advantage of weaker people, do not stand by and idle. Say what you know to be right, but do not stand alone. Get other people who believe what you believe to help you. The bond that God values most is between people and other people, not between people and systems.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Parable Draft #1
Many times, the socio-economic aspect of life in the Bible times are ignored because it makes people uncomfortable.[1] By questioning the canon of the Bible, they themselves question their own religious integrity. Because many interpreters are of upper or middle class backgrounds, they feel uncomfortable when faced with the dilemma of what to interpret when Jesus openly antagonizes the rich and powerful (much of what was not antagonization, but the actual truth).[2] But many times these interpreters commit the fallacy of relating God to the tax-collectors, or client-king, or whoever does the economic exploiting at the time.[3]
The socio-economic aspect plays a major role in the Parable of the Talents. In it, a man (presumably wealthy, as he has many servants) goes on a long journey. This also hints at his power because back at those times, nobody traveled a long distance unless it was of huge importance. He probably either went to attain client-kingship, or simply pursue his household’s interests abroad (another note of his mass amount of power).[4] He obviously was wealthy enough to have a hierarchy in his own household, as “each according to his ability” could very well actually mean “each according to his rank”.[5] He assigned his wealth proportionately to his servants, whom he trusted. A talent is much too large an amount of money to leave in the hands of untrustworthy people: obviously, the master was not testing his servants.[6]
While the first two higher ranking servants went to increase their talents, the third servant buried his one talent. Why did he do this? Because in ancient Israel, if money was buried upon receipt, the receiver was not liable if it was stolen.[7] Burying money was an acceptable way of protecting it. The third servant acted extremely cautious, though not necessarily to protect his master’s investment. He buried it because he feared his master’s wrath had it been stolen, because he believed his master to be unfair and severe.[8] The servant acted to protect himself from the master, who he believed would not punish him for acting cautiously.
At the end of the parable, the third servant is humiliated by his master. No doubt his perception of his master’s unfairness was correct. Also the first two servants went and made money, setting the bar for which the third servant would be judged; the master was indeed unfair.[9] When the third servant tells his master that he believes that “you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed”. He basically tells his master that he did not want to work for him anymore, and to shove it. The master, the third servant conveys, takes what is not his. His master, being a wealthy man, no doubt used his power to exploit others for personal gain.[10] The third servant wants none of this, and blatantly tells his master so. His burial of the money tells us that he assumes no responsibility whatsoever for the master’s “blood money”, and that he also fears for his own life. The third servant tried to take the most prudent route available to rebel against his master.
[1] Norman K. Gottwald, Social Class as an Analytic and Hermeneutical Category in Biblical Studies (Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 112, Spring 1993), 3-22
[2] Gottwald, Social Class as an Analytic and Hermeneutical Category in Biblical Studies, 4
[3] Ibid, 21
[4] Walter Herzog, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994) 154-168
[5] Walter Herzog, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed, 158
[6] Ibid, 159
[7] E. Carson Brisson, Matthew 14-30, (Between Text and Sermon, July 2002) 1-4
[8] E. Carson Brisson, Matthew 14-30, 3
[9] Ibid, 3
[10] Walter Herzog, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed, 163
The socio-economic aspect plays a major role in the Parable of the Talents. In it, a man (presumably wealthy, as he has many servants) goes on a long journey. This also hints at his power because back at those times, nobody traveled a long distance unless it was of huge importance. He probably either went to attain client-kingship, or simply pursue his household’s interests abroad (another note of his mass amount of power).[4] He obviously was wealthy enough to have a hierarchy in his own household, as “each according to his ability” could very well actually mean “each according to his rank”.[5] He assigned his wealth proportionately to his servants, whom he trusted. A talent is much too large an amount of money to leave in the hands of untrustworthy people: obviously, the master was not testing his servants.[6]
While the first two higher ranking servants went to increase their talents, the third servant buried his one talent. Why did he do this? Because in ancient Israel, if money was buried upon receipt, the receiver was not liable if it was stolen.[7] Burying money was an acceptable way of protecting it. The third servant acted extremely cautious, though not necessarily to protect his master’s investment. He buried it because he feared his master’s wrath had it been stolen, because he believed his master to be unfair and severe.[8] The servant acted to protect himself from the master, who he believed would not punish him for acting cautiously.
At the end of the parable, the third servant is humiliated by his master. No doubt his perception of his master’s unfairness was correct. Also the first two servants went and made money, setting the bar for which the third servant would be judged; the master was indeed unfair.[9] When the third servant tells his master that he believes that “you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed”. He basically tells his master that he did not want to work for him anymore, and to shove it. The master, the third servant conveys, takes what is not his. His master, being a wealthy man, no doubt used his power to exploit others for personal gain.[10] The third servant wants none of this, and blatantly tells his master so. His burial of the money tells us that he assumes no responsibility whatsoever for the master’s “blood money”, and that he also fears for his own life. The third servant tried to take the most prudent route available to rebel against his master.
[1] Norman K. Gottwald, Social Class as an Analytic and Hermeneutical Category in Biblical Studies (Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 112, Spring 1993), 3-22
[2] Gottwald, Social Class as an Analytic and Hermeneutical Category in Biblical Studies, 4
[3] Ibid, 21
[4] Walter Herzog, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994) 154-168
[5] Walter Herzog, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed, 158
[6] Ibid, 159
[7] E. Carson Brisson, Matthew 14-30, (Between Text and Sermon, July 2002) 1-4
[8] E. Carson Brisson, Matthew 14-30, 3
[9] Ibid, 3
[10] Walter Herzog, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed, 163
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Parable Documentation
1. Read the parable. Then re-read, paying attention to every detail/word. Get facts, summarize story.
In the parable of the talents, a man (presumably a wealthy man) leaves on a long journey. Before he leaves, he summons his three servants. The man gives one of them five talents, the other two, and the last servant one talent. The first servant immediately goes and makes another five talents with his original talents. The second servant does likewise and doubles his amount of talents, finishing with four. The third servant (who received one) goes and buries his talent in the ground. Upon the master's return, he is pleased with his first two servants' doings and promises them bigger responsibilities in the future. When he talks to the third servant, the third servant tells him that he knew that the master was demanding, and "reap what he has not sown", and he was fearful, so he did not do anything with the money. The master is outraged and calls the servant lazy and slothful, and gives his talent to the first servant, and casts him out.
2. Put into context based on what you know about ancient Israel.
The master left on a long journey, so evidently it was a trip of significance. He left his talents in the hands of his servants. A talent is too large a sum of money to be leaving in the hands of untrustworthy people, so the master must have trusted all the servants greatly; apparently he was not testing them. When it says that the master gave the talents according to ability, it may have been according to rank in the elite household hierarchy. The first two servants used their talents to gain more talents, evidence that they may have exploited other people on their way to attain what they got. The third servant buried his master's money in the ground. Back in ancient Israel, if a man buried money upon receiving it, he was not responsible for it if it was stolen. The thrid servants' words to his master suggest that his master is a powerful man that exploites those around him for personal gain. The servants' words had little effect because of his lower ranking among the hierarchy, and they were discarded along with him.
3. Determine who the audience is and why Jesus would tell this specific parable to this specific audience at this specific time.
Jesus was explaining the idea of the Kingdom of God, specifically judgement day, to his audience outside a temple in Jerusalem. His audience was probably economically diverse, as he was in Jerusalem, and he was close to a temple. Jesus probably told this because he witnessed injustices handed down by leaders and pharisees, who he criticized earlier. He criticized them, and then he came up with a parable to express his discontent with their exploitive actions. The parable itself has passive resistance in it, and it condemns aggressive resistance. Those who resist aggresively will be discarded, Jesus says. He may be discreetly telling the peasants to passively resist the injustices of the elite at that time, because if they told it how it was, they would be thrown out.
4. Determine which character is essential to the story. Analyze his actions, why he did them. Also analyze his background.
The third servant, the one who receives one talent from his master, is the essential character to the story. By burying his master's money, he was showing that he was not responsible for it, which was obtained through exploiting the poorer, weaker class. He does not want to take responsibility for his master's "blood money", but he is also cautious; by burying it, he is absolved from liability if it is stolen. He does not want to be held responsible for anything. Because the third servant is given only one talent, it can be assumed that he is the lowest ranking of the servants. His master trusted him the least, and his servant showed him why by telling him to shove it.
5. Find the purpose of the parable/ what it is trying to convey to the audience.
The purpose of the parable is to teach the audience about morality. If one thinks that something is wrong, then one should intervene and stop it. Do not just do what everyone else is doing; stand up for what you believe in. But you do not have to do it directly; the third servant passively rebelled by not doing anything with his master's money. But when the servant told the master what he thought was wrong with him, he was discarded. Jesus is trying to tell his audience that they can passively resist elitist rule without violence because when a lower class person tells the truth of injustice, he is just discarded.
6. Capture the essence/moral lesson/ how this relates to the Kingdom of God.
Again, the moral lesson being brought up by Jesus is to stand up for what you believe in. Do not go with the flow. If you know something is wrong, then do something about it. do not just sit idle and go along with everyone else. When people exploit other people who are weak and powerless, it is time to step in just as the third servant did.
7. Apply to a current event.
In the parable of the talents, a man (presumably a wealthy man) leaves on a long journey. Before he leaves, he summons his three servants. The man gives one of them five talents, the other two, and the last servant one talent. The first servant immediately goes and makes another five talents with his original talents. The second servant does likewise and doubles his amount of talents, finishing with four. The third servant (who received one) goes and buries his talent in the ground. Upon the master's return, he is pleased with his first two servants' doings and promises them bigger responsibilities in the future. When he talks to the third servant, the third servant tells him that he knew that the master was demanding, and "reap what he has not sown", and he was fearful, so he did not do anything with the money. The master is outraged and calls the servant lazy and slothful, and gives his talent to the first servant, and casts him out.
2. Put into context based on what you know about ancient Israel.
The master left on a long journey, so evidently it was a trip of significance. He left his talents in the hands of his servants. A talent is too large a sum of money to be leaving in the hands of untrustworthy people, so the master must have trusted all the servants greatly; apparently he was not testing them. When it says that the master gave the talents according to ability, it may have been according to rank in the elite household hierarchy. The first two servants used their talents to gain more talents, evidence that they may have exploited other people on their way to attain what they got. The third servant buried his master's money in the ground. Back in ancient Israel, if a man buried money upon receiving it, he was not responsible for it if it was stolen. The thrid servants' words to his master suggest that his master is a powerful man that exploites those around him for personal gain. The servants' words had little effect because of his lower ranking among the hierarchy, and they were discarded along with him.
3. Determine who the audience is and why Jesus would tell this specific parable to this specific audience at this specific time.
Jesus was explaining the idea of the Kingdom of God, specifically judgement day, to his audience outside a temple in Jerusalem. His audience was probably economically diverse, as he was in Jerusalem, and he was close to a temple. Jesus probably told this because he witnessed injustices handed down by leaders and pharisees, who he criticized earlier. He criticized them, and then he came up with a parable to express his discontent with their exploitive actions. The parable itself has passive resistance in it, and it condemns aggressive resistance. Those who resist aggresively will be discarded, Jesus says. He may be discreetly telling the peasants to passively resist the injustices of the elite at that time, because if they told it how it was, they would be thrown out.
4. Determine which character is essential to the story. Analyze his actions, why he did them. Also analyze his background.
The third servant, the one who receives one talent from his master, is the essential character to the story. By burying his master's money, he was showing that he was not responsible for it, which was obtained through exploiting the poorer, weaker class. He does not want to take responsibility for his master's "blood money", but he is also cautious; by burying it, he is absolved from liability if it is stolen. He does not want to be held responsible for anything. Because the third servant is given only one talent, it can be assumed that he is the lowest ranking of the servants. His master trusted him the least, and his servant showed him why by telling him to shove it.
5. Find the purpose of the parable/ what it is trying to convey to the audience.
The purpose of the parable is to teach the audience about morality. If one thinks that something is wrong, then one should intervene and stop it. Do not just do what everyone else is doing; stand up for what you believe in. But you do not have to do it directly; the third servant passively rebelled by not doing anything with his master's money. But when the servant told the master what he thought was wrong with him, he was discarded. Jesus is trying to tell his audience that they can passively resist elitist rule without violence because when a lower class person tells the truth of injustice, he is just discarded.
6. Capture the essence/moral lesson/ how this relates to the Kingdom of God.
Again, the moral lesson being brought up by Jesus is to stand up for what you believe in. Do not go with the flow. If you know something is wrong, then do something about it. do not just sit idle and go along with everyone else. When people exploit other people who are weak and powerless, it is time to step in just as the third servant did.
7. Apply to a current event.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Herzog
Herzog brings up the fallacy of saintliness in the Parable of the Talents. He asks, if the man leaving for the journey is like God, then why does the third servant describe him as demanding and oppurtunistic? The thrid servant says that the master collects what he does not own. Herzog also uses the Lukan version of the parable to help out. The servants may not have been given the talents according to ability, but according to rank. After describing the hierarchy of the elite household, Herzog goes into the economic and social standing of the parable time period. He says that the owner went to attain client-kingship from the ruler. The man leaving on the journey went far away, giving the hint that is a journey of significance. Also, one talent is too much money to leave in the hands of untrustworthy people, so the master must have trusted all of his servants a lot. Obviously, he was not testing his servants. The servants all do stuff with their money. The first and second both double their amounts, while the third buries his in the ground. The servants must have done this to get in the master's good graces when he returned, because they were not allowed to keep any of it. They used it to exploit people to gain more wealth, as their master had done in the past. The first two servants were given bigger responsibilities upon the master's return. The third servant defies the master and tells him what he really thinks of him. He says that the master exploits others for his own gain. The servant's words were so true that he was humiliated in front of everybody, and his words had no effect. The master was quick to label him lazy and takes away his talent. This was the price that the servant paid for telling the truth.
The sociology in Bible times has been largely ignored because it poses a threat to religious integrity. People are also reluctant to point out flaws in the Bible as they do not want to lineate and point out the huge gap between the rich and the poor, causing structural divisions. Social classes exist when one group takes advantage of surplus labor from other groups. There exists two divisions: the exploiters and the exploitees. The vast majority of the people at Bible times were the exploitees, exploited by the powerful exploitive elite few. At Bible times, the idea of a good kingdom was one full of peace and production of revenue. People are reluctant to point out flaws in social classes because they are afraid of being made to feel guilty. When people misinterpret parables, they compare God to the wealthy exploiters.
The sociology in Bible times has been largely ignored because it poses a threat to religious integrity. People are also reluctant to point out flaws in the Bible as they do not want to lineate and point out the huge gap between the rich and the poor, causing structural divisions. Social classes exist when one group takes advantage of surplus labor from other groups. There exists two divisions: the exploiters and the exploitees. The vast majority of the people at Bible times were the exploitees, exploited by the powerful exploitive elite few. At Bible times, the idea of a good kingdom was one full of peace and production of revenue. People are reluctant to point out flaws in social classes because they are afraid of being made to feel guilty. When people misinterpret parables, they compare God to the wealthy exploiters.
Research
Brisson, E. Carson. "Matthew 25:14-30. (Between Text and Sermon)." Interpretation 56.3 (July 2002): 307(4). General OneFile. Gale. St Marys High School (BAISL). 12 Nov. 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Final Reading Strategy
1. Read the parable. Then re-read, paying attention to every detail/word. Get facts, smmarize story.
2. Put into context based on what you know about ancient Israel.
3. Determine who the audience is and why Jesus would tell this specific parable to this specific audience at this specific time.
4. Determine which character is essential to the story. Analyze his actions, why he did them. Also analyze his background.
5. Find the purpose of the parable/ what it is trying to convey to the audience.
6. Capture the essence/moral lesson/ how this relates to the Kingdom of God.
7. Apply to a current event.
2. Put into context based on what you know about ancient Israel.
3. Determine who the audience is and why Jesus would tell this specific parable to this specific audience at this specific time.
4. Determine which character is essential to the story. Analyze his actions, why he did them. Also analyze his background.
5. Find the purpose of the parable/ what it is trying to convey to the audience.
6. Capture the essence/moral lesson/ how this relates to the Kingdom of God.
7. Apply to a current event.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Interpretation Methodology
1. Read the story. Read it carefully, paying attention to every word and detail.
2. Find what the parable addresses. Determine what issue Jesus is trying to confront. Use any knowledge you have about ancient Israel, combined with the details expressed in the story to put it into context.
3. Find out who the audience of the parable is. Ask yourself why Jesus would tell this parable to this particular audience, and whay he tells this specific story to them.
4. Decide who the main character is in the parable. Find out who or what he/it represents based on what you know already. Make sure that the character changes throughout the course of the story.
5. Determine if Jesus is criticizing the character's behavior or promoting it. Ask yourself why Jesus is doing this, and why he expresses his beliefs mainly through this character.
6. Placing the story into context, ask questions regarding every character's behavior. Determine why the characters act the way they do.
7. Finally, based on what you found out about the parable using the above steps, determine the purpose of the parable, and what it has to do with the Kingdom of God.
2. Find what the parable addresses. Determine what issue Jesus is trying to confront. Use any knowledge you have about ancient Israel, combined with the details expressed in the story to put it into context.
3. Find out who the audience of the parable is. Ask yourself why Jesus would tell this parable to this particular audience, and whay he tells this specific story to them.
4. Decide who the main character is in the parable. Find out who or what he/it represents based on what you know already. Make sure that the character changes throughout the course of the story.
5. Determine if Jesus is criticizing the character's behavior or promoting it. Ask yourself why Jesus is doing this, and why he expresses his beliefs mainly through this character.
6. Placing the story into context, ask questions regarding every character's behavior. Determine why the characters act the way they do.
7. Finally, based on what you found out about the parable using the above steps, determine the purpose of the parable, and what it has to do with the Kingdom of God.
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