Brueggemann, 2001. Chapter 5, "The Call to Obedience"

Chapter 5, “The Call to Obedience” pp. 62-75

The Bible does call Christians to obedience. We are to forsake sin. Yet at the same time we are rescued from sin by a God who loves and forgives without reserve. While on the one hand we wish to proclaim the freedom involved in grace, we need to proclaim God’s demands that we live a holy life. Luther can be taken to say that the Christian very naturally does good works. Yet God’s Law still speaks to us, both in its political and theological uses.  Even as Luther proclaims the freedom of the Christian he tells his hearers of the requirements they face.

How can we preach the call to obedience without a spiral into moralism? “We will sound the call to obedience as a consequence of grace and not its cause” (p. 66). All our obedience flows from God’s grace. We are well advised to describe rather than command good works.

“We will articulate the call to obedience with concreteness” (p. 69). We all know we are to do good. How do we do that? What does it look like? Giving examples of obedience may help hearers identify what it can look like in their own lives.

“We will point to spheres of obedience in the public as well as the private sector” (p. 72). Our actions have consequences which extend to business, politics, all areas of life. We live a life for Jesus within our culture.

Brueggemann, 2001, Chapter 7 "A Note on the Practice of Ministry"

Chapter 7 “A Note on the Practice of Ministry” pp. 115-119

Brueggemann summarizes his argument as follows. Moses’ prophetic work criticized the establishment of Pharaoh, energizing God’s people toward freedom. These reforms were too radical. In the establishment of kings, Israel reasserted the royal principles of Egypt. jeremiah put the monarchy to death, expressing mourning. Isaiah gave hope and saw Israel’s joy reborn. Jesus laid death and despair to rest, bringing life and hope. This work of ministry is done in every age. Through the prophetic ministry we seek four dimensions. First, we evoke an alternative community. Second, we build a consistently biblical worldview. Third, we penetrate numbness and grief. Finally, we penetrate despair, giving true hope. This move, essentially from death to life, is exactly what Jesus always brings. It is our job to act as his instruments to deliver it to our world.

Brueggemann 2001 Chapter 6 "Energizing and Amazement in Jesus of Nazareth"

Chapter 6 “Energizing and Amazement in Jesus of Nazareth” pp. 101-113

In this chapter, Brueggemann contrasts the idea of “hope” and “optimism.” Optimism, according to his model, is based on good feelings, a sentiment of something working well, or an expectation that all will be well at some point in the future. This stands in contrast to hope, which is based on a definite promise. Hope looks to something which is promised and is associated with a change in conditions. The true hope that a prophet can bring, says Brueggemann, is the hope of Jesus, who comes to change darkness into light, death into life. We find this energizing that we need in the promises surrounding Jesus’ birth. We find the energizing we need in the works he does in ministry, often pointing forward to the new order of eternity, a time of peace, life, and healing. Possibly one of the greatest difficulties we have in our 21st century world is that we read the accounts of Jesus and have become accustomed to the ideas put forth. They are no longer as amazing as, in fact, they were in the first century. Jesus’ teachings, likewise, overturn the established stranglehold on society and life. Yet they seem somehow less revolutionary to those of us who have heard his teachings again and again. Finally, Jesus’ resurrection overturns death itself. Again, all that Jesus does serves as a definite promise associated with a change in conditions. He thus energizes and amazes his audience, as he should energize and amaze us.

Brueggemann 2001 Chapter 5 "Criticism and Pathos in Jesus of Nazareth"

Chapter 5 “Criticism and Pathos in Jesus of Nazareth” pp. 81-99

The work of the prophet is not criticism for its own sake but criticism which aims at a goal of breaking down inappropriate authority structures and allowing God’s rule in our community. In the life of Jesus this prophetic work is shown very clearly. By Jesus’ birth as presented in matthew the true king, Jesus, is born in humble circumstances and incurs the wrath of the established kingdom. In Luke’s account he is surrounded by humble people and heralded by angels and prophets. Jesus announces his kingdom which is unlike human kingdoms. It is based on forgiveness. The overturning of the Sabbath calls social order into question. Jesus holds court, or at least meals, with those who are usually shunned. He heals the unclean and casts out demons. He associates with women. he doesn’t resist taxes, though he corrects tax collectors. he considers the temple as a temporary, even expendable fixture. Jesus’ kingdom is built on compassion, particularly shown in his willingness to take the place of sinful men. Rather than a king who takes he is a king who gives. This radically reorients politics to be based on justice and compassion, not power and submission. Jesus introduces a new order.

"Prophetic Energizing and the Emergence of Amazement"

Chapter 4 “Prophetic Energizing and the Emergence of Amazement” pp. 59-79

Jeremiah’s work pointed out the futility of life under the status quo. He confronted a nation which had stripped its people of hope. Yet, counter to our expectations, Jeremiah gives little hope. He rather brings people to realize their hopelessness. The royal establishment desired to make promises but they were not open to change or vision. These promises would finally lead to despair. Yet jeremiah’s role was to awaken old memories, memories of freedom, in the people. In their memory of the past, the people of Israel could find desire and hope for the future. They could gradually be redirected toward new vision rooted in God’s faithfulness.

To find a prophet of hope and wonder at future conditions we turn our attention to Isaiah, or, as Brueggemann asserts, “second Isaiah.” Beginning in chapter 40 we read the message of comfort and hope, rooted in God’s care for and restoration of his people. This message reclaims the hopes and imagination of Israel. They see God’s mercy and the hopelessness of their world. They learn to rejoice in God. Their hope is re-born. They are fed with the imperishable food of heaven. The new hope is born to bear much fruit.

Chapter 3 “Prophetic Criticizing and the Embrace of Pathos”

Chapter 3 “Prophetic Criticizing and the Embrace of Pathos” pp. 39-57

As Brueggemann continues his argument he now begins to describe a prophetic voice which is able to rise above the “royal consciousness,” that is, above the conventional wisdom that an entrenched governmental/imperial wisdom is actually in the interest of God and His people. This royal consciousness has numbed us to the sorrows and griefs that surround us. As we counter it in God’s name, we ask not if it is practiced or possible to implement. We ask rather whether it is right and true in God’s eyes. We therefore look not to our own experience but to our Lord’s care for his world. What does God see? He sees a world which is broken and in torment, on which will only receive relief through His mercy. Our society does not want to cry out. It would prefer to trust in the royal ability to do something. Yet in God’s world what we need to do is cry out honestly through our pain. Jeremiah is our biblical example of this outcry. Against all odds, including the king’s will, he cries out to the Lord for deliverance which even the king cannot bring. Though we have no present relief, we can imagine the newness and change the Lord can bring. This is where we find the newness God has for us only in Christ and His mercy.

"Royal Consciousness: Countering the Counter-Culture"

Chapter 2 “Royal Consciousness: Countering the Counter-Culture” pp. 21-37

In chapter 2, Brueggemann compares prophetic activity in the time of Moses to that of the time of Solomon. In Moses’ work, the power of Egypt was undercut and God’s people established a free nation which lasted hundreds of years. By the time of Solomon conditions and societal vision had changed substantially. Under Solomon there existed a governmental power which was increasing in influence and centralizing its power. The royal harem allowed for strong political marriages. Taxes were collected, shifting the economy from the individual and community to the state. The bureaucracy was nearly immune to criticism as it had grown large and distant. A standing army was able to quell rebellion. Rationalistic teaching served to repackage and explain reality. Conscripted labor could dominate village life. As the government centralized its power it also domesticated the messages of God, robbing prophecy of its power. The government-created affluence, oppressive social policy, and servile religion allowed for a worldview which had no place for forceful prophecy. Eventually, without the prophetic voice, the kingdom divided and collapsed. This message strikes me as being prophetic in itself. Much of history has shown this as a pattern. I must ask if my world is headed that direction.

The Alternative Community of Moses

Chapter 1 “The Alternative Community of Moses” pp. 1-19

Brueggemann introduces us to the work of a prophet by introducing us to Moses. As we consider the way Moses confronted Egypt we realize that God’s power is able to overcome any opponents. Yet as we look at the modern church we find that both liberalism and conservatism have lost the totality of the prophetic ministry. Liberalism through cultivation of doubt is left only with complaints about the culture. Conservatism with its acceptance of the status quo can give a vision of the future but without effective complaint or powerful articulation of a necessary change.

In contrast to the dominant culture, Moses brought God’s complaint against Egypt. He then articulated the promise of God and showed that this true God was the one who would systematically dismantle the tyranny of the Egyption state. In the criticizing and energizing work Moses not only showed the problems inherent in Egypt, but he showed the people of Israel the darkness in which they lived, the good and new reality which would emerge, and the freedom God would create. All this resulted in a community of praise, bringing glory to God.

If we are to recover a Mosaic prophetic ministry, says Brueggemann, we must recapture this world of criticism and energizing to bring God’s people out of darkness.

Brueggemann, Walter. The Prophetic Imagination (2nd Edition). Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001