Brueggemann writes that the prophetic rhetoric against the Israelite dynasty and power elite (9th century) was the same rhetoric turned against on the empire of Babylon (6th century) - both had a sense of war and destruction. But things changed with the introduction of Persian rule. The Persian Empire displaced the Babylonian Empire in short order and brought what may have been a new stance to imperial practice, even thought the Persian Empire was still an empire and still acted like one. The different posture of Old Testament texts toward Babylon and toward Persian could hardly be more pronounced, even if the empires were in fact not that different. The dismissive polemics against Babylon have already been noted. Remarkably there are no such explicit polemics against Persian rule in the Old Testament, not one....Cyrus is reported to have permitted the deported Jews to return home (2 Chronicles 36:22-23). The Persians, moreover, were committed to funding the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple. At the same time, these policies were especially favorable to an elite local leadership of Jews who knew how to curry the favor of the imperial government and how to take advantage of new policies for their own advancement. It is the case, moreover, that the formation of the textual tradition in the sixth century was likely the work of those who were most closely allied with imperial power and had the most to gain from it. I must say that as I read this I kept thinking about the tax-exempt status given to religious institutions in the U.S. Here we have empire being empire - and yet, giving something to the church as a way of winning over allegiance or shared responsibility in the work of empire. It gives religious institutions some great benefits. It also ties those same faithful people into a dual allegiance that cannot always be separated when it needs to be. We are more unlikely to speak prophetically to the empire and to ourselves within empire when we are handed such a nice benefit for working within the bounds of the empire's rule. We can still raise a prophetic voice - but the shape of what is said must be in within a pattern that will go along with the system. Could this be a part of the accommodation that must take place for faithful people to remain as aliens and yet fit in enough that we are not eliminated? I wonder. It was the sturdy and strident faithful Jews who help see their people through this period of Persian rule. More and more, Judaism took shape as a culture in contrast to the empire - still within it but also apart from it. Connection: It is not easy to be alien and citizen within the same place. And yet, we must know where the lines are and when we are staying within them and when we step beyond them - and why. Blessed are you, O God, who gives us life that reflects your image. Show us how to be the light that is the reflection of your image in our day - and then - inspire us to live as that light. Amen. |
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