Sagas

Sagas. Sounds dramatic, right? Like the girl you know who always has some saga with a guy going on in her life? Or the guy in the next cubicle who turns every work "hiccup" into a full-feature length saga. Well, here's the deal, this week, I'm taking my turn at writing a saga. As my first attempt at writing a saga, I'd urge you to keep your laughing and pointing to a minimum thankyouverymuch.

I've chosen to write my fictional saga about Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts. As a Gold Award recipient, I owe a lot to Low (yep, I could have run a campaign for her if ever she had one #poetanddidntknowit) and the program she began for girls across our country.

In many sagas, there is/does:

• a single plot, single rising tension/conflict, resolution, and denouement (see former 9th grade English students... the word "denouement" WILL come up in the real world!)
• a small cast, with only one or two people in dialogue at a time
• no thick background
• describe "who we are"

Here we go...Scene 1, take 1 *cool movie scene-teller thingy snap sound*

Scene: Juliette Gordon Low, who is 51 years old, has been searching her whole life to find something meaningful to do. It is 1911 and she is meeting Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, for the first time. For the purposes of this story, we'll assume Sir Robert is not very open to Juliet's ideas.  

"Well, hello, Robert, it is so nice to finally meet you. I am quite excited for this meeting," said Juliette, "as I think that what you're doing for the boys in the Boy Scouts could also be beneficial for the girls in our country. The girls deserve a chance to learn new skills, work on social endeavors, and further their opportunities." Sir Robert looks at her, interested, but amused. "Juliette, it is nice to meet you, I agree. But I don't think that the girls can do what the boys are doing. The boys are learning skills like camping, hiking, and sports. That's no place for a girl to be." 

Juliette thought long and hard about how she was going to win over Sir Robert so that he would help her to organize her newest idea. "Why reinvent the wheel?" she thought to herself.  "If Robert will help me, then I could be helping girls to learn and grow in no time." 

Just then, Juliette thought of an idea. "If I could just get a group of girls here to show Robert what a great idea this girls' group would be, maybe he'd be more willing to help me," she thought. So Juliette invited a group of 6 elementary-aged girls to a meeting at the school the next day. During the meeting, Juliette taught the girls how to make different types of knots. She explained that the knots could be used for lots of things -- from camping excursions to sewing projects to helping tie up horses. Sir Robert was skeptical of this meeting at first, but he began to lighten up as he saw how much fun the girls were having and how much they were learning. "For goodness' sake," he thought, "these are skills I taught the boys in Boy Scouts.  Now the girls are learning the same thing... and they're even good at what they're learning!" 

Next, Juliette took the girls outside and taught them the basics of starting a fire in a campfire ring. After several attempts, the girls along with their leader started a fire. "Well, Juliette, you've done it this time. The things you're teaching these girls are similar to what we teach the boys at Boy Scouts. I have to hand it to you, your persistence has paid off. You wanted this program to begin and grow, and even in the face of doubt you've made believers of your program... including me!" 

In the end, Sir Robert did help Juliette begin and organize her program, which is now the Girls Scouts. Because of her persistence, the Girl Scouts program has also shown persistence in its growth and leadership. We are a resilient group because of the resiliency Juliette Gordon Low showed in her establishment of the group. 

And...end scene. Herein ends (likely) the corniest saga you've ever read.

But.... I hope you get the point.  Throughout the Bible, we see sagas that tell ancestral stories, like that of Abraham in Genesis 12-25 or of Jacob's cycle from Genesis 25:19 - 35:29. In these stories, we see the cycles of families and people develop and evolve, while showing smaller, independent stories as well. In the story that was wonderfully crafted by yours truly, we see Juliette overcoming odds of adversity before her to do what she felt called and moved to do. The conflict came from an outside source (Sir Robert) and through her hard work, the conflict was resolved. In the story from Genesis 25:19 - 35:29, we watch the cycle of Jacob being born, growing up, "taking" the birthrights from his brother, receiving his father's blessing, being sent away, wrestling with Lord, causing him to become named "Israel," and receiving forgiveness from his brother. That's a saga if I ever heard one! 

What kind of ancestral cycles do you recognize and what do they say about the groups you belong to? 

T-OOTLE-oo!

Melissa

Can you spot the differences?

When I was a kid, I used to love when my new "Highlights" magazines would come and there'd be a page with two nearly identical pictures on it. The bottom picture would contain several (albeit hard to find for a four-year-old) changes from the top picture. Perhaps a person's shirt pattern differed slightly in the second, or the item sitting on the picture's counter would be missing. Sometimes it was easier to find the similarities than it was to see the differences; other times by looking for similarities, a difference would jump out and reveal itself as well.

Within the Hebrew Bible (that's the Old Testament (which is the OT in my world...er...writing) of course!), there are stories mentioned in the stories found in Genesis 1-11 that are not mentioned anywhere else. Maybe these stories were not very well-known or that they were created later than other biblical materials (for more information on sourcing, listen to this week's lecture on "Documentary Hypothesis" Part A and Part B). In other parts of the Pentateuch - the first five books of the Bible - we see that there are references to the creation story that differ from the Pentateuch's first book, Genesis.

Although it's not identical to the challenge of "Highlights" magazine's "Spot the Difference" page, let's look at some other passages from the OT and see how they say things went down during creation. Then, we'll look at the Genesis creation story and see how they differ. (Note: All biblical references are from the Common English Bible (CEB) unless otherwise noted.)

Isaiah 51:9 says wake up and get your armor on! Not literal armor (although with all the taking of different cities by force throughout biblical times, perhaps armor is a good choice!)

Job 9:4-14 says God shakes the earth from its place (9:6) and commands the sun (9:7).

Job 26:7-14 says "God stretched the North over chaos, hung earth over nothing" (26:7). In this passage, we also read that God hid the face of the moon (26:9) and stilled the Sea (26:12).

In Job 38:1-11, God reprimands Job and reminds him that he made the earth's foundations (38:4), set its measurements (38:5), and made the sea (38:8).

In Psalm 8:1-9, we read praises about God's making his glory higher than heaven (8:1), laying a strong foundation (8:2), and placing the moon and the stars (8:3). This is the first of the listed passages that mentions God's creating the sheep, cattle, wild animals, fish, birds, and everything that swims (8:7-8).  The language used here is very similar to that of the Genesis creation story.

Psalm 74:12-17 says God shattered the heads of the sea monsters (74:13), crushed Leviathan's heads 74:14), split streams and made rivers dry up (74:15). This passage says that God created the moon and the sun (74:16), established all the boundaries of the earth (74:17), and made the seasons (74:17).

Psalm 89:8-10 reminds us that God rules over the sea (89:9) and scatters enemies with a strong arm (89:10).

Psalm 104:1-9 seems different than the other passages in the ways it talks about God's creation. In it, God is praised for his majestic ways (which He is, amIright?!), but the descriptions of what God has done are light and uplifting. Some other are very powerful, rightfully so, but in a way that is more firm. In this passage, we read that God has opened the skies (104:2), builds His house on the waters (104:3), and established the earth's foundations (104:5)... foundations ---- are you sensing a theme yet?

In Psalm 136:1-9, we read about the One who makes: great wonders (136:4), the sky (136:5), shaped the earth (136:6), made the great lights (136:7), set the sun to rule over days (136:8) and the moon and stars to rule the night (136:9).

Finally, Proverbs 8:22-31 talks about God making the earth and fields (8:26), marking the horizon on the sea (8:27), and making the earth's foundations (8:29).

When we look back at the creation stories of Genesis. there are many pieces from these passages that are similar. We have seen throughout many of the above-mentioned passages that "God created the foundations of the earth" (Genesis 1:1). God created over a period of seven days to include water, sky, animals, and earth. In many of the passages, we see these parts especially repeated throughout.

I have a very difficult time imagining a story that could be created or written including the pieces of the stories that are included outside of the Genesis creation stories. I wonder if I'm too "stuck" in the creation story of God's creating everything out of nothing in seven days that I know and have read about so many times to be able to think of an alternative story. I think in an alternative story to those included in Genesis 1-2, the creation of earth could be more forceful (Um, hello! Everything out of nothing in like an "'I Dream of Jeannie' head bob/arm cross/doooooiiiiiinnnnnn sound" split-second... I get it... it's forceful that way too!), but by more forceful, I think about the passage from Psalm 74 specifically -- head crushing, shattering, splitting force.  This seems aggressive and negatively powerful rather than the creation story we know - one of what I'd call a forceful beauty. Yes, the earth was powerfully and forcefully created out of nothing. Yes, all living things - birds, swimmies, walkers (that's us... and the dogs, I suppose!), and even the creepy-crawlies - were created by God. All of these things seem to have been done forcefully, yet lovingly in the Genesis renditions.

I do want to end on a more serious note: I want to express my deep sorrow at the devastation and loss of life, homes, possessions that is being sifted through as a result of the earthquake in Nepal. We can analyze the biblical history of the creation, but it hurts to see when creation is mangled before our eyes. I pray that God is evident in the lives of those affected and that the peace and grace of God's love is felt by every one who is at a loss.

T-OOTLE-oo!

Melissa

I Hear Voices...

This week's readings led us to 2 Samuel, a book that is part of the Deuteronomistic History (DtrH). In it, we read the story of Amnon, a son of David, who rapes his half-sister, Tamar. Absalom, Tamar's brother, seeks revenge and ends up killing their brother, Amnon.

In the first portion (2 Samuel 13:1-22) of this scripture passage, I felt like Tamar's voice is the one missing. Her perspective is unheard, yet is one that I feel is important. The second half of the passage (2 Samuel 13:22-33) is missing the voice of Absalom. Again, this is important. I have taken the liberty to re-write these halves from each of the above mentioned perspectives. Consider this a mid-quel (Read: my made up word for a re-write in the middle; not a prequel, nor a sequel. Thus a mid-quel. If you don't like my made-up words, move on, Folks - even Shakespeare did it!)

Tamar's Voice
My father, King David, asked me to go and serve my half-brother, Amnon, as he is very sick and has asked for me to come. I guess my serving him isn't completely out of the ordinary, after all, I am a Biblical woman.  Amnon asked for some very specific, heart-shaped cakes (yes, heart-shaped cakes!) to be made for him to eat and feel better.  So I "went to [my] brother Amnon's house where he was lying down" (2 Samuel 13:8 CEB) and I "took dough, kneaded it, made heart-shaped cakes in front of him, and then cooked them" (2 Samuel 13:8 CEB). When I went to feed my brother the cakes, he wouldn't eat them. Seriously?! I went through all that work and he won't eat them? He must really be sick... he had better be really sick!

I thought it was a bit strange that after Amnon refused to eat these specially-ordered cakes, he sent everyone out of his room. Even though I thought his dismissal strange, I thought maybe Amnon just wanted to rest. But then he told me to stay. Perhaps he wanted to tell me, his half-sister Tamar, something important? Perhaps he wanted the comfort of family surrounding him? Then Amnon told me to kneel in front of him and serve him the cakes from his own hand. What was he thinking? I did what he asked, because I wanted to show him loyalty and familial care, but then all of a sudden, he grabbed me and said, "Come have sex with me, my sister" (2 Samuel 13:11 CEB). What?! My own brother, my own flesh and blood? He can't mean what he says!

I cried out to Amnon "Please don't do this to me! Raping me will bring such shame to us both, to our family! I will have nowhere to hide from my shame and you will be made a fool! Ask the king to let me marry you instead!" (2 Samuel 13:12-13 CEB).

Then, he did the unthinkable. It was horrible, the worst thing I could imagine. But then, then his seeming love for me turned to anger. HE was mad at ME! How could this be? I did nothing to him but serve him and care for him like he asked.  And those STUPID heart-shaped cakes. How could I have been so DUMB to make him cakes. Heart-shaped cakes. Hearts. Those cakes should have been a foretaste for me of the things to come. The horror of this, my own brother. One whom I had loved and cared for. How could I have stopped this? What had I done wrong?

I was kicked out of his room and I fled. I tore my virgin-sleeves off and put ashes on my head. I am mourning the loss of what I have had torn away from me. My brother Absalom told me not to let it bother me and not to tell anyone (2 Samuel 13:20 CEB). My father, the king, was angry but refuses to punish Amnon (2 Samuel 13:21 CEB). After all... I am a woman.

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Absalom's Revenge
My poor sister, Tamar. How could our brother, Amnon, do this to her? To our family? Doesn't he know that a.) you don't do this to anyone, let alone family and b.) this will bring disgrace to all of our people. I will never, NEVER speak to him again (2 Samuel 13:22 CEB). Not a good word nor a bad word should pass my lips in the way of Amnon again. How dare he do this?!

I know I told Tamar to not let this bother her, but I am a hypocrite. It makes me so angry that I must do something. But what? How can I avenge a rape that has made me so angry that I do not even speak to my own brother any longer?

I have a plan: I will hold a fine banquet, will wait for Amnon to get drunk, and then will instruct my servants to kill him. Only once Amnon is dead will justice be served for our dear sister Tamar's rape (2 Samuel 13:27-28 CEB).

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If you've never taken the time to read this passage, I encourage you to do so. What perspective do you draw to? Is there another perspective to be had? Perhaps the other servants who were dismissed, but likely put two and two together?

T-OOTLE-oo!

Melissa

Don't Judge me...

This week, I have accepted the challenge of working with Judges. Nope, I'm not a paralegal; I'm not a lawyer either (although my husband would say my arguing skills may say otherwise!). I'm not talking about a judge in a court of law, but rather the book of Judges. Judges is part of the Deuteronomistic History (which I'll refer to as DtrH from here on out....because really, who can spell Deuteronomistic more than twice?!), which is believed by some scholars to be written by the hand of one person/one group of people.  The DtrH includes Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 2 Kings. In the book of Judges, we see many people -- often groups of people (a.k.a - "tribes") -- who defend the Israelites from "powerful, often superior, forces" (Bandstra 222). Rarely do these groups work together in the book of Judges; this is in contrast to the book of Joshua, where we see much success on the part of the tribes as they work together! Within the selected passage of Judges 19:1 - 21:25, we see a narrative unfold that shows the Israelites falling/failing, being thus punished, crying out to God for help, and then a judge being sent by God to deliver the people. The Deuteronomists' hand is seen strongly in the book of Judges.

The central theme of this story, I believe is a call by the editors of Judges (as it is part of the DtrH) for readers to realize that during this pre-monarchical period, the people Israel did whatever they wanted because they didn't have a king.  In the Judges period, there was no true settled area for the people. They didn't work together (often), and this caused them troubles. Had they worked together, we would probably see more success from them. As much as this narrative seems to be a call for us to work together, it would have been probably even more so for the people of ancient Israel.

One of the most offensive pieces of the plot of this passage is the Levite man giving his secondary wife (the term "secondary wife" is also a bit off to me as well) and the Gibeon giving his daughter to the naughties in the town of Gibeah to "abuse them and do whatever you want to them" (Judges 19:24). Um...what?! Who does that? There's not a social context in which I can imagine this is not offensive. When the Israelites inquired about his *secondary* wife's death (nope, doesn't get any better), the Levite doesn't offer up that he in fact pushed her out the door to the wolves, but rather puts the blame on the men who were outside waiting.  Now I'm not saying the men outside (the Gibeons) were not to blame, but the Levite didn't take any of the blame. He then (here's the next place modern readers may be should be offended) cuts his wife, limb-by-limb into twelve pieces and sends them to each of the tribes to call them to fight with Benjamin.

In Judges 20:1, we read that "Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba, as well as from the area of Gilead, marched out, and the group assembled as one body in the Lord's presence at Mizpah." While this is the first time *all* the Israelites did something together, it wasn't a joining together or united front they presented; instead, they engaged in Civil War.

I think these elements that are offensive to the modern reader would have been perceived by an ancient audience as a warning of what not to do when there is not a leader. Bandstra writes

In the era of the judges, Israel is cowering in the forests, hiding in the hills, afraid of being wiped out by Canaanites and other assorted opponents (223).

So these elements of plot which show disorganization and disengagement of these agricultural people may seem reasonable when we understand that the Israelites are scared in the period that follows the leadership of Joshua.

The narrative story of Judges begins in Judges 19:1 by saying "In those days when there was no king in Israel" (CEB). For the people Israel, they are without a leader.  In the absence of leadership, it's as though the people don't know how to act or behave, and they certainly can't figure out how to work together and be successful. Much like this passage began ("no king in Israel"), the passage ends with "In this days there was no king in Israel; each person did what they thought to be right" (Judges 21:25 CEB). By beginning and ending with pointing out that the people Israel had no leader and acted willy-nilly, the modern reader sees that we can not each act however we want.  We have a Leader and King in the Lord -- by following the leadership of the Lord, we are innately working together, unlike the Israelites during the Judges era.

Where else in history have we seen the people act without leadership?

T-OOTLE-oo!

Melissa