Readings: Exodus 5:1-6:1; 1 Corinthians 14:20-33a,
39-40; Mark 9:42-50; Psalms 120-127
"Do good, O Lord, to those who are good and those who are upright in their hearts. But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers. Peace be upon Israel!" (Psalm 125:4-5)
Our sons recently asked us, "Why do adults (read: parents) who say they don't like violence (read: first-person shooter video games) watch violent TV shows like NCIS?" And we answered, "Good question." (Read: we need a little time to come up with a good explanation...)
We do watch NCIS and other special agent/police/some-sort-of-law-enforcement
television shows, and we also read a lot of mysteries – murder mysteries, in
fact. What we explained to the boys is that we like these procedural types of
fiction, not because of the violence, but because of the stories’ responses to
violence. The formula is for a hero of some sort to find the truth behind the
violence, bring the perpetrator to justice, and restore order. In a world that
we increasingly recognize is dangerous, and worse, arbitrary, the sense of order
and control that mystery stories provide is comforting – despite their violence.
Violence, justice and a desire for order are commonalities
in the Bible readings for today. The passage from Exodus sets up the need for a
hero to put things right, to get the Pharaoh to set the Israelites free. In the
ensuing chapters, God does so. But God’s acts are filled, at least to our 21st
century suburban American ears, with gratuitous violence. Why does this Old
Testament story feel like a first-person shooter game? Our family is new to the
Episcopal Church, and we read in the pamphlet A Faith for Thinking People an idea we’ve always believed but hadn’t
articulated: “As God leads us to new discoveries through science, historical
research, and the use of our reason, we find meaning in the Bible which
previous generations did not see.” Presumably the reverse also is true. We suspect
that listeners closer to the Exodus story, and closer to experiencing arbitrary
violence, might have felt the same comfort in God’s actions as we find in those
of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Later in the Old Testament, the writers of the Psalms,
and we when we read them, ask and thank God for protection from evil. The type
of relationship where one – parent/special agent/God – has the power to affect the
behavior of another is straightforward and reassuring. But as 21st
century Christians, we also are called to be
heroes, and our stories are more likely to involve the small offenses of daily life
than the dramatic violence of NCIS or
the story of the Exodus. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians moves us into
relationship with one another: “those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God;
... On the other hand, those who prophesy speak
to other people for their building up and encouragement and consolation...For you can all prophesy one by one, so tht all may learn and all be encouraged." (I Corinthians 14:2-3; 31) And while such responses may not make for exciting stories, we know they may be
plenty heroic, and equally pleasing to God. “[For] God is not a God of disorder but of peace." (I Corinthians 14:33)
(Mary Beth and Scott Dziewietin)
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