Hebrews 5.5-10: Melchizedek

You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:5-10) So here's Melchizedek:

Peter Paul Rubens. The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, c. 1626. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art. 

Do you see Jesus somewhere in that? 

The story - and "story" is a bit of a stretch - of Melchizedek is told in Genesis 14. In essentially three verses: And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’ And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. That's it for Melchizedek in Genesis.

Melchizedek is named in Psalm 110:4 and then again eight times in the letter to the Hebrews. It is in Hebrews that Jesus is named a priest "after the order of Melchizedek."   

In the painting above, Abraham (still Abram at that point) is on the left, still in armor from his encounter with the King of Sodom. Melchizedek, King of Salem ("king of justice" or "king of righteousness"), is handing bread to Abraham. These are two of the aspects where Christian theologians perceive Melchizedek as a precursor of Christ. Jesus, too, is the king of righteousness and brings bread to God's people. 

It's an interesting take on the Genesis story. I wonder how many of the original hearers of Hebrews would have recognized the name of Melchizedek when they heard it. Would we know the name if we didn't have the Hebrews passage? Does the relationship between Melchizedek and Jesus hold water for you?

Genesis 17.1-16: Multitude

 "This is my covenant with you," God says to Abraham. "You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations." (Genesis 17:4) We are familiar with the concept and with the promise stated several chapters earlier that Abraham's descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky and grains of sand on earth. That's a lot - though the question of whether there are more stars or more grains of sand has yet to be authoritatively answered. If you are team star, read here. If you are team sand, read this. There are many other articles, calculations, and rationalizations. 

What makes a multitude? The Century Dictionary splits some hairs about what is and isn't a multitude. According to their definition a multitude gives ample room to each person, however great the number may be. A throng or crowd is smaller than a multitude but gathered together. A throng presses together or forward. A crowd is close enough together to be uncomfortably in contact with one another. 

By a strict definition Abraham will be the ancestor of lots of people who all have ample room. Think about what that means for life on earth. Everyone has ample room. 

In 2012, based on 2010 data, mapmaker Derek Watkins developed a picture of the density of the world's population. Where do people live? Where are people most crowded? The image above is a still image, but at Watkins' website, the image has a slider that changes the areas on the map. The slider moves from areas where there is a population density of at least 5 people per square kilometer to areas where there are more than 500 people per square kilometer. The website is here.

Is there ample room for each one of Abraham and Sarah's descendants?

Genesis 2 and 3: The Tree and The Fruit

Mark Twain (as Pudd'nhead Wilson) had a couple of things to say about the Genesis text about Adam, Eve, the tree and the fruit (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Lent 1A)

"Adam was but human--this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple's sake--he wanted it only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent; then he would have eaten the serpent." From Congregationalist (Boston, Massachusetts, 14 June 1894)

"The true Southern watermelon is a boon apart and not to be mentioned with commoner things. It is chief of this world's luxuries. King by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it [he] knows what the angels eat. It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took. We know it, because she repented." --Mark Twain in Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar.  From Southern Planter (Richmond, Virginia, April 1894)

Anni Snyman, PC Janse van Rensburg, Andrew van der Merwe & friends. 'Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil III' installation to be set up at the Woordfees 2013 Festival. 

Twain is not the only author who borrows from these early stories of Eden. John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden considers the themes of Genesis, especially the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 3 and 4) to tell the stories of Charles and Adam and Caleb and Aron.

South African artist Anni Snyman has used the elements of the Genesis story in this work: the title, the apple (though that's really Milton's contribution rather than scripture and not Twain's preferred watermelon), a tree. But her work is far from the usual combination of those elements. We are used to seeing two figures - a male and a female - usually on opposite sides of a tree on which there  is fruit - usually an apple. Here the fruit encircles the tree, presumably hanging from branches out of the picture space. And there are many apples, enough for everyone to have a bite. 

What does this interpretation of the story say differently than the traditional composition does? Are these apples all low-hanging fruit? What does the red moat around the base of the tree mean? A circle usually symbolizes wholeness or eternity. Why a circle of apples? Why a circular moat? How do you read this installation?

For thoughts about Jesus' temptation in Matthew 4:1-11, click here or in Luke 4:1-13, click here.

Finding Eden on a map, this week on Art&Faith Matters on Facebook. 

Genesis 37.1-4, 12-18: It's the Horizon

Proper 14(19)/Pentecost 10A gives us an early episode in Genesis' Joseph cycle of stories (Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28). Having been identified as his father's favorite, Joseph is quick to let his brothers know of the newly announed rankings. As you might expect, the news is not well-received, and the brothers decide to move Joseph out of the picture. They throw him into a pit and then sell him to a passing caravan of Midianites.

The two images below tell the story of the pit and the selling. On the left is an image by Karoly Ferenczy. Painted in 1900, the action of the story is in the foreground. Joseph, stripped to the waist, is handed off to white-garbed travelers passing through Jacob's land. At the right, the same story is told by a contemporary artist Yoram Raanan. The action is in the foreground with figures standing around what appears to be a well-like hole.

(Left) Karoly Ferenczy. Josseph Sold by His Brothers Into Slavery. 1900. Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest. http://mng.hu/gyujtemeny/jozsefet-eladjak-testverei-21148. (Right) Yoram Raanan. Joseph's Brothers Throw Him Into the Pit. http://www.yoramraanan.com/single-post/2015/11/30/Josephs-Brothers-Throw-Him-Into-the-Pit

The two images share a color scheme: brownish-yellow earth tones, blue and white. Both compositions are similar with the action happening at the bottom/front of the painting. But both also remind us of "the rest of the story": that there IS a rest of the story. In both paintings, it is the distant horizon that draws our attention in the upper half of the composition. And that is where we need to at least glance as we read the Joseph cycle. Incidents along the way seem to be the end, but they are not the end. Not the pit, not prison, not famine. There's something more waiting for Joseph, for Joseph's descendants and for the people of God. It's probably a good reminder for us, too.

For an additional consideration on Joseph and his brothers, click here.
For a take on the gospel reading for this week, click here.

Click on the Art&Faith Matters Facebook link below for some thoughts on the dreams that got him in trouble with his brothers.

Genesis 25.19-34: Bowl for Birthright: A Tale of Opposites

The birth of two nations is the reading from Hebrew scripture for Proper 10/Pentecost 6A. Genesis 25:19-34 tells of the birth and early lives of brothers - twins - Jacob and Esau. They are the sons of Isaac and Rebekah and the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. They were different from each other - one outdoorsy and the other preferred the indoors. Each parent had a favored child. The story can't possibly be without conflict.

And indeed the conflict begins at birth and doesn't end until much  later in the twins' lives. Along the way is the episode featured here. Esau comes in from the fields and is quite hungry. Jacob has been staying close to the farm and has cooked up a stew. And Esau says he is s-t-a-r-v-i-n-g.

Jacob can help. All Esau has to do is give up his birthright. Pinkie swear.

Hendrick ter Brugghen has painted that moment. In his Caravaggesque style (to oversimplify, that means strong lights and darks) he shows the two brothers in the foreground, a table of food between them. In the background are the two parents, each standing behind their favored child. Rebekah, whose face is between the two boys, holds a plate, making things ready for her favorite, Jacob. Isaac, who will be blind, sits almost invisible in the darkness at the right. The depth of the picture space is stopped by the canvas tent wall. All the action is in front of the tent wall.

Hendrick ter Brugghen. Esau Selling His Birthright. c. 1627. Oil on canvas. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/brugghen-hendrick-ter/esau-selling-his-birthright

The artist's use of light focuses attention in the composition's center. The two boys' hands are expressively drawn. The right hand of each is in almost the same position. The left hand of each holds characteristic objects: Jacob the bowl of soup and Esau the wooden handle of a tool. The two boys are even wearing complementary colors: Jacob in red and Esau in a shade of green.

We know from the story that the deal is made and fulfills the prophecy that the older brother would indeed serve the younger. Generations of this family will be impacted by this deal, but ter Brugghen narrows an epic story to a single moment. The exchange of bowl for birthright.

Art&Faith Matters has other posts that relate to this week's Gospel reading and an additional post mentioning Jacob and Esau. This week's Facebook post looks at the very beginning of this story...in a somewhat unusual illustration. Click on the Facebook link below.