The Working Class

Lenten Reflections: Jeremiah 3, John 5

I write this Lenten reflection from India, where I am meeting with a group from among the best of Indian theologians. I am consulting with them educational strategies to raise the next generation of world theologians to face the complexity of problems the two-thirds world is facing today. There has been so much oppression of “the poor, the widow and the orphan” in this ancient land. More than 75 % of the people are told that they are born to be enslaved. They are the low castes and the outcasts. They live and die in poverty and slavery.

The Lenten readings from the Bible- the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter 3, and the Gospel of John, chapter 5 deals squarely with this complex world situation. The prophet Jeremiah pronounces the word of God to a society which oppressed the poor and the marginalized people. God had saved and married a group of people, which he metaphorically describes as “God’s bride.” Yet, this bride forsook Him and began fooling with demeaning religions and ideologies. This had social, economic, and political consequences. The poor became poorer. Increasing number of people were enslaved. This also had environmental consequences. The “land became defiled.” (Jeremiah 3: 9)

In the John 5, Jesus encounters a crippled man during the Feast of Passover. It was a time which was supposed to remind people of God’s healing and salvation. Yet, Jesus encountered the consequences of precisely the things Jeremiah was talking about- suffering and disease, which the poor and the marginalized face. The crippled man was a paradigm of a socially, economically, and spiritually sick society. Jesus does the most powerful thing during Jeremiah’s days, during our days, during any days needs. He says, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

This is the power of Jesus’ healing that the society in India, and all over the world needs today. May God enable us to pronounce Jesus’ healing and resurrection words of power to a hurting world.

Rev. Dr. R. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies

Spark in Zambia Dedicates Shelby Goldstein Schoolhouse

Saturday, June 26 was the dedication of the Shelby Goldstein Schoolhouse in Twapia—a village outside of Zambia. Last year, Spark Ventures raised the money to fund the construction of this new seven-classroom building now serving more than 350 orphans and vulnerable children. Many generous people invested in our Igniting Hope/Building a Future campaign. And we say thanks to all of you. One family made a very large contribution in honor of young Shelby Goldstein, who died at the age of four. Her memory and spirit of joy and the love of learning now live on at Hope Community School in this new facility, a building that is helping provide hundreds of extremely poor children with education, nutrition, and health care, thanks to the Spark-Hope partnership.

The ceremony was filled with singing and speeches, dancing and dignitaries. Board Member Tasha Seitz read a beautiful reflection on Shelby and message from the family. Joyful children, families, friends, colleagues, and community members came to mark the official opening. We'll have more about this important event in Spark's history in the coming weeks on our website. For now, a special thank you to Shank and Renee Lyer and Greg and Rachelle Goldstein for helping make this possible.

Here are just a few pictures from the day.

Crowd at the dedication. Zambian and USA flags in the background.

The student choir performing during the ceremony.

Churchill Lombanya (advisor to the President of Zambia), Rich Johnson, and Charles Mumba (Executive Director of Spark’s partner Hope Ministries.

All quiet on the school front a few days before the celebration.

To follow the Spark in Zambia story, visit the Spark in Zambia blog.

Rich Johnson is the Director of University Ministries at North Park University.

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 12

Readings: Genesis 11; Isaiah 11; Matt: 12:15-42; Acts 2:1-12

In the Christian calendar, this year May 23, 2010 was celebrated as Pentecost Sunday. It is the remembrance of the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the early disciples of Jesus. The narrative is found in Acts 2. In the Greek text, the words of Acts 2:1 are literally, “When the Day of Pentecost had come to its full fruition, they were all ‘at one in one’.”

There was a sense of oneness among the early disciples of Jesus, in spite of a seeming lostness of the past days. They had recently witnessed the horrible crucifixion of their Messiah and Lord. On the third day, they witnessed a remarkable event—the resurrection. Thereafter, for a period of 40 days, the risen Messiah appeared to them intermittently. Sometimes he would just appear to them in a room, while the doors were shut. At other times, he would appear to them while they were walking along the road.

Then, on the 40th day, he was taken up from their presence into the sky, while they looked up—quite dumbfounded. Now, it was the 50th day. It was the Day of Pentecost. It was a remembrance of the giving of the Torah to Moses in the wilderness. They somehow sensed that something was going to happen. They were “at one in one”–(the word “place” is not there in the Greek).  There was eager expectation.

In the Jewish liturgy, the Torah reading for the day focused on Genesis 11. It reminded them of the time when the languages of humanity were confused. However, it also reminded them of a period of time in the history of humanity which may be termed as an Ideational period. It was a time when globally people worshipped one God. This is borne out by archeology.

In the Indus Valley civilization, this God was called the Dyaus Pitr; in the ancient Chinese civilization, this God was called Shang-ti; and in Sumerian civilization, he was called AN. In all these texts, he is described as the Heavenly One, who is the creator and is holy.

Archeology further shows us that that later, somewhere between 2500 and 1500 BC, global society degenerates into polytheism. Genesis 11 describes this period. First, it describes the earlier Ideational period, a time when there was “One tongue and One Word” (Gen. 11:1, literal translation). However, after this time, humanity degenerates into Idealistic polytheistic religions. Human beings sought to build temples, to “make a name for themselves.” (Genesis 11:4). During this time, high-class priestly and kingly people developed high-class gods. Through these, “they made divine names for themselves,” which had to be worshipped by the low-class people. Historically, this era saw the development of many polytheistic religions across the world—religions which were used as tools to enslave thousands of low-class people. Polytheistic religion was thus a tool for injustice against the poor, low-class masses. The scattering and confusion of the Babel in Genesis 11 was to stem the intensity and tide of these unjust religions.

Unfortunately, the history of Israel as it is found in the Bible shows that the people of God who were themselves saved from the slavery of the high-class gods and priests of Egypt also succumbed to the injustice oriented practices found in ancient Near-Eastern societies. They worshipped pagan gods and goddesses, and this caused a chasm in society.

The widows and orphans of the poor were no longer cared for.  The rich people, who worshipped these gods and goddesses, like Baal and Ashtoreth, became richer, while the poor became poorer.  The prophets tell us that as a result of this, the people of Israel and Judah were also “dispersed” into different parts of the world.  They became the victims of slavery, which they themselves practiced.

Was there any hope left?

The prophets affirm that the only hope is found it the coming of a Messiah. This was the text, which was read on the Day of Pentecost. In Isaiah 11, the prophet Isaiah looks towards the time when the Messiah will come from “the root of Jesse,” i.e., from the family of David (Isaiah 11:1). He will bring about justice. “He will assemble the ‘outcastes’ of Israel and gather the ‘dispersed’ of Judah (Isaiah 11:12). There will be justice and reconciliation between those who suffered injustice and those who were the perpetrators of injustice.  The latter will confess their sins and injustices.

This expectation of the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled in the life and work of Jesus the Messiah.  In Matthew 12, the crowds follow him and the text says, “this was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah…he will proclaim justice to the nations, the Gentiles…in his name the Gentiles will hope” (Matthew 12:18, 21). These are the same ethnos, Gentiles who are scattered on the face of the earth, in Genesis 11. Yet, they come looking for justice and salvation.

In Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, what began in Genesis 11 comes full circle.  The narrative tells us that people are gathered from different parts of the then-known world in one place, Jerusalem. They witness an amazing event. Divided tongues of fire descended upon the early disciples, and they began speaking in all the languages of the dispersed people.  They spoke the one name through whom injustice would come to an end—the name of Jesus the Messiah (Acts 2:22).  The dispersed are gathered into one community—the community of the Church.

When I look at the modern Church today, sometimes I wonder: do we picture the dispersed and confused societies of the world, or do we picture the unity, salvation, and justice of the Acts 2 Church?

Boaz Johnson is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies

A Canonical Journey through the Bible – Reading 11

Readings: Genesis 1; Genesis 50; Joshua 1; Malachi 4; Psalm 1; Matthew 28

The canonical journey through the Gospels ends in an amazing miracle—the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. Matthew’s account—the Gospel in our series—begins with the narrative of Mary Magdalene, with the other Mary going to the sepulcher on “the first day of the week… And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow… the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen.” (Matthew 28:1-6).

The themes which are underlined in the Resurrection narrative of Jesus are quite clearly themes which are intentionally related to the beginning and the end of the Torah; the beginning and the end of the Prophets, the second section of the Hebrew Bible; and the beginning and end of the Hebrew Writings, the third section of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament). In the interpretive study of the Bible, this is called biblical intertextuality.

The Gospels stress that Jesus rises on the “first day of the week.” This is the day when God began creation. He created the light (Genesis 1:1-4). This is a resurrection theme. Genesis 50 ends with the death of Jacob and Joseph. Yet there is a hope of resurrection. This hope is depicted in narration of Jacob being buried in the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 34 ends in the death of Moses, yet before he dies he sees the hope of resurrection in the Promised Land. Hebrew Prophets begins with Joshua 1, with a new resurrected community in the Promised Land. Malachi, the last prophet, ends with the hope of resurrection. A new Elijah would proclaim this resurrection (Malachi 4). The Hebrew Writings, the third section of the Hebrew Bible, begins with Psalm 1. It describes an ideal human being who is compared to an everlasting tree—a resurrection theme (Psalm 1:3). Hebrew Writings then ends with the hope for a new resurrected earth, where the land will “enjoy its Sabbaths.” (1 Chronicles 36:21).

It is clear from this brief overview that at crucial junctures, the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) looks forward to resurrection. The resurrection narrative of Jesus the Messiah, in the Gospels, stresses that all these aspirations in the Hebrew Bible are fulfilled in Jesus, the resurrected Messiah. Through him, there is the hope for a new resurrection for humanity and for all creation.

When Matthew describes the resurrection of Jesus, he intentionally stresses themes which are found in the Creation narrative of Genesis 1. Allow me to explain some of these themes, in the following section.

In Genesis 1, “on the first day”, the very first entity God created was “Light.” Themes of light also surround the resurrection narrative in Matthew 28. This is the distinct opposite ofthemes which surround the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Intertextually, these themes are related to the state of the universe before creation. Genesis 1:2 reads, “ The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Matthew notes that when Jesus was crucified, “there was darkness over all the earth (land) from noon till 3 PM. About 3 PM Jesus cried out the words of the Messianic Psalm 22, Eli Eli Lamah Sabachthani, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45, 46).

The themes that are stressed in the crucifixion and burial of Jesus bring the universe back to state of pre-creation. There is darkness. There is earthquake, and the like. Yet it should be mentioned that there is a note of hope, seen in Genesis 1:2—“the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.” These words suggest that despite the seeming hopelessness, there is the hope of creation. The crucifixion and burial narratives give the same sense of hope—something good will come out of this horrible de-creation. This hope finally materializes in resurrection, just as the foreboding darkness of pre-creation finally and distinctly results in creation.

Much can be written about the intertextual relationship. Let me stress one more theme. It is significant to note that the women were told by the messengers (angels) of God, “Go quickly, tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.” (Matthew 28:7). This is the crux of the message of resurrection. Jesus the Messiah’s resurrection initiates a new creation. He conquers death, which is the consequence of de-creation, and then initiates re-creation through his resurrection.

Why is it that it is women who are the first ones to proclaim this crucial resurrection message? May I suggest that it is because women have historically and internationally suffered the most awful consequences of de-creation and human fallenness.The first act of re-creation and resurrection is an amazing elevation of the status of women. They are told to proclaim the word of resurrection. It seems to me that this carries intentional intertextuality, with God proclaiming in Genesis 1, “Let there be light, and there was light . . . God called the light day.” The first “proclaimers” in the resurrection narrative are poor women who were ostracized by society: Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary. It seems clear that the resurrection narrative seeks to resurrect the status of women to what it was meant to be in the creation narrative. The Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah carries amazingly complex ramifications.

This canonical reading makes it very clear to me that the call of Christianity today is to be a Resurrection Community, a Re-creation community. In doing so, the Church is called to transform all aspects of de-creation in the world today into re-creation and resurrection.

May we live the message of resurrection: “He is risen from the dead.”

Dr. R. Boaz Johnson, Chair, Department of Biblical and Theological Studies; and Director, Division of Christian Life and Thought

Faith in Action

The Epistle of James instructs that we should be “doers of the word.”  When James wrote these words I’m sure he didn’t have North Park University in mind, but I often wonder whether an organization—one like North Park—can be a “doer of the word.”

Of course we can. And most often it is our students who lead the way. Our students lead the way in approaching the mandate of the prophet Micah to “do justice, love kindness, and walk with God.”

Learning is a noble endeavor, but learning is most noble when used to benefit others. With the gift of learning comes responsibility. As our students learn we encourage them to serve others, to turn faith into action, believing the principle taught by Jesus: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.”

In mid-November Linda and I gathered one evening with a group of students for dinner at the Sheraton Hotel on the riverfront just off Michigan Avenue. We were there to attend the annual gala dinner sponsored by Casa Central, the largest Hispanic-serving social service agency in Chicago.

The particular reason for attending this dinner was to receive the Faith in Action Award from Casa Central. Our students were proud because their university was recognized for its work with Spanish-speaking communities in Chicago. I was proud because most of North Park’s work in these communities comes through the service of our students. We offer graduate classes in nonprofit management at the central offices of Casa Central in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, so North Park takes its education into the community. But our students really are the ones who make a difference—through internships with social service agencies, by volunteering through church-sponsored programs, and by teaching in the Chicago Public Schools—serving others across this city.

Our students enter the community and make a difference.

Our students put faith into action.

Our students lead the way.

All shall be well...

  

Julian of Norwich is famous for the following quote: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”  She wrote this after having a vision of the whole world as the size of a hazelnut, sitting in God’s hand. 

I am a worrier.  I turn things over and over in my head, examining them, picking them apart, looking underneath and around them—conversations, memories from the past, future hopes and fears, relationships, work, and all manner of things big and small.  This quote speaks peace to me.  I’ve been saying Julian’s words in my head for the past little while and feel it loosening up that knot of worry and relaxing whatever it is in me that wants to keep clutching things.  Fear?  Lack of control?  Wanting to be good enough?  I want to make this a daily breath prayer so that whenever worry begins to descend, I will breathe, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

Sue Braun - Small Group Coordinator, University Ministries

 

 

The world awaits a Josiah transformation

Recently I preached a sermon at North Park University on the life of Josiah.  The story of his life is summarized by the prophetic author of the Bible in the following words, “Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.” (2 Kings 23:25). I was struck by the fact that Josiah was just 8 years old when he began seeking God. He was 26 years old when he initiated and oversaw a nationwide turning towards God. It was an amazing societal transformation, which touched every aspect of the life the society- religion, sociology, economics, etc.

 

 In the history of the Church, revivals and societal transformations have always been centered around young people. This is true of the history of the USA.  Noble prizewinning economist, Robert Fogel, asserts in his profound study of the history of economics in the USA entitled The Fourth Great Awakening that there have been three Great Awakenings in the USA.  The First Great Awakening in the mid-1700’s resulted in the birth of a new nation. The second Great Awakening in the mid-1800s resulted in the emancipation of slaves. The third Great Awakening in the beginning of the 20^th century initiated, the launched the What Would Jesus Do movement, which resulted in the freedom of poor and working class America. Each of these movements began as a spiritual movement within the Church, was initiated by young people, and resulted in huge complex transformations.

 

Fogel claims that the USA and the world are awaiting a Fourth Great Awakening. Two things stem clear to me. One, this awakening will also begin with young people, and Two, this awakening will be a global one. It will have to be initiated by Josiahs or our time- High School students, college students, 20-something young people. These Josiahs will come from different parts of the world, and will initiate a worldwide transformation.

 

 This is the reason I teach at a university like North Park University. 

–R. Boaz Johnson

Does God lurk?

“My profession is always to be alert, to find God in nature, to know God’s lurking places, to attend all the oratorios and the operas in nature.”    Henry David Thoreau

 My favorite line from this Thoreau quote is “…to know God’s lurking places…” 

Does God lurk? 

Does God hide behind a tree, wait for me to walk by and shout “SURPRISE!”?  

I need to be watchful and alert if I’m going to find God’s lurking places.  I caught one last week when a shower of gold fell out from behind the clouds as the sun set.  God was lurking under the waves too when we saw whales playing in the Pacific.  Maybe the times I’m most surprised is when I find God lurking in my office.  God shows up when I’m talking to people, when we’re trying to figure out where God is at and what God is doing.  And then I catch just a glimpse as he runs behind the next tree and yells, “SURPRISE!”

Where have you seen God lurking?

 

Sue Braun, University Ministries-Small Group Coordinator