Today we will begin some time looking at the influence Babylon had on the shaping of the distinctive community of Israel while it is in exile in Babylon. For some, this way of looking at how scripture came to be will be new - to others not so new. And yet, Brueggemann always makes it something that we can bring into this day. Because the exiles are now displaced from their homeland and from all its sustaining institutional markers, the power of Babylonian culture to assimilate and the capacity of the Babylonian economy to substitute satiation for a faith identity are indeed an intense threat. The intensity of the threat in turn evokes the most intentional efforts at community maintenance. This exile take place when the temple and the city of Jerusalem have been devastated. The people are taken from their homeland and that means that all of the order within their lives is gone. Not only have they been defeated by the Babylonian army, this ancient religious thinking also notes that the gods of the Babylonians have whipped the God of Israel. Not the best conditions for raising up a faithful family or community. Under a cloud of defeat, disgrace, and alienation we have a people who will now work to make a way to sustain themselves. We must remember that this is what people of every faith must do in every age. How do we sustain and build up the character of who we are within the storytelling of our tradition? I have always found this period of the history of Israel to be a powerful one for them but also for we who call ourselves followers of Jesus. There must be a way to nurture the life of a contrary community. This is our task. This is our hope. Connection: I find that I am often a reflection of the society around me. It is then that I need to hear another voice - I need a prophet calling out to me. I need a contrary rule to follow that will be my guide as I attempt to resist what is. Lord of the Homeless and Defeated in every age, you are always close and ready to be our guide and our rock. We are in need of the simple ability to look around and see you at our side. It is then that we will be encouraged and look at the day with a sense of hopefulness. Be present, O God. Amen. |
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