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Monday 24 December 2018

Hidden Figures, Part 3: New Testament

This is the final installment of a short series that responds to the film Hidden Figures (2016).  The New Testament also contains a number of hidden figures, ordinary and even marginalized individuals who turn out to be essential to the moving forward of God's kingdom narrative.

Nativity Story

   Sometimes stories become so familiar that we don't realize that some of the figures in the Nativity story would have been overlooked or considered non-essential if recorded by a historian other than Luke, the evangelist.  As a Gentile and outsider himself, he seems to have an eye for the marginalized, including non-Jews, women, the disabled, and so on.
   So, how are shepherds "hidden figures" in this sense?  While we might imagine shepherds to be the gentle caretakers of cute and fluffy sheep, the society in which they lived did not consider shepherding a noble profession, despite the beloved Psalm 23 that compared God to a shepherd.  The time spent outdoors and isolated from town life led to perceptions that sheep-tenders stretched the truth and couldn't be trusted.  In fact, they were not permitted to testify in court even if they were eye-witnesses of a crime.
   It is striking that God decided to send a troop of angels to shepherds outside at night. They were chosen as the first visitors, the first witnesses of an event that changed the course of history.  The angels identified the child as "the Saviour, Christ the Lord," and the shepherds did not find ways to rationalize this message away.  Instead, they got up and followed the directions they were given! 
   After they had gone to worship the baby, they told everyone they met about this good news.  No doubt, many listeners shook their heads and dismissed the story as nothing more than a tall tale from no-good shepherds.  But anyone whose heart was prepared may have looked past the grubby messengers and received the news with wonder and hope.

Minors

   There are two distinct times when individual children in the New Testament are mentioned for their deeds.  The first, whose name is not given, plays an important role in a miracle that is told in each of the four gospels.  It is John, the Evangelist, who provides the detail of where the 5 loaves and 2 fish came from in the feeding of the 5000.  It was a particular boy who made his bread-and-fish lunch available to Jesus, providing the raw materials for a multitude to be fed.
   The second young man is Paul's nephew.  In Acts 23:16 and following, this nephew overhears a plot against the Apostle Paul so that he can be ambushed and killed before he can receive a proper Roman hearing.  Being in the right place at the right time, Paul's nephew is discreet and goes to the proper authority to tell what he knows.  In acting quickly and with wisdom, he played a part in preserving Paul's life and testimony until God's plan was fulfilled.

Patronesses

   Three short verses at the start of Luke 8 tell us something not commonly known among Christians.  The hidden figures in this case are wealthy women who provided for the needs of Jesus and his disciples over the course of their ministry.  During these years, ministry work was intense and could not be combined with making a living in the traditional way.  Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Cuza, Susanna, and "many others" accompanied the group of followers.  Jesus did not use miracles to provide for himself, as Satan had earlier tempted him to do in the wilderness.  However, these hidden figures did what they could behind the scenes, using their own means to make sure Jesus and his followers did not go hungry. In other places, Mary, Martha and Lazarus and Simon the Leper are named as providing hospitality when Jesus and his entourage are visiting the Jerusalem area [1].

Easter 

   The first ones at the tomb on Easter morning were hidden figures too, women distraught at the death of their Lord and eager to do what they could to respect and anoint his body with aloes and spices.  All four gospels confirm that they were the first to see that the grave was empty, although it took some time for all the believers to sort out exactly what this meant.  When they came with reports of the empty tomb, the first reaction of the disciples was disbelief, partly because the message was beyond what they considered possible and partly because women were not considered reliable.
   Again, we see that God exalts those that society has considered unworthy.  Women as the first witnesses of the resurrection would have been completely ludicrous in that culture if someone were fabricating a tale to convince the Jews that Jesus rose from the dead.  That all the gospels have women arriving at the tomb first and being vindicated that they had indeed seen angels gives compelling evidence of the truth of the narrative.

Conclusion

   As I have pondered the concept of "hidden figures" the past several months in relation to the Bible, I can see that one of Scripture's overarching themes is that the humble will be exalted and that the lofty will be shown their proper place.  One day before Christmas, the song of Mary is a fitting place to summarize:
   He [the Lord] has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers. [2]


[1] See John 12, Matthew 26 and Mark 14. 
[2] Luke 1: 51-55, NIV.



   

Friday 24 August 2018

Hidden Figures, Part 2: Old Testament

   The 2016 film Hidden Figures follows in the footsteps of The Help (2011) and The Butler (2013) in telling the stories of people that were not considered worthy of telling in the 1960's because of deep and systemic prejudice.  These movies resonate with "ordinary people" and show that human dignity and ability are not restricted to those in the limelight.
   As more stories surface about instrumental but overlooked individuals, I asked myself if there are stories of foreigners, women, children or servants in the pages of the Bible.  Indeed, they are there, but it is sometimes our summary retellings of these stories leave them out.  Let's take a closer look at some Old Testament characters that God includes in his story.

In the story of Abraham: Eliezer of Damascus

   Abraham is a wealthy man of the Middle East who was called by God to be an exemplar of faith and whose faith would pass on from generation to generation among a tribal group known as the Hebrews or later as the people of Israel.  Our summaries of Abraham's life tell of his remarkable journey without a clear roadmap, the promises made to him, the miraculous way he became a father at the age of 99, and his obedience in offering Isaac on an altar at God's command.  After these events, we would add that Abraham got a wife for Isaac so that the line would continue.
   The Scriptures, however, devote a full chapter to the agent God used to secure a wife for his son.  Although he isn't named in Genesis 24, he appears to be the same "chief servant" Abraham mentions nine chapters earlier as Eliezer of Damascus as the one who would inherit all Abraham's wealth if no child were to be born of his body.
   Eliezer's task was daunting: he was to take a significant journey, find Abraham's relatives and find a suitable bride for his master's son.  The weight of the transaction was not lost on Eliezer, and he himself becomes an exemplar of faith.  His bold prayer seeking God's guidance in finding the right woman for Isaac is moving and full of wisdom.  He asks for a sign that will point out the right young woman.  One who would offer him hospitality at her family home and offer care for a stranger's camels was someone with a heart of kindness and patience.  Each camel can drink 200 litres in a short time, but drawing water from a well a bucket at a time would have been time consuming!
   When Eliezer returns with Rebekah, it is clear that his mission has been successful.  Isaac takes her as his wife, and the promise moves forward.  It does so through the faithfulness of a servant. 

In the story of Moses: Miriam

   One could say that Moses was a hidden figure that God brought out of obscurity to lead his people, but my focus here is on his older sister Miriam.  When Moses was an infant, she stood by to watch as his mother desperately floated him on the Nile River in a papyrus basket, hoping to keep him alive despite the Pharaoh's edict that all male children be drowned.  One might say, "What was the use of watching the basket?"  The likelihood of the baby surviving crocodiles or hippos was remote.  Even if the basket was untouched by beasts, how long could a baby survive without human care?
   But Miriam's task was indispensable as the story unfolds.  When Pharaoh's daughter sees the basket, she recognizes a Hebrew baby within it.  Instead of hostility, however, she has pity.  Instead of observing the rules of the Egyptians, she follows a higher norm that considers the arrival of the basket as a gift of the Nile god, one which she will not refuse.  Miriam's quick thinking and shrewd negotiation with Pharaoh's daughter has the result of Moses being nursed by his own mother and for payment.  Thus, Moses in his most formative years is taught the ways of the God of Israel before he enters the palace and its treasures of learning.


In the story of Joshua: Rahab

   Conquering the Promised Land fell to the leadership of Joshua, after Moses passed away.  On the other side of the Jordan River, fortified cities and well-equipped armies are not about to surrender to a band that had been wandering in the wilderness for about 40 years.  Joshua sends out scouts to learn more about the people of Jericho, the nearest settlement.  Somehow these two found an inkeeper named Rahab.  In that culture, an innkeeper doubled as a prostitute.  The Israelite men may have shocked Rahab in that they were seeking only information, whereas the "pagan" Rahab certainly shocked the men by knowing so much about the LORD and by her reverence for Him.  She hides them when local intelligence determines that foreigners have entered the city, and she boldly requests  a promise of rescue when God will grant them victory over her people. (See Joshua 2.)
   A hidden figure of ill repute and her entire household are all that is spared of the city of Jericho.  They become part of the Israelite people; Rahab herself is married by Nashon, who may well have been one of the unnamed spies.  Rahab remains unhidden in the New Testament, where she is mentioned three times: once in the family tree of  Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus of Nazareth, once in the Hebrews 11 list of faith heroes and once in the book of James.

In the story of David: an Egyptian slave 

   Before he ascends the throne, a "hidden figure" plays an important role in the life of David, a one-time shepherd and youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem.  Perhaps because of his own humble beginnings, David does not scorn a man found half-dead as he pursues a band of raiders who have burned his city and taken all that was dear to him and his men--their wives and children.  There is reason to pause and dish out scarce supplies for this foreigner in order to hear his story.  Great dignity is given to the helpless man in this account: he is an Egyptian slave of ruthless Amalekites, who left him behind when he became ill (1 Samuel 30).  He is willing to guide David and his followers to the camp; his only plea is that they do not kill him or hand him back to his masters.  David's reputation of integrity to this point assures the readers that the silence on this point means that David did indeed keep his word to the slave and did him no harm. Due to the help of this slave, David recovers everything and everyone that had been taken.

In the story of Naaman: a servant girl and other servants

   Naaman is a foreigner to the people of Israel, an army general for ancient Syria.  Despite his status in worldly terms, we would hardly expect to find his story in the pages of the Bible.  Syria and Israel were military rivals, but Naaman does not receive mention because his tactics were a threat to the people of God.  Instead, he comes to Israel because he seeks healing from leprosy.  Now, Naaman would never have come up with this plan on his own.  Leprosy was by definition incurable at the time; it was a death sentence.  However, an Israelite girl who had been taken captive by the Syrian army and who worked as a domestic servant for Naaman's wife suggests that he see the prophet Elisha in the land of her birth.  Despite Naaman's prestige, he listens to the advice of a hidden figure.
   As the story unfolds we see that Naaman still would not have received healing from leprosy if left to his own devices.  The instructions of Elisha, given by a messenger, seem undignified to Naaman so that he is ready to refuse and return to Damascus in the same diseased and hopeless condition.  It is his servants who convince him to see reason and overcome his pride.  And thus Naaman dips seven times in the Jordan River and catches a glimpse of the glory of Yahweh, the God of his enemies.

These examples are just a few of the "hidden figures" that God does not overlook in the story of redemption.  Feel free to leave a comment about any other Old Testament characters that fit this category.

   

Wednesday 15 August 2018

Hidden Figures Part 1: A film connecting to a Bigger Story

   The successful book and film Hidden Figures tells the true story of women who were instrumental in the American space program in 1962 and onward.  This film came out in 2016, but it continues to generate income and capture hearts because its message connects to a bigger story in our culture, including Black Lives Matter and #MeToo.  The discrimination faced by Dorothy Vaghan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson based on gender and race is tackled head-on.  Alan Shepherd and John Glenn are household names, but without a vast team of support staff at NASA there would be no rocket, no launch and no successful re-entry.  The three women documented in the film give us another angle to explore the operations at NASA's site in Virginia in light of a budding civil rights movement, the infancy of the IBM computer and the hopefulness of the Kennedy presidency.
   The clever pun in the title--figures--denotes both persons and the mathematical operations they performed, and that is how this film points to an even bigger story than early efforts to further opportunities for women and Blacks in America.  The rooms filled with engineers and human computers remind us that most people remain anonymously in the background when great achievements happen.
   Think, for example, of the first man to make it to the North Pole.  This achievement is given to one person, named Robert Peary.  The first Western person to climb Mount Everest, with cameras to prove it, was Sir Edmund Hillary.  However in both cases we easily forget that without their Inuit and Sherpa guides, respectively, neither of these triumphs would have been recorded.  Hundreds of porters were involved even further behind the scenes to carry the 13 tons of baggage to the base camp at Everest [1]. In the case of Robert Peary, there were other hidden figures besides the team of Inuit men who guided him.  There was African American Matthew Henson who has only recently been recognized as instrumental to the success of the trek and also Captain Robert Bartlett, who may have been deliberately left at a base camp so that the glory would not have been shared with him.
   Upon reflection, no invention or accomplishment can be claimed by any one individual.  Not only the network of people around him or her need to be acknowledged but also the technologies and advancements that have paved the way.  Staying with the examples already cited, technologies like the Inuit inventions of sleds and warm clothing, navigation systems, mountain climbing equipment, such as crampons and snow goggles were essential.
   Such acknowledgements are seen, to a certain extent, at awards ceremonies where recipients name or refer to the people who have helped them along the road to their achievements.  Nevertheless, even in the smaller achievements that we take pride in, it is good to remember that we could not have done these difficult things alone or without infrastructures we take for granted.  Admitting this is not just humility, it is honesty.

[1] See the photo caption on https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2013/may/23/mount-everest-first-successful-ascent-in-pictures

Tuesday 3 July 2018

When Pride Masquerades as Gratitude

   I'm becoming convinced that pride is deeply rooted in human beings, like the original sin.  It's not a survival instinct like the troglodyte brain, but it is persistent as well as subtle.  What often motivates us?  Wanting to be better than someone else, even if that someone was ourselves yesterday or last week.  We see this clearly in some of the challenges people set for themselves around diet and exercise. A desire for growth is one thing, but hidden within it can be the deadly sin of pride.
   Another hiding place for pride is gratitude.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  A year ago I came across the following quote from C.S. Lewis that I have not been able to shake:
Now what I want you to get clear is that pride is essentially competitive--is competitive by its very nature...Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.  We say people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good- looking but they are not.  They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better looking than others. [1]
   This prideful gratitude is quite obvious in the prayer of the Pharisee that Jesus mockingly includes in one of his parables: "God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get" [2].  This man is using a prayer to recite his assets in deliberate comparison to those he considers less than himself.
   Do we ever do this?  Whenever we thank God for food because some people don't have food, we're getting dangerously close.  When we express gratitude for a warm and cozy bed while calling to mind that others do not have this luxury, is it not pride?  When we thank God that our church is in a good financial situation while other churches are closing down due to insolvency, is it not pride?
   I remember years ago reading an editorial from an agency that shares information in the West about the persecuted church.  The writer was bemoaning the fact that most people's first reaction to hearing his presentations about Christian persecution was to be grateful that they are not being persecuted!  They were missing the point of compassion, action and prayer for the brothers and sisters who are suffering.
   I'd be the first to admit that cultivating a life of gratitude is helped by a perspective that people in other places or times in history have lived through horrific things.  Yet, what we have is not because we are somehow better.  Humble gratitude defies pride and seeks for ways to share one's bounty with others, not loudly or by seeking fanfare.
   Prayers of thanksgiving should be a daily occurrence in the life of a believer, but these words should not involve comparison to what others have or don't have.  Some words of thanks I'm starting with today:
  • for a car to get to an appointment 
  • for the design of our bodies that allows us to walk, write, smile and speak and the opportunity to using our walking, writing, smiles and speech to pass on a blessing
  • for the process of dry grains of rice turning into a tasty food with just water, salt, and about 20 minutes of heat
  • for the example of Daniel in the Scriptures who testified: "This secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your heart" [3].
   Mindfulness of the needy will show up in another part of true prayer, or else it's incomplete:
  • please enable those who don't have suitable transportation to get to places they need to go, and open my heart to being willing to help in practical ways
  • please strengthen my mother-in-law for whom walking and writing are increasingly difficult
  • please bless the rice farmers around the world with a good harvest, so that they too may be nourished by the food they produce.


[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (San Francisco: Harper, 2001), p. 122, as quoted in Timothy Keller's book Every Good Endeavor.
[2] Luke 18:11-12 (NIV)
[3] Daniel 2:30 (NIV)

Saturday 26 May 2018

A Breakfast Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this food in my bowl that I could easily pour from a container in my pantry and moisten with milk from the refrigerator.  Thank you for my husband who prepared the granola.  Thank you for those who planted the walnut trees long ago and far away in California, and for those who harvest them as seasonal workers.  Thank you for the ingenious folks who got the coconuts down from the towering palm tree, split it open and made its nutty flavours available to me in the temperate zone. Thanks for the olive oil pressed in the Mediterranean, bottled and shipped across the ocean. Thank you for the oats grown on domestic soil, processed and transported to my local grocery store.  Thank you for the corn syrup to sweeten the mixture and the farmers who cared for the cows that were milked. 

For the ceramic bowl and the stainless steel spoon, durable, reusable and developed by artisans in their own right, I pause to give you thanks.

Surely, this serving that I consume in less than 10 minutes required orchestration that deserves applause.  Teach me the discipline of a grateful heart.

In Jesus name,
Amen