Reflections...

Introduction

In August, the military murdered a friend activist. Then, the following months, the military went into a frenzy of red-tagging women activists as communists. Duterte even ordered the police and military to shoot these women in their vagina. Sixty years ago, on November 25, 1960, the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo, ordered the brutal killing of the three Mirabal sisters for their activism (Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa). In 1999, the UN declared November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to honor these women, now known as the Tres Mariposas (3 butterflies). Thus, November 25 marks the beginning of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign culminates end on December 10, the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  

 

Wrestling with the Text 

Pastor Phyllis initially asked me to preach today on the theme of violence against women. I could have chosen the stories of Hagar, Dinah, Tamar, Jephthah's daughter, the Levite’s concubine, all in Phyllis Trible’s Texts of Terror. Struggling what to say, as always, I decided to stick to the lectionary’s suggested texts. These are the familiar stories of Deborah in Judges 4 and the Parable of the Talents, in Matthew 25 (Parable of the Pounds in Luke 19). Then, I realized the texts are difficult because first, they do not seem to have a connection with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Second, the two stories do not have any connection with each other. It would be like putting a square peg into the round hole, I thought. Taking on the challenge, I stuck and wrestled with these texts. Somewhere, somehow, there must be a connection. I reread the texts and went back to study the map of ancient Israel to understand the stories. With that and some focusing on my lenses, I will share my brief reflection on the texts with a long introduction of the background.  

 

Deborah in the Book of Judges 

The book opens with Joshua leading the initial conquest of the land of Canaan. The whole book covers the history of the Israelite tribal confederacy for almost 200 years (c. 1200–c. 1020 BCE), from Joshua’s death until the rise of Saul, the first king of Israel. The book’s author, whom scholars called the Deuteronomic historian, tells us about the successors of Joshua. This book reflects the writer’s “theology of history” that follows the Deuteronomic formula that says: obedience to Yahweh brings peace and well-being; disobedience leads to the weakening of faith and makes the community vulnerable to attacks from enemies. In the book of Judges, we see this cycle of obedience-disobedience/defeat- crying out to God for help and God raises a judge or shofet to lead the people. Judges 4:1-3 clearly shows this. Contrary to our common understanding, the judge or the shofet (Hebrew), is a ruler of the Israelite tribal confederacy and a military leader. Note that when the Israelites arrived in Canaan, the native Canaanites were already advance in agriculture, commerce, and urban life. This is the context of Deborah’s story as a judge. 

 

Deborah the Judge as a Powerful Woman

Deborah is the only female shofet mentioned in the book of Judges. Although the writer still tied her identity to a man, as “the wife of Lappidoth), the writer presents the Ephraimite Deborah as a mediator, prophetess, and a military leader. In fairness, Lappidoth had no insecurities about having a powerful wife. As a commander-in-chief, Deborah was analytical. In chapter 5, she is a poet and a singer, who sang a duet with Barak her song about their victory. Through that song, we learn that she called all the 12 tribes to unite against the Canaanites, but only a couple of tribes responded. Yet, she calculated her victory. She ordered her general, Barak, in God’s name saying: “the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun.”

 

Mount Tabor is strategic, halfway between Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. From there, one could have a vantage view of the valley of Jezreel and Megiddo where the River Kishon runs through. The natives of Canaanites controlled Jezreel valley, a commercial highway that was crucial to the city of Megiddo (Armageddon).  

 

Deborah anticipated that when Sisera, King Jabin’s army general will hear of their position in Mt. Tabor, he will cross the river Kishon with his chariots and troops to drive Deborah’s army away. Deborah already familiar with the pattern of the season estimated when the river would swell and bring floods. She said to Barak: “I will give him into your hand.” But Barak replied: “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” Deborah assured him: “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And, off they went to Kedesh, their point of departure to Mt. Tabor. 

 

Deborah as the Embodiment of Colonization

Back in the Philippines, women would sing during meetings: “When the Spirit of Lord moves in my heart, I will fight like Deborah fought!” It was empowering, or so it seemed! However, Deborah’s story is one of the stories of women in the Bible that makes me uneasy. Deborah was leading an army to grab the land of the original inhabitants in the name of the warrior God, Yahweh. Using the hermeneutics of imagination put yourselves on the shoes/sandals of the natives. Imagine the sound of the horses of the ten thousand men led by Deborah on their way to Mount Tabor. How would you look at Deborah? Imagine hearing the news that the Israelites killed the Canaanite general. And, imagine these foreigners swooping down on your land and claim that this space where you, your ancestors, and neighbors have lived for ages now belong to them. How will you feel? What will you do when they claim your farms, your olive trees, vineyards, livestock, and other land-based sources of your livelihood? It is as if someone comes to your house and tells you: “Get out! God has given me this house.” Will you just concede, stand, and watch? Will you shout in joy and hail Deborah as a hero, and condemn Sisera? Historically, Deborah’s army and people did not only take the land, but the Israelites also tried to erase from memory the Canaanites and their cultures by vilifying them as they colonized the native people’s bodies, mind, and all. Unfortunately, the colonization continues even today. 

 

As a people of Hong Kong, and as people who seek temporary economic or political refuge here in Hong Kong, how do you make sense of this story? Will you read the text from the side of Deborah? Or, will you read it from the native Canaanite’s perspective? What does God say to us today through this text? Friends, these questions made it difficult for me to read the text as I read it from the perspective of the natives, the colonized. Before sharing with you some nuggets of reflections, let me go to the other text in Matthew, the story of the parable of the talents.  

 

The Honorable Slave

The narrator in Matthew 25: 14-31 tells us the story of the talents, or pounds (Luke 19:11-27). Like the story of Deborah, I had to interrogate the text as I find it difficult to understand.     

 

Parables are common stories taken from everyday life experiences. They are like riddles. Usually, preachers take this parable to teach moral and spiritual lessons (parenetic instruction). They commend the two slaves and criticize the third one. Sometimes, preachers used the parable as a warning about things to come (eschatological). William Herzog, a New Testament scholar, calls the parable a subversive speech, looking at Jesus as a pedagogue of the oppressed. He argued that the parables show how the oppressive system in Jesus’ time served the interest of the ruling class. Thus, a parable is a form of social analysis as well as a form of theological reflection. Following Herzog, we can read the parable of the talents as a parable of Jesus. But let me also give a brief background on the gospel of Matthew. 

 

Matthew’s community of Jewish converts to The Way movement had conflicts among themselves. Some members did not follow the community’s rules. Even Jesus suggested removing from the ecclesia those who do listen to advice after the mediation process (Matt. 18:15-17)). Some members say they believe in God but they do not do God’s will, while some wanted to be free totally from the Jewish laws. That was why Jesus gave the summary of the 10 commandments: ³⁷“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  ³⁹And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matt. 22:37-39) Then, there was the impact of the hierarchical ladder of the Roman social order on the faith community. Jesus associated with people at the bottom of the hierarchical ladder of the Roman social order, such as the poor farmers, fisherfolks. He even associated with those at the lowest level of the ladder such as the beggars, the prostitutes, the lepers. In this context, the rich merchants were oppressive. They wanted to make more money by forcing their servants to produce more so they will become richer.

 

In reading this parable as the parable of Jesus, we see Jesus as the storyteller. Who then is the “master” in this story? Was Jesus referring to himself? Was Jesus referring to God as the “master” in this story? If that is so, then Jesus was telling his listeners that God is a “harsh man,” who simply enjoys the fruits of other people’s labor without doing anything? Therefore, we ask: Is God the “master” who exploits the labor of the poor to become richer?

 

Putting the Beatitudes (Matthew) as a backdrop of this story, we see Jesus pointing to the disgusting reality of how the rich and ruling elite oppress the poor for their self-interest. Jesus tells this parable to help his disciples and listeners analyze the situation of their society. Greedy people try to make themselves appear “clean” by using dummies. You see, the greedy usually take this strategy of using dummies to hide their deeds and avoid criticism. The household master travels to increase his network of investments and business partners. Then he comes back to collect the interest of his investment. This story unveils the system wherein the two slaves made the master’s money grow – double as indicated in the text, but they also feather their nest. It means that while the slaves give back the money to the master doubled, (say, HKD 1000 is given back + HKD 1,000), the slaves also kept the other earnings for their pocket. The master seems to know this, but he did not mind because he got his money doubled anyway. 

 

Then the third slave came forward, saying: “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’”

 

Angrily, the master said to the third slave: “You wicked and lazy slave. You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return, I would have received what was my own with interest.” 

 

Then the master went on to punish the third slave. The third slave was the whistle blower, and honourable person but he got terminated from his job. Consequently, the third slave gnashed his teeth in his vulnerability. Most likely, his fellow slaves who gained from the corrupt system stayed away from him because they did not like him for his act of revealing the truth. 

 

Points of Reflection

Now, where is the connection between the stories of the judge Deborah and the honorable slave? Let me connect the dots that are not obvious.

 

First, both stories tell us of the injustices that happen in societies. 

On the one hand, the story of Deborah is a story of colonization, and colonization is always unjust. I have never heard of a colonial project that is “just.” Taking the resources of other people in the name of religion is even worst. Through her song, we hear Deborah expressing her understanding of the pain of the mothers - of Sisera, and those fallen in battle. Still, she allowed herself to be the embodiment of the colonial project of Israel. 

 

On the other hand, the parable of the talents is a story of an oppressive economic scheme, a primeval form of the capitalist system. The third slave saw the unjust system and evil that come with it. He exposed the system of greed at work in his society and confronted his master about his avarice. Although he was a slave, he seems to have knowledge of the Torah that warns about getting more at the expense of others. He knew that getting something more is wrong because someone else must be getting less. By burying the talent, he stopped the circulation of capital – money -  that was used to exploit more poor people through loans with huge interests. Even until today, that is how banks and lending institutions make money. He also exposed the complicity of the other slaves to the evil system of exploitation. In this situation, the third slave in the parable was an honorable person.

 

Second, both stories compel us to recognize that God is a God of justice and righteousness  

When a god demands one or a people to do unjust things to others, then it is not the God of Jesus. The stories we read are, indeed found in the Bible, written by people with different theological and political persuasion and interest. Writing is a political act, an act of using power. Writing can be used even to abuse power. So how do we make sense of Deborah’s story? How do we make sense of the story of the talents? 

 

Many years back, my professor in biblical studies told us that these “bad” stories or texts of terror that we find in the Bible are there to help us distinguish what is right and wrong, what is just and unjust. We need to sift the stories and discern its meaning following the norms of love, mercy, justice, and righteousness. As we learn from the context of ancient times, we must let the text speak afresh to us in our present situation. God calls us, female and male, to be responsible for our faith. 

 

It is unfortunate though that the Deuteronomistic historian and author of the book of Judges framed Deborah just like any masculine, militarist leader. The story, therefore, is not about gender. From the perspective of the writer, it is a story of serving the interest of people who called themselves “the people of God.” We must note that an empowered woman is one who thinks of what is just and right; of what brings a people to peace and flourishing. War begets war; violence begets violence. For ages, this story continues until today in that so-called Holy Land. Yet, this colonial projects also happened or still happens in the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Africa, and other parts of the world. The negative legacy of colonization continues because people and nations believe in God but do not do the will of God.   

 

The parable of the talents is a parable of Jesus. The honorable slave exposed the evil system represented by the shrewd and unjust master. Contrary to the usual interpretation of the parable of the talents, Jesus cannot be the unjust master in the story. It cannot be Jesus. It cannot even be God, because the God that I know is a loving, merciful, just, righteous, and a God of peace. So where is Jesus in the story of the talents? Jesus is the storyteller, and the parable is about himself. The third slave is Jesus who exposed the wrong things, just as he overturned the tables of the greedy that made profits out of religion in the temple. He who exposed evil, who revealed the truth, who fought for what is right and just got crucified. 

 

The Call of the Day

What challenges do these stories pose to us today? Let me just share two but heavy challenges, heavy if we take our faith seriously.

 

First, as people of the book, the church – a gathering of a people of faith – must strengthen its faith and understanding of that faith. As the children’s song says: “Read your Bible, pray every day and you grow, grow, grow!” Growing will never happen if we do not let the scripture speak to us and reflect deeply on the implications of its words. If we will just depend on the traditional western interpretation, then you will end up affirming the colonization project that Deborah was involved. In colonial projects and in wars, the winner always take the women and children as booties. We will just allow the texts of terror that we read in the book of Judges to happen – the rape of Dinah, the killing of the daughter of Jephthah as a sacrifice, the rape and murder of the Levite’s concubine, and many others. Consequently, we will just keep silent in the face of atrocities that people in power does to women, the poor, the children, subaltern men. In that case, we allow the oppression and injustices to perpetuate because we will not learn to take seriously our faith.

 

Second, as individuals and as a people that claim to be the body of Christ, we must not get tired of nurturing and educating people to be good disciples of Jesus. Discipleship means following Jesus by walking the way of Jesus. The church must be a people who believe in God and do the will of God as Jesus did. The parable of the talent is the parable of Jesus. In this parable, Jesus is showing us the way to discipleship. Many churches have limited themselves to the priestly or pastoral ministry. In the context of many challenges these days, God calls the church to do the prophetic task of announcing the truth just as the honorable slave did. The prophetic task is risky but it is one of the crucial demands of the faith in the God of justice, righteousness, and peace.

 

The Judge and the Honorable Slave: Where is the connection? I believe lies in God’s call to us to open our eyes, and look at the situation around us. God calls us to work for social justice. We have the assurance that whatever risk there is, whether we are up in the mountain or down in the valley, God will be with us.

 

I pray that the Spirit of God will continue to disturb us from our comfort zones. Amen.