Call and Response
Genesis 12:1-9
Rhetorical and theological argument of the text
This pericope is one of the patriarchal legends.[1] The first of such legends, it tells of the inauguration of the people of Israel found in the promise to Abraham. Three primary characteristics inform the interpretation of the passage.
The first of these elements is the use of various forms of brk, the Hebrew stem of “bless.” Used four times in two short verses, it dominates the words of God to Abraham. In the old patriarchal legends “’blessing’ is based on God’s free decision, grounded only in himself.”[2] Abraham is the recipient, responsible only for the requested action for the blessing. Secondly, the passage is structured in two sections, the action of God in 1-3 and the obedient response of Abraham in 4-9.[3] Thirdly, the response is dominated by the sense of movement. Both sections begin with the keyword “Go.”[4] Additionally, Abraham moves in stages much as the promise of God is revealed in stages.[5] Abraham is moving forward in faith, and in doing so finds himself “an alien in a land of promise.”[6] His response to promise is in many ways paradigmatic for the people of God, a very appropriate way “to signal the commencement of the biblical process.”[7]
Focus statement of sermon:
God extends his promise and calls his people to “go forth” in confident response to the future he projects.
Function statement of sermon:
To remind the church to take action in ways demonstrating faith in God’s promised future
for his people.
Pericope Choice Rational for Pathways Project
This passage was chosen with an eye toward the church’s recent conflict that may have created doubt in the possibility of the eschatological vision proposed for the church. As a community called to “go forth” in response to the as yet unrealized vision for God’s people, the focus and function of the sermon reminds the church both that the promise is in the process of fulfillment and that they are to act in ways faithful to God’s intentions for his people in the meantime.
Plot Line of Sermon:
Found in nearly every culture around the world, travel stories, often full of surprise and suspense, captivate us because they contain suspense and surprise. Even then, we don’t like to travel that way because we prefer confirmation at every step. Still, God did not plan our kind of trip for Abraham, and he wants us as his people to travel forward in faith in his future destination.
First paragraph of the introduction:
My uncle is a bit of a jokester, and he pulled a good one on my aunt about fifteen years ago. My aunt, uncle, and cousins had been planning a trip to the southern part of the Texas coast along with some friends of theirs. My aunt called to give my mom their hotel number and contact information, but not five minutes after they hung up my uncle called back. In whispered tones he gave my mom new hotel information . . . in Florida. See my uncle had been in charge of making all the reservations and without my aunts knowledge had planned a much more elaborate trip to Disney World. They were planning to drive, and it wasn’t until they reached the Alabama boarder that my aunt looked up from keeping my cousins occupied and noticed that they were definitely not in Kansas anymore. Surprise![8]
Move 1
· Opening Sentence: Found in nearly every culture around the world, travel stories, often full of surprising twists and encounters, captivate our imagination.
· Description of Move: Move will name and briefly describe examples of travel stories from around the world. [9] The emphasis in each story will be on surprising elements within those stories, such as unexpected turns, surprising beginnings, unforeseen challenges, etc., particularly on the ways in which those elements fundamentally change or shape the outcome of the story.[10]
· Closing Sentence: As widespread as they are popular, such exciting travel stories continue to captivate us.
Move 2
· Opening Sentence: But we don’t like to travel that way because we prefer confirmation at every step.[11]
· Description of Move: This move will contain two parts. It will first describe the undesirable uncertainties of travel. Having done that it will give particular examples of the lengths at times taken to ensure that all aspects of a trip are confirmed and guaranteed. These examples could include the efforts of travel companies to provide confirmation, the iPhones ability to provide remote check-in and locate restaurants in the terminal, and other travel innovations designed to provide control and eliminate surprising elements.
· Closing Sentence: We want control over every step, to know when and how we are going to get where we are going, what steps are necessary along the way, and we certainly do not like to travel without knowing about our destination.
Move 3
· Opening Sentence: Still, God did not plan our kind of trip for Abraham.
· Description of the Move: Supplying critical background information for the pericope, this move will delve into the text in which God has broken suddenly into the story, inviting Abraham into a journey. An intentional parallel will be drawn with the previous move as common travel anxieties such as lodging, character of destination, location of destination, purpose of travel, etc are shown to be elements of Abraham’s experience. Emphasis will be places on the call of God and the response of Abraham in which God said, “Go” and Abraham “went.”[12]
· Closing sentence: God planned a trip for Abraham that required a step out in faith that God would provide the means, the direction, and even the destination.
Move 4:
· .Opening Sentence: . . and he wants us as his people to travel in faith in his future destination.
· Description of the Move: As it is most important to connect the physical and geographic journey of Abraham to a stationary congregation, this move will parallel Abraham’s journey to our own forward progress as the people of God in the attempt to enact His vision for the church.[13] Movement to achieve and live out the vision of the church likewise depends on faith that God will accomplish the vision he has set forth. In describing the movement of the church, travel metaphors and language will be consistently employed.[14]
· Closing Sentence: As the people of God, we move toward God’s future not in faith that we can plan the right way to get there but in deep faith that through our faithful response God will accomplish his vision.
Last paragraph of the conclusion:
God has called us all as His people, calling us out of our old way of doing things and our old style of life into a life directed by his promise. We are not there yet. The vision of God for his people has yet to be fulfilled. But like Abraham we are confident that what God has promised he will do, what God intends will come to pass regardless of the difficulties around us. So when God says, “Go” we gather our things, pick up our bags, and hit the road.
Bibliography:
Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004.
Jenni, Ernst, and Claus Westermann. Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated by Mark E. Biddle. 3 vols. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1997.
Speiser, E. A. Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. Anchor Bible 1. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1964.
Wehman, Gordon J. Genesis 1-15. Word Biblical Commentary 1. Waco, TX: Word, 1987.
Do as I say and as I do
Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Rhetorical and theological argument of the text
This passage begins the final section of the introductory section of the book, which is primarily the address of Moses to the people gathered at Horeb. It could generally be categorized as a homily.[15] While part of a larger section extending through 11:25, this pericope is defined by the temporal marker “and now” that appears both in 10:12 and 20.[16] This marker signifies the transition from the recollections of Israel’s history in 9:7-10:11 to the instruction based on such history.[17] Additionally, both the introductory and concluding sections of the passage contain commands to “fear” and to “serve” the Lord.
Fear of the Lord is qualified in verse 12 by the vocatives that follow, which all serve as parallel terms.[18] The term yr-et-yhwh, “to fear Yahweh,” expresses Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh evident in “the worship of Yahweh with particular attention to the concept of faithfulness to him as the covenant God.”[19] This term is also significant because the entire book appears patterned after Assyrian treaties, which were essentially loyalty oaths. The most striking similarity between Deuteronomy and the treaties is the use of particular vocabulary, including the prevalence of “love” and “fear.” All of these verbs carry the idea of loyalty. [20]
The passage, therefore, states succinctly the renewal of the covenant between God and his people as they stand on the threshold of the promised land, a covenant to which the people are to be loyal by their obedience. Their call to covenant loyalty is based both on their experience, as related in verses 15-16, 19, and 22, and the character of God described in verses 14, 17-18, and 21.
Pericope Choice Rational for Pathways Project
As the ethics of the community should be patterned after the nature of the Trinity, this passage pictures the evident nature of God and reflection on the community’s experience as dual lens through which those ethics can be identified and therefore practiced.
Focus statement of sermon:
God’s own nature and actions for his people provide the basis and model for his commands to love and fear the Lord and to love others.
Function statement of sermon:
To prompt the church to show the same loving commitment or loyalty to God and to
others that God demonstrates in his own nature and actions.
Sermon Plot:
We find “do as I say not as I do” convincing because it communicates a lack of commitment. The Lord says instead to his people “Do as I say for it is what I do.” The Lord asks of all his people to share the same level of loyalty and commitment to both him and others.
First Paragraph of Introduction:
If you spend much time with small children you know that they, full of unbridled curiosity, like to question everything. In particular, they are often fond of asking “Why?” Why do we do this thing or that thing? Why is this the way that it is? As adults, we smile and answer when we can, sometimes in exasperation settling for “because I told you so, that’s why!” or “Because I’m the parent, that’s why!” But the truth is, we wonder sometimes too. Why do we do the things that we do?[21]
Move 1:
- Opening sentence: We do not find “do as I say not as I do” convincing because it communicates a lack of commitment.
- Description of the move: This move will demonstrate the tension between instructions that lack backing by giving concrete and specific examples. These could include a boss who reprimands employees for arriving five minutes late when he or she is commonly arrives much later.[22] These examples will also vary between application toward the person giving the example and application toward others.[23]
- Closing sentence: When the person giving the instructions is clearly not committed to following them, little motivated we have to wonder “why do it?”
Move 2:
- Opening Sentence: The Lord says to his people “do as I say for it is what I do.”[24]
- Description: In moving to the text, this move stresses the difference between the unsubstantiated instructions described in move one and those both given and modeled in the passage. This move will draw clear attention to the liturgical and poetic descriptions of God employed by using similar language. Different language will be used to describe the instructions to the people given in the intermediate sections.[25]. Finally, attention will be given to the distinctive use of covenantal language in the passage, particularly the connection between “love” and “covenant loyalty.”[26]
- Closing Sentence: The Lord says to his people: “Why do it? Because I do it?”[27]
Move 3:
- Opening Sentence: The Lord asks his people to share the same level of loyalty and commitment to both him and others.
- Description: This final move will apply the passage to the congregation by reminding the church that community ethics are rooted in the loyalty of God. Specific concretizations will be described, all based on the structure “As God, therefore we.”[28] In addition, the concretizations will carefully employ the same verbs used in the pericope with particular attention to those used of God and those used to describe what the Lord requires of his people.
- Closing Sentence: God doesn’t ask any more loyalty of us than he demonstrates himself, and therefore our own actions find their basis in the actions of God toward others and ourselves.
Sermon Conclusion
God expects the loyalty of his people, requiring that they love, fear, serve and follow him through their obedience to Him and treatment of others. But in the same breath he demonstrates his equal commitment to his own. Our actions are rooted in his nature; our ethics find their basis in his treatment of his chosen people and those neglected. As God did, so did we. As God does, so we strive to do. And as God will do, so will we plan to follow his precedent.