Third Sunday After Pentecost: Repentance as Holy Disruption
Justin Cheng
Metanoia translated in most English translations as ‘Repent’ should be understood as a “change of mind, a reorientation, a fundamental transformation of outlook.” (Repentance and Confession) Each of the readings assigned for the Sunday between 5 and 11 June in their way, disrupt a dominant perspective and in this disruption, sparks a metanoia that can make possible new ways of thinking and doing. Borrowing from Buddhist wisdom that right thinking leads to right action, this praxis of disrupting dominant perspective, opening one’s mind and leading to new thinking and new action can be effective in thinking and acting ecologically.
Commentary
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In the 1st Samuel reading, the ‘dominant perspective’ is the perspective of the elders of Israel who come to Samuel asking for a king. Note that verse 4 reports ‘All the elders of Israel.’ In the Hebrew Bible, it is common that the majority perspective is not the correct perspective, i.e. ‘The will of God’ (i.e. Moses and Aaron against the wise men, sorcerers, and magicians of Egypt in Exodus 7:11, Elijah against the many prophets of Baal and Asherah in 1st Kings 18:19) The elders of Israel demand a King, like other nations, in their mind, a King will be able to win them military victory (verse 20). Samuel, however, in verses 11 to 17 offers a perspective on kingship that is about domination and subjugation of both the people and the land. The Jewish Study Bible notes the verb ‘to take’ is repeatedly used in this passage, this repetition suggests to me that Samuel is conscious of the violence that is intrinsic to kingship. The JSB also notes that Samuel’s vision of kingship provides an accurate depiction of Near-Eastern kingship. The dominant perspective, the perspective of the elders of Israel is not grounded in facts, it is based on imagined glories on the battlefield. There is a tendency to imagine the debate over ecological justice as a clash between two competing ideologies (‘a sentimental love of nature versus a love of progress’) However as the empirical data concerning the climate emergency is overwhelmingly substantial, disruption of the dominant perspective of capitalism is based on the facts, in the same way that Samuel’s disruption of the elders’ vision of a militarily victorious king is based on the facts of what actual kings did. 1st Samuel offers a model of disrupting dominant perspective, oftentimes, it is as simple as pointing out the facts.
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The Psalm offers a response to 1st Samuel by imagining that the Kings will praise God and presumably acts in accordance with God’s wishes which is ‘to care for the lowly’ (v. 7). Does the Psalm disrupt Samuel’s perspective by envisioning a positive role for Kingship? Or does the Psalm justify the perspective of the Elders as a form of propaganda? Notice that the Elders in 1st Samuel do not mention the God of Israel at all, they demand a king for an earthly reason: Military victory. The Psalmist may be ‘rehabilitating’ the role of King, now the King is envisioned as a servant of God.
Ecologically, one may ponder whether it is possible for earthly institutions to be ‘rehabilitated’ as in, to be reformed to serve the perspective of eco-justice. When one engages in disruption of ideas or institutions, is the purpose to rehabilitate them, or to overthrow them altogether, to create new ideas or institutions. To quote Jesus of Nazareth, is it possible to put “new wine in old wineskins”? (Mark 2:22)
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For the Epistle reading, we may need to disrupt Paul or, if you prefer, disrupt the way this passage written by Paul has been read. The distinction between outer and inner nature has in the past been equated with the distinction between body and soul and thus between creation and heaven. The Jewish Annotated New Testament notes that the ‘house made not with hands’ is juxtaposed with ‘anything earthly which is subject to decline and death’. An ecological reading may point out what Paul does not say here, he does not say that nonhuman creatures do not have an inner nature/soul. The purpose of this passage is to comfort the Corinthians by assuring them of their place in eternity, not as a theological statement about other humans or other nonhuman members of the cosmos. Ecological interpreters may find this interview by Eastern Orthodox theologian David Bentley Hart helpful (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yunoscnbJ2k).
In the interview, Hart argues that animals are spiritual beings and therefore they would have a place in the eschaton. We can interpret Paul’s writing expansively, all creatures have an outer nature that is wasting away, all creatures thus are subject to growing, decaying and death. And yet by that same token, all creatures have an inner nature that will find a place in eternity, in the restored new heavens and earth. All creatures then have a place in God’s house.
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This passage contains three pericopes. Each offers an opportunity for disruption and re-imagination.
The first is the accusation against Jesus that he is working with demonic forces. Jesus disrupts this accusation by pointing out the ridiculousness of believing that in defeating demons, he is helping them in any way, shape, or form. A way to reconceptualize this is that as ecological thinkers and activists; we disrupt systems of oppression in the name of life. This disruption, whether in the form of criticizing dominant ways of thinking in our writing or blocking oil tankers, often is framed as offensive or violent. However, Jesus’s disruptions were aimed at restoring life and liberation. This pericope can offer insight into how earth-defenders are often stigmatized and derided by dominant media and discourse. Can we disrupt this stigmatization and reimagine our disrupters for the earth as motivated by their love and passion for the earth?
The second disruption is the mini story that Jesus mentions of the binding and plundering of the strong man’s house. One can see Jesus as identifying with the disrupter of the strong man’s house, a person from the margins who disrupts oppressive authorities. A contemporary analogy could be found in the film A Man of Action which my partner and I recently watched. The film depicts the real-life story of Spanish anarchist Lucio Urtubia who robbed banks and gave the proceeds to the poor, the point of the film was to disrupt the notion that the anarchist robbers were thieves, and that the banking system was good. Rather, the banking system was the true thief and the robbers were simply restoring that the people genuinely owned as fruit of their labour. We can interpret Jesus as the disrupter, the one who plunders the empire which extracts from the earth and restores what is owed to the earth.
The third disruption is that at the end of the gospel, Jesus disrupts the traditional notion of family. Many have commented that this expansive definition of family assists marginalized communities such as the queer community in resisting right-wing Christianity who often equate Jesus with endorsing ‘family values’ ideology. Thinking ecologically, this expansion of what defines a family can extend beyond our own species to include plants, animals, and organisms of every kind. Elizabeth Johnson is one theologian who comes to mind in making this connection.
Teaching and Preaching Ideas
Empire, Resistance and Climate Crisis
Preachers may choose to examine empire and resistance in the context of the climate and planetary crisis. 1st Samuel’s examination of kingship and the Gospel’s portrayal of the strong man might provide opportunities to reflect and examine critically our temptation to empire, (manifest in either the State or capitalist industry) and our opportunities of resistance.
If preachers use 1st Samuel as their primary text, it is understandable that they may side with Samuel over the elders of Israel on the issue of kingship, however it may be worth exploring why the elders desire a king. In applying this to today, explore why people are attracted to empire and structures of domination, in wrestling and critiquing this attraction, preachers may imagine alternatives that may persuade people away from empire. Imagining the possibility of another world, another way, which in my view, is the beginning of Jesus’ proclamation of the reign of God, is the beginning of resistance to empire.
The Psalm also may offer the preacher to engage in imagination, what if our earthly institutions can be transformed to serve God’s purposes, especially in protecting and nurturing the earth? In some progressive circles, this question is often posed as to whether one should advocate for wholesale revolution of the current system or to focus on reforming the current system. Preachers using the Psalm to explore the possibility of reforming our institutions, may consider bringing in the example of the early Christian community envisioned in Acts 2:44-47. It may be that some institutions can be reformed or changed to be better, but the Christian community acting subversively in its own way, must be a prophetic witness, always challenging the status quo. Making things better may not be sufficient, especially as the current system may still cause injustice and oppression, that only its full downfall can only bring genuine liberation.
Eschatology: Against Christian Culpability in Climate Collapse
Preachers may choose to preach eschatology. As noted in my commentary, if 2nd Corinthians is chosen as a text in this regard, the preacher must do adequate disruption of the way the text can be interpreted to support dismissive attitudes towards the earthly. One may refer to Romans 8:21 which speaks of ‘creation being set free from bondage and decay’ to demonstrate that Paul himself does not neglect creation in God’s liberative purposes.
This can also be an opportunity to name the use of Christian sacred texts to support ecological degradation (Genesis 1: 26) comes to mind. One can pair an ecological reading of 2nd Corinthians with the Gospel’s expansive notion of family to reflect on how the reign or family of God includes and will include all creation.
In preaching eschatology, preachers may invite congregations to imagine, would it be possible to imagine Shalom, Salaam, Peace on earth without the sheer abundance and diversity of creation? I would say no, and my vision of the reign of God would include creatures of every kind, in all their beauty and splendidness.
Holy Disruption
A final preaching route may be to preach about holy disruption in the name of ecojustice. The Hebrew Bible and Gospel readings both are examples of disruptions. Preachers may choose to reflect on how disruption may be a holy task in the name of God and God’s creation. There is also a possibility in reflecting on the Holy Spirit as the active agent in bringing upon disruption, resistance, and bringing about the new creation. In finding disruption in the text, in disrupting conventional or old ways of seeing the text, and in actively disrupting the status quo in everyday life, Christians are working with and working for the Holy Spirit who always brings disruption in the name of the reign of God.
Sources and Resources
The Jewish Study Bible. London: Oxford University Press, 2004.
The Jewish Annotated New Testament: Second Edition. New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
“Repentance and Confession – An Introduction” The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America https://www.goarch.org/-/repentance-and-confession-introduction. [Accessed May 20th 2024]
“Animals and Universal Restoration” An Interview with David Bentley Hart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yunoscnbJ2k/ [Accessed May 20th 2024]
“A Man of Action” Ikiru Films La Pulga y el Elefante, and La Terraza Films, 2022. Distributed by Netflix.
“Imperial Logic and Creation” Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2018/06/07/wild-lectionary-imperial-logic-and-creation/
Contributor Biography
Justin Cheng (he/him) is an Anglican priest, currently ministering in All Saints Burnaby on the ancestral and unceded lands of the hən̓ ̓qəmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples. Justin’s primary ministry in environmental justice is in reflecting with his congregation in bringing ecological and social justice concerns in their learning of the Bible and the Christian tradition.