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Guelich Exegetes the Sermon on the Mount, Part 1

Robert A. Guelich. 1982. The Sermon on the Mount:  A Foundation for Understanding.  Dallas:  Word Publishing. (Go to part 2)

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

The Sermon on the Mount is a surprisingly oblique, but self-contained, section in Matthew’s Gospel spanning from chapter 5 through verse 8:1. In the sermon, Jesus presents a kind of ordination service for the Apostles with crowds in the background looking on. What does he tell them?  What are his priorities? How are we to interpret what is said?

Introduction

In his commentary, The Sermon on the Mount, Robert  Guelich starts by recognizing the enormity of the task, but lays out his reason for writing with these words:

Yet the absence of an extensive, critical, exegetical commentary in nearly four decades of biblical studies despite the vast literature on the Sermon provides both an opportunity and a need in New Testament (NT) studies (11).

Because NT scholarship is written both in German and English, Guelich’s studies in the U.S., Scotland, and Germany—his doctorate is from the University of Hamburg—suggests he has good preparation to write such a commentary.  At the time he wrote, Guelich was a professor of NT at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Literature Review

Guelich’s literature review (14-22) is relatively brief but includes some interesting points.  Citing Kissenger, Guelich notes that in early church (Ante-Nicene) writings chapters 5-7 of Matthew are cited more frequently than any other 3 chapters in the Bible (14).  Augustine was likely the first to use the term, Sermon on the Mount (15).  In his book, Summa, Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between “counsels” and “commandments” (advice versus obligation) placing Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon under “counsels” (15).  Luther preached a series of sermons on the Sermon focused on “polemics against the papists” (16) while Calvin’s primary interest was on Jesus’ interpretation of law (17).  Guelich describes Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship as one of the better known treatments of the Sermon which, of course, focused on what disciples should do rather than on theological interpretation .

Organization

Guelich’s commentary is written in 10 chapters, including:

Introduction (pages 13-40);The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 4:23-5:2; 41-60);The Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt 5:3-12; 62-112);The Role of Discipleships (Matt 5:13-16; 119-131);Jesus and the Law (Matt 5:17-20; 134-170);The Greater Righteousness (Matt 5:21-48; 175-265);On Doing Righteousness (Matt 6:1-18; 272-316);The Life of Prayer (Matt 6:19-7:12; 321-379);The Narrow Gate (Matt 7:13-27; 382-411); andEpilogue (Matt 7:28-29; 414-419).

These chapters are preceded by a brief preface and followed by a bibliography and indices of authors and scriptural passages.  The Beatitudes, which appear in Matthew 5:3-11, are treated primarily in chapter 3.

Let me turn briefly to the questions mentioned above.

What does Jesus tell them?

Guelich (36-39) breaks the sermon into 3 parts:  the Beatitudes, admonitions, and warnings. He sees the Beatitudes serving as a theological introduction expanded on in the admonitions and warnings of Matthew 5:17-7:27. Guelich sees the admonitions ending with the Golden rule in Matthew 7:12.  The warnings then follow in 7:13-27.  Ironically, the Lord’s Prayer appears among the admonitions in Matthew 6 and he sees the prayer providing structure to the remainder of the chapter and the first 12 verses of Matthew 7.

What are Jesus’ priorities?

Jesus is addressing the Apostles to inaugurate his vision for discipleship in the new age of the Kingdom of Heaven, summarized especially in Isaiah 61 (37):

“…the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion…” (Isa 61:1-3 ESV)

These priorities are captured in the Beatitudes.  They are credible, in part, because they appear almost verbatim in Luke 4:17-20 where Jesus gives his “call” sermon.

How are we to interpret what Jesus said?

Guelich describes his interpretation method as “critical, historical” commentary. He writes:

“…this commentary offers a critical exegesis in that it makes use of the literary and historical critical tools include text, source, form, tradition, redaction, and structural criticism”. (23)

Guelich’s skill as an interpreter is reflected in the wide range of critical methods that he employs.  For example, he carefully distinguishes 3 sources in Matthew’s Gospel: Q materials appearing in Matthew and Luke; Matthew’s redaction (things attributable only to Matthew); and other NT sources, such as Mark.  This careful inventory of sources provides Guelich the ability to infer author intent and other things when discussing particular Gospel writers.  He sees the end of the Sermon (Matt 7:28) being borrowed from Mark 1:22 and the prelude to the Sermon (Matt 4:23-5:2) appearing at Mark 1:39 (414-415).  This insight places the Sermon early in Jesus’ ministry.

Assessment

Robert Guelich’s commentary, The Sermon on the Mount, is one of the most carefully written and interesting commentaries that I have ever read.  In part 2, I will focus in more depth on particular issues that he raises.

Footnotes

 Guelich’s BS is from Wheaton College, his MS from the University of Illinois, and S.T.B. is from Fuller Theological Seminary.  He has done post-graduate studies at University of Aberdeen (UK) and the University of Tübingen.

 See my review of the Cost of Discipleship at:   Bonhoeffer’s Nachfolge:  Following After Christ (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-y9).

Guelich Exegetes the Sermon on the Mount, Part 1Also see:Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.netPublisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter: https://bit.ly/East_2022, Signup

 

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Sin and Evil: Monday Monologues (podcast), May 9, 2022

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on the Sin and Evil. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Sin and Evil: Monday Monologues (podcast), May 9, 2022
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Monday Monologue On March 26, 2018 



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Prayer Contra Sin

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Almighty Father,

All praise and honor, power and dominion, legislator of righteousness and judge of the sinful, for you created us in your image and have guided us to glorify that image in our lives and work.

Forgive us when we avert our eyes from evil and let besetting sins creep into our identities.

Thank you for the guidance of the law and your character, especially the example of Jesus Christ.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, draw us to yourself: open our hearts, illumine our minds, and strengthen our hands in your service.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Prayer Contra Sin
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
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SIn and Evil

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from evil.

(Matt 6:13)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

The Apostle Paul writes: ”All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) Augustine (Foley 2006, 9) argued that we are born in sin. The early church routinely practiced exorcism as part of the baptismal service because: “The exorcisms [meant] to face evil, to acknowledge its reality, to know its power, and to proclaim the power of God to destroy it.” (Schmemann 1973, 70-71)

Sin Defined

Sin is a broad term encompassing several related ideas: sin, trespass, and iniquity.

In New Testament Greek, sin is an archery term that means to fall short of the mark. When we strive to do good, but give into temptation, we sin.

Trespass is a legal term that implies the breaking of a rule or law. Driving at ninety miles per hour on a road with a posted speed limit of fifty-five miles per hour is a trespass.

Iniquity, like sin, can also take a broad meaning but it is helpful to think of iniquity as failing to do something good. The most famous case of the bystander problem occurred in New York City (Queens) in 1964 when thirty-eight people witnessed the stabbing death of Kitty Genovese and no one came to her aid or even bothered to call the police (White 2004, 155). Watching someone get murdered may not be illegal, but it is an iniquity.

The Importance of Purpose

James K. A. Smith offers an interesting ethical insight into the nature of evil. An instrument (or person) is good when it is used with its purpose in view and evil when it is not.

Smith asks how one would evaluate a flute used to roast marshmallows over a fire— we flinch this image of a misused flute. Why? The measure of a flute is how it is used to play music, not how well it roasts marshmallows. Smith (2016, 89) observes: “Virtue is bound up with a sense of excellence: a virtue is a disposition that inclines us to achieve the good for which we are made.” Being created in the image of God implies that we are on a mission in worship to develop the virtues through ritual and sacrament that match God’s intent for our lives (Smith 2016, 88).

Rick Warren (2002, 17) put it this way: “You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.” (Col 1:16) 

Pejorative Evil

Evil is often defined today as the absence of good. When God created light, he declared it to be good (Gen 1:3). The absence of light, darkness, could be thought of as evil—the absence of good without a pejorative inference. True evil is, however, never simply the absence of good.

Viktor Frankl (2008, 92) was a Jewish psychiatrist interned in the concentration camps by the Germans during the Second World War. His tips to prospective camp inmates on how to survive the camps offer insight into the nature of pejorative evil:

Don’t draw attention to yourself from sadistic guards.
Shave daily, walk briskly, and stand up straight to look healthy enough for work.
Applaud profusely when sadistic guards read poetry.
In walking in formation, stay in the middle or the front to avoid those that stumble and the beatings that follow.
Offer free psychiatric counseling to guards in need of it.

The key term in this description is sadistic. Evil pollutes those that touch it encouraging further evil—those abused often themselves become abusers.

This cycle of evil is not an urban legend. Stanfard (2008, 204) reports that: “Approximately 70 percent of borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients report that they were sexuality abused as a child.” The male BPD patients are the classic wife beaters, while the female BDP patients specialize in emotional abuse. In either form, spouses of BPD patients are at a high risk of suicide.

Besetting Sin

Besetting sin—chronic sin—begins to capture the true nature of evil. Evil begins to reveal itself when sin becomes part of our identity. The evil person cannot help themselves because we all live out our identities. When evil becomes institutionalized, some people practice it openly while others advert their eyes. Denying the reality of evil is on par with denying the Holocaust.

In the context of institutionalized evil, many people avoid making decisions hoping that they can escape accountability for their actions. Hannah Arendt was a student of Martin Heidegger and German Jew who, having escaped Nazi death camps before coming to America, was asked to cover the Adolf Eichmann trial in Jerusalem (1961) for the New Yorker magazine. Eichmann was the German officer who organized Adolf Hitler’s program of extermination of the Jews known as the Final Solution.

Arendt attended the trial, expecting to see a hateful, anti-Semite, only to discover that Eichmann appeared as more of a petty bureaucrat. The face of evil at the Eichmann trial was that of someone unable or unwilling to think for themselves (Arendt 1992, 97–101).Blamires (2005, 27) observed: “Eichmann is the archetype of our age, the supreme Organization Man. He kept the system going.” The discovery of interviews that Eichmann gave before he was captured that suggested Arendt had been duped, another aspect of the truly evil (Rosenthal 2011).

Satan in the Bible

Satan’s role in tempting us and promoting evil in the world is found throughout scripture. In the Garden of Eden, Satan is pictured as a snake who rebels against God and tempts others to sin by rebelling with him (Kline 2006, 302). God later advises Cain to be good because, otherwise, sin will strike like a snake crouching at your door (Gen 4:7).

Another important image of Satan is given in Job 1, where Satan is depicted as a ruthless prosecuting attorney in God’s court. Satan’s cruel lies slandered righteous Job. Still, Satan cannot afflict Job without first seeking God’s permission (Job 1:6-12). In spite of Satan’s cruelty, Job remains faithful. In the end, God not only acquits him of all of Satan’s charges, Job is rewarded for his faithful perseverance (Job 42:10).

In the synoptic gospels, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the desert where the devil tempts him (e.g. Luke 4:1-13). Much like Adam and Eve are tempted with food, the devil starts by trying to goad a hungry Jesus to turn a stone into bread. The devil tempts Jesus three times. Jesus cites scripture in response to each temptation. In the final temptation, the Devil’s temptation starts by misquoting scripture, but Jesus corrects the deception and resists the temptation (Nouwen 2002, 7–8).

Unlike Adam, Jesus remains faithful to God’s will in life and in death. Jesus’ death on the cross then fulfills the prophecy of Satan’s defeat (Gen 3:15) and pays the penalty for sin, so that we have been redeemed (Rom 5:12-14). Because the curse of sin is broken, the death penalty for sin has been rescinded (1 Cor 15:22). The resurrection, accordingly, proves that we have been reconciled with God.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus asks us to pray that we not be tempted and that we be delivered from evil. Because Satan must ask permission to tempt us, God can deny that petition and our deliverance is within his power. King David writes: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” (Ps 16:1) Jesus has promised us that when we turn to him in weakness our salvation is secure (John 10:29).

References

Arendt, Hannah. 1992. Lectures on Kant’s Political Philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1995. The Cost of Discipleship (Orig Pub 1937). New York: Simon and Schuster.

Arendt, Hannah. 1996. The Life of the Mind: The Groundbreaking Investigation of How We Think. New York: Harvest Book.

Blamires, Harry. 2005. The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think? (Orig Pub 1963) Vancouver: Regent College Publishing.

Foley, Michael P. [editor] 2006. Augustine Confessions (Orig Pub 397 AD). 2nd Edition. Translated by F. J. Sheed (1942). Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Frankl, Viktor E. . 2008. Man’s Search for Meaning: A Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust (Orig Pub 1946). Translated by Ilse Lasch. London: Rider.

Kline, Meredith G. 2006. Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers.

Nouwen, Henri J. M. 2002. In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company.

Rosenthal, Alan. 2011. “Eichmann Revisited.” The Jerusalem Post. April 20. Online: https://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/Jewish-World/Eichmann-Revisited. Accessed: December 3, 2018.

Schmemann, Alexander. 1973. For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy. Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

Smith, James K. A. 2016. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press.

Stanford, Matthew S. 2008. Grace for the Afflicted: Viewing Mental Illness Through the Eyes of Faith. Colorado Springs: Paternoster.

Warren, Rick. 2002. The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For? Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

White, James Emery. 2004. Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Sin and Evil
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com



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Marcuse Interprets Freud

Herbert Marcuse. 1974. Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud (Orig Pub 1955). Boston: Beacon Press.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

Since the Enlightenment of the nineteenth century, the two most prominent slanderers of God have been Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. Marx called faith the opioid of the masse; Freud called faith an illusion (McGrath 2004, 62-71). The work of these two pillars of atheism comes together in Herbert Marcuse’s Eros and Civilization.

The cult status of this book among prominent student radicals in the 1960s, like the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), makes the book a necessary reading for those trying to understand cultural changes that have occurred since then.

Introduction

In his introduction, Marcuse (7) writes: “The purpose of this essay is to contribute to the philosophy of psychoanalysis—not psychoanalysis itself.” The word, Eros, comes from Greek and it is commonly translated as erotic love. Marcuse focuses on interpreting Freud’s views on metapsychology, by which he means cultural psychology, writing to an academic audience. His particular interest is in the relationship between the id and ego (sex and conscience) as they interact and reinforce culture.

This work, like Freud’s, builds on a mythical interpretation of history and offers virtually no empirical evidence in support of assumptions and analytical speculations. This point is important because of the sweeping influence that it has had on personal lives and culture.

The ideas for this book stemmed from lectures given in 1950-51 at the Washington School of Psychiatry.

  Background and Organization

 Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) studied at Humboldt University in Berlin and received his doctorate at Freiburg. During the Second World War he worked the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (later, Central Intelligence Agency). His leftist credentials stem both from his writing and association with Frankfurt School of critical theory, now known as The New School for Social Research in New York. The Frankfurt School is the focal point of criticism described as cultural Marxism.

 Marcuse writes in eleven chapters:

The Hidden Trend in PsychoanalysisThe Origin of the Repressed Individual (Ontogenesis)The Origin of Repressive Civilization (Phylogenesis)The Dialect of CivilizationPhilosophical InterludeThe Historical Limits of the Established Reality PrinciplePhantasy and UtopiaThe Images of Orpheus and NarcissusThe Aesthetic DimensionThe Transformation of Sexuality into ErosEros and Thanatos (ix-x)

These chapters are proceeded by prefaces (1955 and 1966) and an introduction. They are followed by an epilogue and index. Marcuse writes about the notorious implications of his work openly in his 1966 preface.

The Freudian Model

Mancuse starts by presenting and augmenting the Freudian model of the family and civilization (culture). He writes: ”According to Freud, the history of man is the history of his repression…The uncontrolled Eros is just as fatal as his deadly counterpart, the death instinct.” (11) He continues: “The reality principle supersedes the pleasure principle: man learns to give up momentary, uncertain, and destructive pleasure for delayed, restrained, but ‘assured’ pleasure.” (13) Here pleasure is defined primarily in terms of sexual urges and death presents itself in the need to spend almost every waking hour at work to earn a living. Delayed sexual activities constitute repression and freedom is an absence of repression.

Mancuse (15) uses these definitions then to develop his cultural framework with a mythical story:

“The rule of the primal father is followed, after the first rebellion, by the rule of the sons, and the brother clan develops into institutionalized social and political domination.”

The family is accordingly the source of repression, which, in turn, becomes an agent of domination. He then goes onto posit: “Domination differs from rational exercise of authority.” (36) At this point, he is able to outline a new utopia where as civilization advances productivity, repressive and dominating relationships can be minimized and individual freedom abounds (147).

A Perspective

The model that Mancuse frames based on Freud is static and he offers no empirical evidence to support it.

Presumably the reader pictures themselves as a frustrated son in a family dominated by a father who maintains a monopoly on sexual relations and obligates the son to work, perhaps a younger Sigmund Freud. The model appears static because we are not told how the father became productive enough to start the family or how the son will be educated to take his place. The focus is on the engine of repression within the family and how this evolves into a pattern of further domination. We see no education component, no technological growth to fuel the coming utopia, and no competition to force other families to adopt similar patterns.

In graduate school in the early 1980s, I had a colleague from Siberia who his ex-pat friends referred to as Uri the spy. Like any good intelligence officer during that period, Uri spent his days reading newspapers and his evenings hosting vodka parties. I was visiting beef packing plants for my dissertation work (Hiemstra 1985) so I asked Uri to describe modern packing plants in the USSR. He proceeded to describe the same slaughtering technology in Russia that Upton Sinclair (1980) pictured in 1906 in the United States. In effect, the absence of reinvestment in the USSR left their basic infrastructure what it was before the Russian Revolution, consistent with a static Marxian worldview. The Marxian proclivity to focus on distributing the surplus rather than keeping up with the completion later led to the collapse of Russian communism.

In the Mancuse model, the static nature of the model is likely to encourage adherents to adopt a less disciplined lifestyle with the consequence of a declining commitment to family life and a lower standard of living, as we now see for many people in Western countries.

Assessment

Herbert Marcuse’s Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud is an academic book. A typical reader might not be able to follow his critique of philosophy writers, like Kant, Schiller, Marx, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Freud or be able to read his frequent quotes in untranslated German, French, and Greek. I have studied all three languages and previously read some of the philosophy literature and related critiques, but I frankly could not always follow his arguments. I recommend this book primarily to researchers interested in understanding the sexual revolution since the 1960s.

 References

Hiemstra, Stephen W. 1985. Labor Relations, Technological and Structural Change in U.S. Beef Packing and Retailing. Dissertation. Michigan State University.

McGrath, Alister. 2004. The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World. New York: DoubleDay.

Sinclair, Upton. 1980. The Jungle (Orig Pub 1906). New York: New American Library.

Footnotes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfu.... https://www.NewSchool.edu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultura....

Marcuse Interprets FreudAlso see:Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.netPublisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter: https://bit.ly/East_2022, Signup

 

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Mankurt: Monday Monologues (podcast), May 2, 2022

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on the Mankurt Phenomena. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Mankurt: Monday Monologues (podcast), May 2, 2022
Also see:



Monday Monologue On March 26, 2018 



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Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net,
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Prayer for Compassion and Mercy

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Merciful and Compassionate Father,

May your name be glorified, Lord most high, because you care enough to model your goodness and faithfulness to all who look up and bear witness to your love.

Have mercy on us for we have not followed in your footsteps, lived a holy life, and practiced healthy habits of the mind and body. May the errors we commit not be fatal, but rather draw us back to your loving example in Jesus Christ.

We give thanks for the many blessings of this life: our health, our families, and our resources.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, be ever near and make us aware of your presence. Remember those suffering and heal those afflicted. Grant us strength, grace, and peace.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Prayer for Compassion and Mercy
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com



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Mankurt Phenomena

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

If centering our lives on the divine image helps us model our lives on Christ, then neglecting or rejecting that image leaves us de-centered. What does de-centering look like?

In the extreme, de-centered people are often contenders for a Darwin Award,⁠1 that is, careless to the point of being self-destructive. This week in Florida, for example, a man obsessed that another driver had taken a shot at him began shooting up his own car with an automatic pistol, all of which was recorded on dashcam video (Kika 2022). While de-centered people are often described as psychiatric, such descriptions focus on the effect without diagnosing the cause.

When we focus on the image of God, less effort is required to maintain a healthy balance that cannot easily be achieved in other ways.

The Mankurt Phenomena

The Turkish word, mankurt, refers to a slave who has forgotten who he is and, as a consequence, can be put to work doing dirty, dishonorable work without serious objection.⁠2 A Turkish child carried off by Mongol raiders in the twelfth century and raised as a Mongol would be described as a mankurt.

A mankurt differs from a renegade in the underlying problem. A renegade has primarily betrayed his community while a mankurt has primarily betrayed himself (or herself). 

The mankurt’s lost identity is a de-centering problem, which is why the mankurt’s master is able to manipulate them into taking on the most despicable activities. The child soldier is often a modern mankurt. Human traffickers employ a similar strategy when they de-center victims with drugs. Torture and brain washing refer to a similar de-centering tactics used to breakdown and interrogate prisoners.

The idea of a mankurt becomes a social problem when media, drug use, and dysfunctional subcultures de-center large numbers of people, leaving them alone and vulnerable. At the heart of this cultural crisis is a spiritual problem—we have become de-centered from the image of God.

Biblical De-centering Stories

The Bible cites several several stories of societies that have become de-centered. The most famous of these are Sodom and Gomorrah, and Nineveh.

The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is often interpreted primarily in terms of the judgment of God on these two cities for their sexual sin, including homosexual sin. Yet, the context of the story is a dialogue between God and Abraham that begins with: “The LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Gen 18:17-18) While the judgment of the cities is topical, the story focuses on Abraham’s handling of God’s disclosure. What does Abraham do? Abraham immediately intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah, knowing that his self-absorbed nephew, Lot, lives near Sodom.

The key phrase in Abraham’s intercession is: “Will you [God] indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (Gen 18:23) God does not spare the cities, but he does send his angel to rescue Lot and his family.

In this passage, God reveals his judgment to Abraham, a stand in for the rest of us, to see how Abraham will react. In this example, Abraham passes the test when he exhibits compassion for the cities and engages God in intercessory prayer.

The counter-example arises in the story of the Prophet Jonah. In this short story, we read: “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:1-2) God’s disclosure to Jonah is similar to that of Abraham. Nineveh is another evil city, that God told his prophet that he would destroy. But unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, God offers the city an alternative by sending Jonah to: “call out against it.”

Nineveh was the hometown of Sennacherib king of Assyria, who had seized all of Judea, except for Jerusalem (Isa 36:1). Jonah hated the Ninevites and, instead of going to preach God’s mercy to them, he got on a ship to escape from God and his mission. Then, as every Sunday school kid knows, a storm came up, the sailors tossed Jonah overboard, and he is swallowed by a whale that, after three days, spits him up on a beach. God then repeats his request for Jonah to go to Nineveh.

Listen to why Jonah refused to go: “And he prayed to the LORD and said, O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (Jonah 4:2) In this response, Jonah recites Exodus 34:6, which recounts God’s character traits. Knowing God is merciful, Jonah refused to preach repentance to the Ninevites, but later does so reluctantly and they do repent, averting God’s wrath, much to Jonah’s consternation (Jonah 3:10, 4:1).

While we want to focus on these examples as examples of sin, scripture clearly focuses on our response to God’s disclosures. The sin is what it is. Still, de-centered people are rightly an object of ministry.

Centering Brings Healing

In 2012, I worked at Providence Hospital as a chaplain intern and requested assignment to the Alzheimer’s unit in Carroll Manor. There I met a man who I will call Albert.

Albert spent his days wandering up and down the halls in the lock-down unit.  Albert would come up to you and attempt to talk, but could only blather incoherently, which disturbed him greatly. Other patients could talk; Albert could only blather.

One Friday afternoon, I recruited some patients, including Albert, to attend Happy Hour, a punch and cookie affair where they often invited musicians to entertain the patients. That afternoon, a jazz saxophonist played. My patients, including Albert, got up and danced to the music. Alzheimer’s patients, unlike other seniors, always have fun because they have forgotten what it means to be shy and embarrassed.

Before we were done, Albert had danced with at least three different women and he came back to the unit speaking in complete sentences. His awakening lasted another six weeks that I know about. His joy at hearing Jazz music and dancing healed him of his former blathering, a miraculous event.

Alzheimer’s patients can be described as time travelers as their disease interfers with their ability to distinguish present experiences from past memories. They get lost in the clouds; totally de-centered. In Albert’s case, jazz music helped him center his thoughts and restored his cognitive abilities, at least for a time.

In the same way, focusing on the image of God centers the rest of us.

References

Kika, Thomas. 2022. “Road Rage Shooting Captured by In-Car Camera Viewed More Than 450K Times.” Newsweek. 31 January. Online: https://www.newsweek.com/road-rage-shooting-captured-car-camera-viewed-more-450k-times-1674293.

Footnotes

1 https://DarwinAwards.com/.

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mankurt.

Mankurt Phenomena
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
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Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com



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Brackey: Look for Joy

Jolene Brackey.  2007.  Creating Moments of Joy for the Person with Alzheimer’s or Dementia:  A Journal for Caregivers.  West Lafayette:  Purdue University Press.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

What brings you joy?

One morning I met a woman who had been in a horrible car accident.  The accident broke pretty much every bone in her body and the trauma triggered a psychiatric disorder.  She approached me in the ward rapping a song featuring me—what she knew of me personally—in real time.  As we talked, the stories told were exceedingly dark with tales of abuse, neglect, and sorrow—none of which intersected much with reality. After about 30 minutes of dark tales, I asked her a question—what brings you joy?  She brightened up and became sugar and spice and everything nice.  It was as if she needed permission to enter that room in her mind.

Organization

In her book, Creating Moments of Joy, Jolene Brackey writes:

I have a vision…that we will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease and focus more of our energy on creating moments of joy.  When a person has short-term memory loss, his life is made up of moments.  We are not able to create a perfectly wonderful day with those who have dementia, but it is absolutely attainable to create perfectly wonderful moments (13).

Brackey (9-12) writes her journal in 5 parts:

Understanding the Person with Alzheimer’s, (pages 16-28)Powerful Tools That Create Positive Outcomes, (36-76)Let’s Talk Communication, (82-126)Memory Enhanced Environments, (130-204) andEnhanced Moments, (212-318).

The book begins with acknowledgments, advice on using the book, and an introduction.  It ends with a conclusion, bibliography, and author introduction.

Discussion

Alzheimer’s disease is distinguished from other forms of dementia by the fact that the patient’s cognitive ability gradually deteriorates. This deterioration occurs in stages. This deterioration can be slowed, but not stopped by medication. This deterioration can be accelerated by trauma, surgery, and mistakes in medication.  Other forms of dementia arise from physical damage to the brain through head trauma, cardiovascular problems, and things like prolonged oxygen deprivation.

We all come to Alzheimer’s disease wanting explanations and wanting to find a cure. Part of this quest is ignorance; part is guilt. Alzheimer’s disease is mostly not understood and research dollars are generally allocated to other diseases. Brackey is accordingly short on explanations and long on making the most of the journey.

Alzheimer’s Description

Brackey notes, for example, that as the disease progresses, the patient’s apparent age regresses (18-19).  They do not recognize their grown children, in part, because they remember their kids as young as when they  themselves were younger. Alzheimer’s patients are time travelers.  They have good and bad days as their cognitive function comes and goes with energy levels.  Physical exhaustion generally leads to a bad day.  Patients whose energy levels deteriorate late in the day are sometimes referred to as having “sunset dementia.”

Brackey (22) mentions that Alzheimer’s patients lose their inhibitions. In the ward where I worked, on Fridays  they had happy hour when musicians were invited to come and play for the group.  The Alzheimer’s residents would sing and dance to the music while other elderly residents were too embarrassed to do either.  Lost of inhibitions can be a source of embarrassment, but it can also be a source of joy.  Alzheimer’s patients are like children masquerading as adults.

Music Therapy

Brackey (162-164) has a chapter on music which deserves more attention.  Because Alzheimer’s patients are time travelers,  familiar songs–particularly religious music–helps them center on the here and now.  Religious music is special because, having been repeated over many years, it is buried very deeply in our memories.  It is often the music of our youth and a source of joy.  Patients, who  could not speak in complete sentences, will sing and clap and suddenly be able to engage in conversation after music sessions.  If you are skeptical, try singing the doxology to an Alzheimer’s patient or, if they are African American, sing a Gospel song like “Amen” and observe the response.

Groundhog Day

In a 1993 film called Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a weatherman forced to relive groundhog day over and over.  He is in love with a co-worker at the station, played by Andie MacDowell, but has trouble attracting her attention.  After a point, he realizes that the groundhog day phenomena allows him to try different ways to woo her heart and he remembers her response from the previous days.  After many failed attempts, he finally wins her heart and groundhog day comes to an end.

With Alzheimer’s patients, every day is groundhog day.

Groundhog day is both a curse and a blessing. The curse arises when patients are reminded of past pains and relive them—griefs lived over and over with no resolution. The blessing comes in that as caregivers our mistakes are quickly forgotten and we can try something different.

Brackey reminds us that we can bring sunshine to our patients.  We can remember their accomplishments; share in their greatness; and share in their reality (41).  We can be the loving family that hopefully they have or maybe they had or maybe never had (36-37).  Facility staff must sometimes step in where family members are unable or unwilling to journey.

Assessment

Brackey’s Creating Moments of Joy is truly best used as a journal.  She offers tons of useful advice whose usefulness will not be immediately obvious on reading it the first time.  It is best to make a mental note of what was read and come back to it when daily experiences prod your memory.  This is a helpful book for anyone caring for an Alzheimer’s patient or trying to relate to one.

Brackey: Look for JoyAlso see:Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.netPublisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter: https://bit.ly/East_2022, Signup

 

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Centering: Monday Monologues (podcast), April 25, 2022

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Image and Stability. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Centering: Monday Monologues (podcast), April 25, 2022
Also see:



Monday Monologue On March 26, 2018 



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Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net,
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