Proposed Chapel Texts, 2003-2004
Deep Calls to Deep: The Quest for God in the Psalms
| September 1-5 |
"What is Wisdom?" Psalm 1
Goal: to explore the connection between wisdom and piety Note: The Psalter opens with a wisdom psalm, which seems to be a deliberate effort on the part of the book's final editors to frame the work as a wisdom book. That is, the placement of the psalm here grounds human wisdom in the quest for God. |
| September 8-12 |
"Whom God Mocks" Psalm 2 Goal: to contemplate God's commitment to justice and the protection of the innocent Note: Psalm 2 reflects the royal ideals of the Jerusalem court, but it explicates a serious theological point, i.e., God's protection of the innocent against the oppression of the geopolitical power system. |
| September 15-19 |
"The Sweet Hymn of Creation" Psalm 8 Goal: to understand all the cosmos as God's creation with a telos and thus call humans to act responsibly regarding the cosmos Note: The psalm, like other wisdom texts, sees piety as a feature of all beings, not just humans. A creation or environmental ethic can be grounded in part in the psalm. |
| September 22-26 |
"Do Quarks Speak? Creation Points to God" Psalm 19 Goal: to continue the discussion of the previous week Note: This would be a good opportunity to bring in faculty from one of the sciences to talk about the complexity of affirming divine interaction with the cosmos. |
| September 29-October 3 |
"When God is Absent" Psalm 22
Goal: to legitimize lament as a form of Christian worship and introduce the lament series of the month Note: Like other laments, this one moves from despair to trust to despair to praise. The preacher should avoid connecting this too early to Christ's use of it on the cross and should read it as the lament of Everyperson. |
| October 6-10 |
"When Grace is Overdue" Psalm 102:1-17 Goal: to recognize the depth of despair that comes even to people of faith Note: This psalm provides an opportunity to explore spiritual dimensions of despair and acknowledge the reality and indeed legitimacy of such feelings. |
| October 13-17 |
"Crying Out of the Depths" Psalm 130 Goal: to explore what it means to wait and hope when life seems hopeless on account of sin and failure. Note: A dimension of lament is the realization of personal failure that nevertheless does not explain the full extent of the sinner's misery. |
| October 20-23 |
"Working Wonders for the Dead" Psalm 88
Goal: To identify moments of utter despair and find within them grounds for hope. Note: The psalm is a tremendous challenge for the preacher because, unlike most laments, it offers little ground for hope, except that the mere fact of its existence demonstrates the biblical tradition's ability to question God with utter frankness. This frankness is also the greatest opportunity for the preacher. |
| October 27-31 |
"Wash Me clean!" Psalm 51
Goal: To move past Psalm 88 to a kind of preliminary resolution of lament Note: One should avoid reading this as part of Davidic psychology. It is a more general lament that nicely balances concern with personal sin with larger communal or even human concerns. Note 2: This week precedes All Saints' Day (November 1) and could be tied into that day's celebration of the universal church somehow. |
| November 3-7 |
"The God Who Remembers" Psalm 105 Goal: To remind us of the depth of the story of God's saving work Note: The psalm, like 78 and 135, recites God's saving acts (especially in the Exodus). Following All Saints' Day, this text can elicit memories of past interventions of God. |
| November 10-14 |
"Treasuring God's Word" Psalm 119, esp. vv. 9-16
Goal: To connect wise living with a knowledge of and appreciation for Scripture Note: This, the longest psalm of all and an acrostic, explores the nature of wisdom and its connection to Torah. The psalm is relatively late, coming from a postexilic period in which Scripture has begun to influence Israelite religion profoundly. |
| November 17-21 |
"En Route to God" Psalm 122 Goal: To cultivate a sense of the Christian life as pilgrimage. Note: Part of the pilgrimage Psalms of Ascent, Ps. 122 calls the pilgrims to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, a city that had previously been sacked. Treatment of this psalm must capture the tension of being peace-seekers. |
| November 24-25 |
"Waiting for God" Psalm 130 Goal: To acknowledge the place of waiting in the life of faith Note: The psalm, again part of the Psalms of Ascent, reflects the longing of a pilgrim to Jerusalem for the encounter with God. As such, the psalm is appropriate for the season leading to Advent. |
| December 1-5 |
"The Generation that Praises" Psalm 145:1-7 Goal: To call students to praise and create an environment of praise Note: The psalm starts the coda of the Psalter, which frames all its texts within the contexts of praise. That is, even laments and recitations are simply species in the genus "praise." |
Notes to Psalms Semester
- The shape of the Psalter to some degree shapes the course. The Psalter opens with various hymns of praise and wisdom texts but soon moves into lament. The density of lament diminishes later in the collection. The book ends with a coda of praise of Psalms 145-50.
- October has become a month of lament. This is dictated by the flow of the course, but it may clash a bit with the flow of the academic calendar. For example, this plan calls for Psalm 130 to precede homecoming and 88 to follow it. But this somewhat radical juxtaposition of text with outside events can be used well by a good preacher, who can play on the tension.
- November could be used as a time of preparation for Advent, a season of longing for the joyous coming of Christ. Psalms 122, 130 and 132 come from the "Psalms of Ascent" (Pss 120-34 with addenda in Pss. 135-36). These psalms were apparently used in postexilic processions into the city of Jerusalem at major holidays, perhaps especially during the Feast of Tabernacles. As such, they express the longing for the presence of God that Israel sought following Exile and that we all seek in our times of lostness.
- On David. Although ancient and medieval interpreters commonly read the Psalter as the product of David's personal spiritual life, there is little real evidence for this. Instead, the Psalter arose over a period of centuries within the Israelite cult and in circles of pious individuals. The series should avoid the sort of psychologizing that commonly occurs with the interpretation of the Psalms.
- The Psalms and art. It would be helpful to tie the psalms into the history of Christian music and visual art, drawing on the expertise of the relevant ACU departments here. See proposals, below.
Proposals
- Plan an introductory mini-seminar (1-2 hours) on the Psalter.
- Plan one or more mini-seminars (perhaps in the Library atrium?) on the Psalms in literature, music, or art.
- Plan a day of lament for the sufferings of people. Choose a specific type of suffering to pray for. Perhaps a public chain prayer or prayer sign-up could be used. For example, one could read the names of victims of the Holocaust on some day, or some such list.
- Set aside a few copies of select books on the Psalms in the library (purchasing extra copies). Good examples are William Brown, Seeing the Psalms (Westminster/John Knox, 2002); James Kugel, The Great Poems of the Bible (Free Press, 1999).
Dangerous Dialogue/Risky Peace: The Quest for Wisdom in Proverbs
| January 12-16 |
"The Challenging Quest for Wisdom" Proverbs 1:1-7
Goal: to call students to the quest for Wisdom Note: Proverbs 1-9 seeks to provide a theological framework for the random collections of proverbs in chapters 10ff. These initial chapters frame the quest for wisdom as (1) God's action; (2) a difficult, lifelong task; (3) and an international, universal human pursuit. 1:1-7 is the thesis statement of the book. |
| January 20-23 |
"Seeking Nonviolence" Proverbs 1:8-19
Goal: to frame nonviolence as an aspect of wisdom (a natural tie to the Martin Luther King holiday, which could be accented here) Note: The book of Proverbs understands the quest for wisdom to occur only in the context of a just, i.e., nonviolent, society. Since the book's intended audience is the upper class, the call to nonviolence translates into the avoidance of the abuse of power. |
| January 26-30 |
"The Eternity of Wisdom" Proverbs 3:11-20 Goal: to connect the pursuit of wisdom to the nature of God. Note: Christianity does not demand the end of the life of the mind, but rather its full development, since wisdom is the principal by which even God creates. This week could be used to celebrate creativity and critical thinking as a gift of God. |
| February 2-6 |
"The Wisdom of Sexual Discipline" Proverbs 5:15-23 Goal: to celebrate sexual discipline as an aspect of wisdom Note: Sexual discipline, though difficult, can be an opportunity for spiritual growth. Here, this discipline occurs within the bounds of marriage, which is not a matter of convenience but of covenant. |
| February 9-13 |
"What Do you Hate? What Do you Love?" Proverbs 8:1-31, esp. v. 13 Goal: to call for humility and service as aspects of wisdom Note: The chapter personified wisdom as a woman (Lady Wisdom) who calls everyone ("the simple") to a life of self-discipline and service. The chapter also claims that this lifestyle is part of the pattern of the universe itself. It does this by talking about how Wisdom accompanied God at the very creation of the world. |
| February 16-20 |
"Beyond Caveat Emptor: Wisdom in Economics" Proverbs 11:1, 20:23
Goal: to cause students to think about the use of resources Note: The Bible frequently talks about the need for honesty and transparency in economic systems. This would be a good opportunity for COBA help on economic ethics. |
| February 23-27 | LECTURESHIP |
| March 1-5 |
"Language Creates Reality" Proverbs 15:1-2, 4, 7
Goal: to call for the use of language to build a peaceful community Note: A major theme of Proverbs (and Wisdom literature in general) is the use of language. This text calls for language that is gentle, wise, instructive, and lifegiving. |
| March 8-12 |
"Is Honor Worth Having?" Proverbs 18:12, 20:3
Goal: to highlight honor or the cultivation of reputation as a facet of wisdom Note: The cultivation of reputation is a significant theme in Proverbs. Such cultivation demands discipline and a focus on what is noble. |
| March 22-26 |
"Faith Without Pretensions" Proverbs 20:22-25
Goal: to underscore the connection between truth-telling and faith Note: Another major theme in Proverbs is sincerity of expressions of faith. This week can be used to call students to serious self-examination of the connection between their faith and their behavior. |
| March 29-April 2 |
"When is Enough Enough?" Proverbs 23:1-11
Goal: to highlight restraint as an aspect of wisdom. Note: This series of proverbs (vv. 1-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9, 10-11) covers a common theme: self-restraint. Practical advice to prospective courtiers, the proverbs envision a society in which resources must be shared by all. |
| April 5-8 |
"Being Poor, Though Rich" Proverbs 28:5-6, 8, 10-11
Goal: to point to the legitimacy of deliberate poverty and the obligations created by wealth Note: These proverbs, randomly arranged as always in this book, nevertheless collectively reflect an attitude toward wealth. Wealth is less important than personal integrity and responsibility toward others. In the week before Easter, this text could be tied to the story of Jesus' surrender of everything for us. |
| April 12-16 |
"Four Insufferable Things" Proverbs 30:20-23 Goal: to call students to take sides in the struggle between good and evil Note: Like the prophets in different ways, the Wisdom tradition believes that human goodness includes the ability to discriminate between good and evil and the commitment to choose good over evil. |
| April 19-23 |
"The Paradox of Power" Proverbs 30:24-31
Goal: to understand the paradox of power and call students to use hat power they will have well Note: Proverbs addresses potential courtiers and leaders. So it is striking that the two atypical proverbs chosen here note the ultimate futility of power (lizards in the royal palace). The week can be a way of underscoring the fact that power, which American college graduates in particular will enjoy, creates responsibility. |
| April 26-30 |
"Wisdom Embodied" Proverbs 31:10-31
Goal: to celebrate the wise life in concrete ways. Note: This familiar text is often used to reinforce sexist stereotypes, a process that should be avoided. The text works with the personification of Lady Wisdom in chapters 1-9, translating her into a real woman. Thus an older theme of the book is brought back to close out the book. |
Notes to Proverbs Semester
- The course follows the plan of the biblical book itself, trying to capture its shape and flow.
- The series needs to emphasize that proverbs are provisionally true, not statements of absolute truth.
- The lessons in the 6 weeks before Easter can by tied to Lenten themes of repentance and self-examination, both preconditions of peaceful wisdom.
- A major challenge in this series will be to avoid moralizing, that is, the drawing of trivial moral lessons or even a heavy-handed didacticism. The nature of proverbs is to make their hearer reflect in nuances ways on the moral issue at hand. Thus the book of Proverbs sometimes juxtaposes contradictory proverbs (e.g., 14:20-21; 26:4-5) in order to stimulate creative thinking and thus creative action.
Proposals
- See the proposals for Psalms.
- Tie the series to Lent and Easter. It might make sense to interrupt the series in the week before Easter in order to concentrate on the holiday. Alternatively, the Proverbs text can be pointed toward Easter.
(c) Dr. Mark W. Hamilton
