One of my favorite Church activities, is leading Adult Bible Study. Helping a group of inquiring minds work through the hermeneutics of a piece of scripture. This is taking apart of scripture historical context, analyzing the authors and the communities intent in writing a piece.
I think when studying scripture it is always a good idea to spend sometime on exegesis: historical intent, the world view of the writers and the audience that the writers of the scripture were intending to speaking to. However, I also believe that after looking at the original biblical perspective, a good bible study takes on the challenge of addressing how a scripture can speak to todays readers and communities. Not just looking for a moral lesson, but diving into how characters, angle and perspective relates to a person, group or communities life at that moment. Like pealing an onion, I believe God’s word has layers which may speak to our lives, teach different lessons and offer ever changing messages from different perspectives as it is read and meditated on.
Recently I finished a five week series on The Prodigal Son at Wesley Methodist Church. For five weeks the group took apart the different characters, angles, and diverging messages which Jesus was sharing in the parable. First, the group examined the historical placement of the parable in Luke. For example, through exegeses on Luke, historians date this gospel as being written through two separate time periods. The end of the gospel was most probably written in 60 AD and the beginning seems to be written by a Pauline community somewhere between 75-85 AD. When Jesus shares this parable he is speaking to allegations that the Pharisees were making about him dinning with Tax collectors (Luke 15:10), healing on the Sabbath (Luke 7:36) and their outrage at Jesus turning the tables in the temple (Luke 4:28).
As I stated before, knowing the historical context and scripture placement is key to good bible study. Those historical pieces give scripture historical placement, tells its readers a hermeneutical place and time lesson. But I believe growth in a persons or communities faith comes out of dissecting how a reading or lesson speaks to the individuals study it at a given moment. Questions such as “what character in the Parable of the Prodigal Son do you most relate to?” Exploring how the parable could speak to the church and community that the group studying it, is a part of. Is there a time in anyone’s life when they felt the love of a Father, even God, willing to take them back with open arms after they had run away? Does anyone in the group ever feel like the older son in the story, angry because they “did it the right way!” And no one has ever “killed the fated calf” for them!
In last week’s “Religion in the City” article “Chose a box” I talked about my hope that people would not put me in or themselves in a theologically liberal or conservative world view box. This week I wanted to make the point that we as religiously minded, meditative and prayerful people should also not put our sacred scriptures into boxes. We must let our church communities, sacred scriptures as well as our personal social gospels teach us new evolving messages through the Holy Spirit. I do not believe God’s love for his creation is a finished story told in a church, temple or book. Faith and God’s call in our lives is an evolving lesson. We must not be afraid to question to allow Gods lessons in our lives to be put in perspective. I believe we must research, meditate or wrestle with who God wants to be for us, just now.
(Note: After publication, a word was added at the writer’s request.)
Bio: Chris Craig received his Master’s in Social Work from Tulane University and his Master’s in Pastoral Care & Counseling from Garrett Seminary. Chris guest preaches, leads spirituality classes, and works in social services in Lakeland. Chris is not ordained in any church, and his columns do not speak for any churches or organizations where he might be affiliated.
PastaCraig
1 year ago
Here’s another exegetical angle on Jesus’ parables…talking and asking questions as a group about what Jesus’ DOESN’T say. Parables, by definition, are multi-layered and deliberately vague and incomplete so as to draw the listener’s mind into deeper wonder about the many possible meanings to be drawn. So…what did the Father in the Prodigal Son story really know? On the surface, he seems passive, maybe even weak in the face of his son’s demand for his inheritance. Jesus has him giving no response, even though we would expect him to put up at least some resistance. Wouldn’t most fathers? And if the Father is meant to be God in the story, his silence seems particularly perplexing. Does God leave our fate completely in our own hands? Won’t God put up a fight for us?
So maybe he knew something. When the son returns, the orders to get the party going come from him in a flurry. Almost as if he already had them pre-organized. Did he have the celebration already planned…at least in his own mind? Did he fully expect the son to return, even to the point of being a foregone conclusion?
Of course, exegesis and hermeneutics begin from one’s own theological understanding. So these questions just are coming from the Calvinist in me! What do you think?