| Sorry for the miss yesterday. I am slow at learning a new system for distribution. We are back to Walter Brueggemann in "Texts that Linger, Words That Explode." There can be little doubt that Egypt was a constant pressure upon the community of Israel all through the biblical period. That geohistorical reality, however, is transformed in the Old Testament so that Egypt is not simply one of several such impinging powers. Rather, Egypt takes on paradigmatic significance in the imagination of Israel. Thus Egypt is portrayed as the quintessential oppressive power, and Pharaoh is rendered as a representative rival to the authority of Yahweh. Thus the socioeconomic reality of Egypt takes on mythic proportion. I have to stop and comment here. It occurred to me that this can really shed some light on what is going on in Israel/Palestine today. For the Palestinians, Israel has become an Egypt. In the life of Palestinians, Israel is this oppressive power that humiliates and defeats and rules unjustly and treats the Palestinians as "nothing at all." Having said that, in the imagination of Palestinians, there are now stories that are (and have been) entering into the heart of the people that will be passed on from generation to generation so that the action of the Israeli "empire" will stay fresh in the minds and hearts of the people. For Palestinians, there is not a unity of story telling from a faith perspective for Palestinians are Christians and Muslims (and others). Therefore the story telling does not have a common way to retell this mythic divide and battle. Connection: Sometimes, it is so easy to look back at the days of old and remember the mythic stories. It is much harder to open our eyes now and tell the stories so that the oppressiveness of today can be isolated and observed and become a part of the formation of communities today. Lord of All, when liberation comes, may it come to all. Let the stories of your power be stories that bring life to all people so that no longer will one group of people attempt to use your power and covenant to create new empires that do not reflect your glory - a glory into which you call us all. Amen. |
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