Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options.
Proper 12 / Ordinary 17 / Pentecost +9
July 25, 2010
Hosea 1
Ben Zvi, Ehud, "Observations on the Marital Metaphor of YHWH and Israel in its Ancient Israelite Context: General Considerations and Particular Images in Hosea 1.2," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2004.
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Abstract: “The marital metaphor became for the (mostly, if not exclusively, male) literati of ancient Israel—and for those who accepted their discourses—a way to shape, imagine, express, and communicate their understandings of the nature and story of their relationship with YHWH. This article addresses systemic aspects of this metaphor within this social and ideological setting and deals with the interplay of these aspects with the worldview and world of knowledge of these literati. A brief consideration of a particular instance of this metaphor, Hos. 1.2, serves to illustrate ways in which the actual use of the metaphor brought about matters that were related but clearly go beyond the 'generic' issues that the metaphor evoked in the readership of books in which it was used. Among them, one may mention the nature of Israel, its election by YHWH, explanations that served to solve or attenuate the cognitive dissonance between the status of the literati (and of Israel as a whole) in worldly affairs and their perceived place in the divine economy, and the importance of education.”
Mitchell, Matthew W., "Hosea 1-2 and the Search for Identity," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2004.
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Abstract: “Hosea's early chapters have borne the weight of much of the critical commentary and scholarly discussion of the book throughout the history of its interpretation. Although much of this attention has been the result of what Yvonne Sherwood has termed the 'critical obsession with Hosea's marriage', and its related assumptions about the biographical basis of this material, much of this scrutiny has also focused on the issues of genre and literary structure. Hosea is affirmed as a unified work of exceptional quality, in spite of the initial impression the text often gives of being comprised of distinct and loosely connected units whose meaning is obscured by an admittedly corrupt textual tradition. Chapters 1-2 are often described as a microcosm of this exceptionally subtle book, although this study's close examination of these chapters calls scholarly affirmations of Hosea's unity into question.”
Yee, Gayle A., "'She Is Not My Wife and I Am Not Her Husband': A Materialist Analysis of Hosea 1-2," Biblical Interpretation, 2001.
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Introduction: “This paper investigates the material and sociohistorical conditions that give rise to the notorious marriage metaphor for the God-Israel relationship, a metaphor capturing the imaginations of Hosea's male audience through a dramatic rhetoric of pain and pleasure. The exegetical method used is ideological criticism— described in my chapter in Judges and Method1—which performs two interrelated investigations. The extrinsic analysis will highlight the native tributary mode of production in eighth-century Israel and its effect on gender relations, the pluralistic cult, and emergent monolatry with its marginalization of women's popular religion. The intrinsic analysis will underscore the ideological dynamics of the marriage metaphor for God's covenant, the feminization of the ruling hierarchy, and its consequences for the symbolization of women as evil in Hosea.”
Genesis 18
Harrisville, Roy A., "God's Mercy -- Tested, Promised, Done! An Exposition of Genesis 18:20-32; Luke 11:1-13; Colossians 2:6-15," Interpretation, 1977.
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A (1977) look at the Genesis, Luke, and Colossians texts for this week. “When the texts selected for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost are examined in the context of each other, one idea emerges which might sustain them all : God, not the Promethean Abraham, nor the persistent faithful petitioner, nor the believer ‘rooted and built up,’ is the authentic subject of all three.”
Levine, Nachman, "Sarah/Sodom: Birth, Destruction, and Synchronic Tradition," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2006.
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Abstract: “This article proposes that reading Genesis 18-19, the announcement of Isaac's birth and the destruction of Sodom, as a cohesive narrative unit (and as a reversal of Gen. 13) reveals a deep structure of symmetry, opposition, and closure. Between counterpointed righteous birth and destroyed wickedness, opposed constructs move in opposite movement in dynamic synchrony and transformation. As the messengers of birth destroy Sodom, the aged barren Sarah becomes young and fertile while the fertile Sodom turns to ash and salt. Transacted opposition is established in the narrative's deep structure or at the linguistic level of literary association in similar and contrasted motifs, words, phrases, and wordplay.”
Greidanus, Sidney, "Detecting Plot Lines: The Key to Preaching the Genesis Narratives," Calvin Theological Journal, 2008.
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A look at plot lines in Genesis. In what ways might these inform a reading of this week’s Genesis text within its context in the book of Genesis?
Psalm 85
Siker, Judy Yates, "'All Will Be Well...' Reflection on an Elusive Shalom," The Living Pulpit, 2006.
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An exploration of the concept of “peace”/”shalom”. “Mother Teresa once said, ‘If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” This is a lesson for us as we grieve the loss of both personal and public shalom If we as pastors can begin to help our congregants understand this, then we may be able to begin the process of mourning the losses of all the ‘children. ‘ Now is the time that we, as the people of God, offer comfort by sharing one another's grief But what about that elusive shalom? Comfort and rest are important, but where is shalom?”
Swartley, Willard M., "The Relation of Justice/Righteousness to SHALOM / EIRENE," Ex Auditu, 2006.
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“An important step toward peace and justice in our world is to recognize the importance of preventive measures, developing programs to reduce violence by creating environments that build peace. Such programs have proven effective: teaching conflict resolution in elementary schools, providing peace-building activities for junior high and high school youth, and even gun buy-back programs. The United States especially needs to examine its priorities: why can we afford to build new prisons but we cannot afford these educational components in our public schools?”
Colossians 2
Hayes, Holly Diane, "Colossians 2:6-19, Between Text & Sermon," Interpretation, 1995.
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A 1995 “Between Text and Sermon” article from Interpretation. “How responsible can the faithful be when, although free from the yoke of sin, they are still subject to the ambiguity with which their own proclivities and life in a broken world confront them? Unable to receive from the world the sustenance that is necessary in order to live out this new identity as ones ‘rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith’ (v. 6), where in this life on earth are they to turn?”
Luke 11
Binau, Brad A., "'Holding On' and 'Letting Go': the Dynamics of Forgiveness," Word & World, 2007. (See Word & World 27.1 Forgiveness)
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Living as one who can forgive and be forgiven involves a healthy balance of ‘holding on’ and ‘letting go’ in an appropriate balance of ‘autonomy’ and ‘shame.’ Forgiveness finally is about freedom, the freedom to ‘hold on’ and ‘let go’ at will.
Hinson, E. Glenn, "Persistence in Prayer in Luke-Acts," Review & Expositor, 2007.
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Abstract: “Persistence in prayer is the key theme that runs throughout Luke and Acts. This theme is demonstrated by Jesus' actions throughout the gospel, is taught explicitly in one of the unique parables of Luke (the Persistent Widow), and is highlighted in the ways that Luke edits his gospel. In the book of Acts, this theme is demonstrated by the actions of Peter, Paul, and the early community of faith. Throughout Luke and Acts, persistence in prayer is not a matter of persuading a reluctant God, but rather it is a matter of disciples remaining faithful. In this interval between the ‘D-Day’ of the cross and the ‘V-Day’ of the parousia, not all our prayers are or can be answered. Persistence in prayer is how we remain faithful as we await the eschatological fulfillment of the gospel.
Jacobson, Karl N., "A Word in Season: Preaching the Lord's Prayer," Word & World, 2002.
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“Jesus invites us to ask, to search, and to knock, promising that God will respond. A sermon series on the Lord's Prayer can empower people to engage this promise.”
Wright, N.T., "Thy Kingdom Come: Living the Lord's Prayer," The Christian Century, 1997.
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What is the “Kingdom” which Jesus instructs the disciples to pray for and act toward? “Jesus set out to implement the coming of God's kingdom, and he did so— though not in the expected way.”