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 15.1-18: Promises, Hope, and Vultures

Abram was asleep - in a deep sleep - when the covenant was actually sealed. The covenant where Abram was promised that his descendants would inherit and inhabit land. God was the only one who ratified the covenant, passing between the animal pieces as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch. Abram never walked between the pieces. God's promise to be faithful was a one-sided promise.

Before Abram's sleep, though, he had followed to the letter God's directions in gathering animals and slaughtering them as part of the covenant ritual. He placed the animal pieces as directed, presumably out in the open. Sensing blood and death, birds of prey (in some places translated vultures) swooped in. When they did, Abram shooed them away, keeping them from preying on the elements that spoke to his relationship with God.

God's faithfulness. Human insufficiency. Raptors.

Kevin Carter. Starving Child and Vulture. 1993.

The story of this photo and the photographer who took it is not straightforward. The photo raised questions from the moment it was published. Why would the photographer sit and wait for a photo rather than helping the child and/or shooing away the vulture? What happened to the child? How could God allow something like the famine and poverty in Sudan? Some of the questions have been answered. But the questions raised in light of scripture and image together may be especially pertinent during Lent. There are any number of questions brought about by the juxtaposition. These are some.

• Abram was careful not to let the birds of prey disturb the sacrificed animals for the covenant ceremony. How do you hear that in light of this photo?
• God's covenant with Abram required the sacrifice of animals. Ultimately even God's son was sacrificed like one of those animals. How can we talk about that in light of this photo?
• God's honor is at stake in the making of the covenant. The implication of moving through the sacrificed animals is something like, "If I don't keep the covenant I am making, may I be like these animals." Is God's honor at stake in the photo?
• Abram placed his trust in God's promise. He had hope for his future - for descendants - because of his trust in God. How do we talk about hope in God's promises in light of this photo?
• Lent is a season of penitence. What does this photo call us to repent? 
• In light of this photo how do we talk about giving something up as a Lenten sacrifice?

This week on Art&Faith Matters on Facebook, a Bible illustration of Genesis 15:1-18. More or less.

For thoughts on Luke 13:31-35, click here.

Genesis 17.1-16: Her New Name

The reading from Hebrew scripture for Lent 2B is part of the epic (Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16). In this section, God promises that Abraham will be the ancestor of multitudes of people. And then, to mark this promise, both patriarch and matriarch receive new names. Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai becomes Sarah. And the name Sarah, in Hebrew, means princess.

So it's surprising that Sarah is often shown looking more like a peasant than a princess. Granted, a royal wardrobe doesn't make much sense in an everyday nomadic life in a dusty climate. But are we so used to thinking of everyday Sarah that we forget her name may be an insight into who Sarah is. One artistic exception to "everyday Sarah" are works by James Tissot that depict the stories of Abraham and Sarah in Egypt. In his vast number of paintings of Biblical subjects, Tissot sought to create work that truly pictured the events of the Bible. He wasn't always correct. Sometimes the romanticism of it all or incomplete archaeology led him astray. But whether totally accurate or not, Tissot's images of Sarah in Egypt seem more princess-like than many others.

James Jacques Joseph Tissot. (left) The Egyptians Admire Sarai's Beauty. Watercolor and gouache. (right) Sarai is Taken to Pharaoh's Palace. 1896-1902. Watercolor and gouache. The Jewish Museum.

Sarah is dressed similarly in the two images.* She is wrapped in layers of clothing with gold bracelets up her forearms. An elaborate headdress covers all but her face. The headdress is similar in feel to the very elaborate headdress of Puabi, presumably a Sumerian queen (below). The elaborate framework and use of gold are similar. And the star-flowers on the crown of the headdress are similar shapes to elements on Sarah's waist in the "Admire" painting.

Queen Puabi's Headdress (reconstruction). University of Pennsylvania Museum. 

Puabi's grave, found in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, was discovered in 1928 by Leonard Woolley. The tombs from Ur (near the Euphrates in what is today Iraq) date between 2600-2500 BCE. In addition to the queen, two attendants were found with her in the grave. She was buried as a queen would be buried. We may usually think of Sarah more as matriarch, but we know about her burial, too. Genesis 23 tells about her death and that Abraham purchased a tomb for her. For a princess. 

*Sarah's body language and facial expression in these paintings are certainly worth considering in light of the content of the stories, but are not discussed here because the Egypt stories are not the reading for this week.

For thoughts on the gospel lesson for Lent 2B (Mark 8:31-38) click here.
For an introduction to the Tree of Abraham on the Art&Faith Matters Facebook page, click here.  

Genesis 18, 21: Unexpected Visitors

Abraham's three visitors were unexpected. They just showed up there at the camp under the oaks of Mamre. Abraham was sitting in the door of his tent in the heat of the day. So he offered food and hospitality to these unexpected visitors who turned out to be way more and promise way more than he originally thought they might (Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7, Pr 6/Ord 11/Pentecost 2, Year A).

The unexpected visitors - and the unexpected news they brought - are not so unexpected to us today. We have read the story. How, then, can we give ourselves the experience of seeing these visitors in a new light - as Abraham saw them by the end of the text. Two options are below.

In the painted Biblical scenes and stories of artist Fr. John B. Giuliani we see indigenous peoples: the people of Guatemala and Bolivia, Apache and Crow, Navajo and Choctaw. In Giuliani's The Tent at Mamre, three chiefs - Lakota, Cheyenne and Apache - are the unexpected visitors hosted by Sarah and Abraham. Abraham and Sarah are not included in the scene, but their tent (a Blackfeet buffalo tipi) provides the background for the scene. Does Giuliani's version of the story make you ask different questions? Or help you understand Abraham's surprise at these visitors who just seemed to appear?

A second "unexpected" depiction of the story is that by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. The part of the reading from Genesis 21 includes Sarah's overhearing the visitors' assertion that she and Abraham will be parents, even at their advanced age. In response to this announcement, Sarah laughs. (Remember, it is that laughter that will give Isaac his name.) Sarah's laughter is overheard, and one of the visitors confronts her.

Tiepolo has chosen that moment, and, at least for me, the appearance (and by that I mean the way the visitor looks, not that the visitor appeared) of this angel is unexpected, to say the least. From the wings that are almost as tall as the angel, to the medallion-patterned gathered and draped garment (not to mention the thigh-high slit) and the gold sandals, this angel is quite unexpected. Sarah is dressed in 17th-century fashion with her standing lace collar, which feels anachronistic in its own way. But it is the angel who steals the sartorial show. He stands outside the "tent" in the light while Sarah kneels in the shadows, her dark clothes blending into the dark wall behind her.

Abraham was sitting in the door of his tent in the heat of the day when he looked up and saw three visitors. What do unexpected visitors bring to us? What hospitality do we offer them?

Top photo: John B. Giuliani. The Tent at Mamre. To purchase cards and reproductions of this and other work: http://www.bridgebuilding.com/narr/gabr.html
Bottom photo: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Sarah and the Angel. 1724-29. Fresco. Palazzzo Patriarcale, Udine. http://www.musdioc-tiepolo.it/musdioc/index.php?folder_id=15

Luke 16.19-31: Rock-a My Soul

There was a rich man. So begins the gospel reading for Proper 21C/Ordinary 26C (Luke 16:19-31). By the end of the text, though, being rich isn't going to help anything. Instead, it is a poor man named Lazarus, who probably knew little or no peace in his earthly life, who will find peace at the last. He will find peace because at his death he is carried away by the angels to be with...Abraham.

Yes, Abraham. We might know the concept as the "bosom of Abraham" (ohhhhh, rock-a my soul). The translation might be a bit misleading to our ears. The Greek term is kolpos, and it refers to the side or lap of a person. At the last supper, the beloved disciple reclines en to kolpo tou Iesou (in the bosom of Jesus...John 13:23). This place of repose was an honor and a favor.

The idea of Abraham welcoming the faithful who died is found in 4 Maccabees 13:17: For if we so die, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will welcome us, and all the fathers will praise us. (NRSV) The place to which the dead were welcomed was Gehenna (from the Hebrew Gehinnom, literally the valley of Hinnom), traditionally considered a place of punishment for the ungodly because of pagan practices in the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem. In scripture, the word for the place of punishment is Sheol, so Gehenna might be better characterized as a place of judgment. For those who had nothing judged against them, there was no punishment. So the bosom of Abraham was a place of happiness, though not perhaps perfect happiness. In the parable it is conceivable that Lazarus and the rich man are in the same general place. In the place where one goes after death, Lazarus finds rest, but the rich man is judged (and punished) for his earthly life.

Paradise with Jesus on the lap of Abraham. German. c. 1239. Tempera and gold leaf on vellum. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art. http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.33267.html

Over time, the bosom of Abraham became synonymous with Heaven itself. In the picture above, it is the infant Jesus who sits on the lap (in the bosom) of Abraham and both child and patriarch find themselves in Paradise. Clusters of dates are so plentiful that the branch bends down with the weight. Water comes from the four corners of the illustration. Paradise, indeed. It may be that the equating of Abraham's bosom with Paradise is seen in Matthew 8:11: I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And some hear the promise of being in Abraham's bosom in Jesus' promise to the thief on the cross: ...today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).

For thoughts on Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, click here.