Chapter 5, “The Pastoral Work of Community-Building: Esther”

Chapter 5, “The Pastoral Work of Community-Building: Esther” (Loc. 1837-2296)

“All pastoral work takes place in the setting of the church, the community of faith. The pastor is never a private chaplain to individuals; the pastor is never an impersonal speaker to crowds; the pastor is set in community and given the task of building that community” (loc. 1841). Peterson says this is viewed as good until our community notices we are building a community of faith, not what they might desire. There are so many secular substitutes for a community of faith that it is easy to be misunderstood (Loc. 1853). Yet the community is central to a biblical idea of God’s people. “There are no Robinson Crusoe traditions in the biblical narratives” (Loc. 1875).

Peterson draws our attention to “Esther because it presents the issue of the nature and function of God’s people in stark and simple terms; survival versus annihilation” (Loc. 1914(. The people around Esther were largely hostile. At best they were indifferent. How do God’s people live in community? In Esther they do, celebrating the victory of their people over the enemy. Our concern is that we have this joyful celebration in its right context. “Joy, separated from its roots in God and pursued apart from the community of faith, becomes mere sensation” (Loc. 1940).

There is little known about the Jews in their captivity in Babylon. We know that the people in Susa tended toward syncretism (Loc. 1988). This was not Judaism at its best. Our congregations are not perfect Christianity. All remain due to God’s grace (Loc. 2000). The size of the congregation is not its security but the Lord is (Loc. 2052).

Peterson diagnoses the problem. We prefer the active leadership of King Saul to the quiet faith of Mordecai. “The importance of Mordecai for the pastor derives from his style of leadership, a style that exemplifies the way of the servant” (Loc. 2179). Though he is the leader who protects all the Jews from destruction and who has been faithful to the pagan king, he does not seek honor or prestige.

Chapter 4, “The Pastoral Work of Nay-Saying: Ecclesiastes”

Chapter 4, “The Pastoral Work of Nay-Saying: Ecclesiastes” (Loc. 1428-1836)

The work of the pastor, as a visible individual, is often highly symbolic in people’s eyes, of the work of God. People want something from God and they expect the pastor to deliver it. There is, however, a drawback. “We work on a street teeming with competition. Every kind of religious leadership is offered to persons who want ‘god’” (Loc. 1450). Peterson suggests that people’s desires lie essentially in two directions, that they want miracles as they want answers (Loc. 1458). Amid the various demands, Ecclesiastes warns us what we must avoid (Loc. 1468). The dating and authorship are unclear. It is, however, clear that the preacher is in a time when religion and its wisdom are seen as delivering a life which is very fulfilling. We can discern that religious life was not entirely victorious. The author brings out the theme of enjoyment repeatedly (Loc. 1522) as if it is lacking in practice. The solution the preacher gives is the “yes” of the Gospel, not any other positive message (loc. 1536). as a result, when there is a message which tries to use God to gain our wants, the pastor’s response is “no” (Loc. 1565).

Peterson observes the pastoral function of the wisdom literature (Loc. 1592ff), noting that it is intended to focus worshipers in their everyday world. Contrary to this, the people found unsatisfying platitudes (Loc. 1640). Counter to this, God has revealed himself in Scripture which can be examined and held up to investigation (Loc. 1644). That knowledge and wisdom, though, needs to be kept in its context. It may not be divorced from God or it becomes mumbo-jumbo. “The only way to keep knowledge from becoming separated from relationship with God is to return to the confessional base of worship” (loc. 1662). Here we confess the God who works miracles at the same time that we learn to live in him whether he works those miracles or not. The true worship of God may well not be showy but will always be in consonance with God’s covenant (Loc. 1752). This is what creates vitality in worship.

Chapter 3, “The Pastoral Work of Pain - Sharing: Lamentations”

Chapter 3, “The Pastoral Work of Pain - Sharing: Lamentations” (Loc. 1088-1428)

“Among other things pastoral work is a decision to deal . . . with suffering” (Loc. 1092).  The Bible likewise shows God entering into our suffering. The book of Lamentations helps us see that suffering. The book of Lamentations helps us see that world of suffering which God enters. The book of Lamentations was traditionally read publicly on the Ninth of Ab, a fast remembering the Babylonian Captivity” (Loc. 1120). Lamentations is a highly structured book. “The laments are all composed on an alphabetic structure as acrostics. The five laments constitute, in company with Psalm 119, the most elaborate acrostic composition in the Bible” (Loc. 1130). Peterson traces some of the patterns of emotional movement found in the different portions of Lamentations. In the repetition of Lamentations Peterson sees that we return to consider our troubles even as we see they have an end. The pastor can help in healing. “the simple act of making an appointment to return to listen again to the tale of tragedy or sorrow or whatever begins to put boundaries around it” (Loc. 1181). Peterson further points out that the content of our lamentation is concrete. It is linked to actual happenings, not simply to feelings. Suffering has a root “in a locatable place and at a datable time” (Loc. 1196).

Peterson next moves to the concept of anger. “If, at one level, Lamentations is an immersion in human suffering, at another level it is an encounter with God’s anger” (Loc. 1243). Seeing suffering in a context which includes a personal God who can be angered also allows us to conceive of a God who can forgive. Here the person enduring trials can find comfort. Peterson observes that this leads to dignity, as opposed to the shame which other humanist traditions bring (Loc. 1315). Peterson is very critical of clinical pastoral training as it reduces the pastor to the servant of the medical model. It is through pastoral care that the hurting person can receive healing.

Chapter 2, “The Pastoral Work of Story-Making: Ruth”

Chapter 2, “The Pastoral Work of Story-Making: Ruth” (Loc. 683-1087)

Peterson views the pastor’s move from chancel to narthex as very difficult. In the chancel everything was ordered, neat and tidy. In the narthex he runs into the challenges of life (Loc. 697). “Ruth is a particularly useful book for the narthex, for the story is placed in ‘the times the judges judged,’ a notoriously disordered age” (Loc. 719). It is not who Ruth is or who the people of Israel are which makes them important. It is what God has done and declared (Loc. 746). Israel was aware of this aspect of life, which spurred them to write history. “This historical consciousness of Israel, made frm the stuff of election and covenant, has been thoroughly discussed by biblical scholars and does not need further elaboration here” (Loc. 772). Yet Ruh was historically read at Pentecost, a time when the people would be reminded by their own work of God’s work gathering a people.

Peterson finds it important that Ruth is in essence a short story, not a didactic text - as with real life, we get to interpret the story. Peterson elaborates on this at some length, then ties the idea to the give and take found in pastoral counseling and visitation.

Chapter 1, “The Pastoral Work of Prayer-Directing: Song of Songs”

Peterson, Eugene. Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980 Kindle Edition.

Chapter 1, “The Pastoral Work of Prayer-Directing: Song of Songs” (Loc. 233-682)

Peterson discusses the interaction of sexuality and prayer, both of which have a great deal to do with how we manage intimacy. “Much of pastoral work has to do with nurturing intimacy, that is, developing relationships in which love is successfully expressed and received - shared” (Loc. 239). All relationships can be seen with both horizontal (person to person) and vertical (person to God) dynamics. All our lives are dynamics of the earthly and the heavenly.

Beginning at Loc. 264 Peterson discusses salvation as the rescue of God from slavery to sin and evil. By this rescue, God puts people into their relationships, both with him and one another.  Passover was the time that Israel celebrated their salvation (Loc. 281). At Passover the Song of Songs is traditionally read. Peterson suggests this is to remind Israel of the personal intimacy of their salvation (Loc. 290).

At Loc. 330 Peterson explores Adam and the Fall as a model for our failure to live in covenant with God, a condition usually referred to as adultery or other unfaithfulness. Song of Songs (Loc. 340) is special in that it portrays the positive union rather than looking in negative terms. The connection finally is that of a covenant (Loc. 410) in which God’s love is the truest love there is.

This covenantal view of love reaches into the deepest interior relationships which we can have. Peterson extrapolates that this covenantal knowing is related to the frequent naming of God and His people. In Loc. 469 he applies this to pastoral work, indicating that knowing the people by name is one of the most important things a pastor does.

Peterson concludes the chapter by walking through the Song and applying the different situations to our longing, desires, and responses to hurts.