Isaish 61.10-62.3: Off the Top of Your Head

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. That is how the Christmas 1B reading from Hebrew scripture (Isaiah 61:10-62:3) ends. Crown and diadem. It's a parallelism like many others in scripture, especially in poetry: The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and those who live in it (Psalm 24:1). But is there a difference between crown and diadem? And do the choices of those words mean something for how we hear that scripture?

Two different words are used in the Hebrew. Crown is עֲטֶ֥רֶת, a feminine noun translated crown across scripture. The word for diadem is וּצְנִ֥יף, a masculine noun that is translated as diadem, hood, mitre, even turban. The root of both concepts is the same as that for the English words: something worn on, around, or across a person's head. Crown is from the Latin corona "crown," originally "wreath, garland," related to Greek korone "anything curved, kind of crown." Diadem is directly from Latin diadema "cloth band worn around the head as a sign of royalty," from Greek diadema, from diadein "to bind across," from dia- "across" with dein "to bind," related to desmos "band".

Crown, diadem, tiara (headdress worn by Persian kings and by men of rank, from Latin tiara, from Greek tiara, of unknown origin)...who doesn't want one of those? Napoleon Bonaparte decided to give himself a crown. He had demanded the Pope attend the coronation ceremony as Emperor, but when the moment came to put the crown on his head, Napoleon took the crown from the Pope and placed it on his own head. The sketch here was drawn by Jacques Louis David, who attended the coronation and created finished paintings of other episodes of Napoleon's rise to Emperor.

J.-L. David. Napoleon Crowning Himself Emperor. 1805. Drawing. Paris: Musee du Louvre.

There is one not-so-small detail in the scripture that is worth noting. The crown isn't something that the people of God get. It is something the people of God are. The crown - a very visible sign of someone of rank and power isn't going to be ours in this text. We might have expected that with the early verses that described festive wedding attire. We would wear a garland...we would wear a crown. But that is not the case. Instead we - the people of God - will be God's crown. 

Isaiah describes a number of attributes of the time when God's people become God's crown: there is righteousness (tsedakah, translated vindication) paired by turn with salvation and praise. All is right on that day. God's gifts have transformed the world in such a way that everyone can see, and from what God has planted have grown righteousness and praise - the righteousness and praise of the people of God. That's when we are a crown in God's hand. 

At the end of any year, we tend to look back at where we have been and look around at the world as it is now. When we reflect on our own actions, are we seeking crowns for ourselves or are we working to transform this world according to God's will? Do our actions reflect the righteousness (definitely not the same as self-righteousness) that God has planted in our world? Are righteousness and praise of God spring forth in this world? When they do, then we will be a crown in God's hand.

For two considerations appropriate for the Epistle reading for Christmas 1B (Galatians 4:4-7) and the turning of the year, click here or on the Facebook link below.

For thoughts on the Gospel reading for Christmas 1B (Luke 2:22-40), click here.

I Samuel 8.4-20: Uneasy Lies the Head

Shakespeare, Saul and Samuel. It's an interesting Trinity. But perhaps they had something in common. It was Shakespeare who succinctly turned the phrase that Samuel tried to tell the people and that Saul learned for himself. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. The dramatist was writing about England's Henry IV, but it may well be true for any crowned head. Certainly Samuel was reluctant to make a king for the people. And Saul, who had a brilliant beginning, would end badly. But that's down the road. For Proper5B/Ordinary 10B/Pentecost +2, it's enough that the elders and people of Israel demand a king and Samuel anoints one for them (I Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15), 16-20 (11:14-15).

Despite Samuel's warning, they are determined that they want a king so they can be like other nations. Both Saul and the people might have been well-served by the adage "be careful what you wish for..."

If Israel's king was to be like other kings, he would need a crown, no matter how uneasily it might sit upon his head. What might that have looked like? The three kings in the images below all have crowns on their heads. On the left Babylonian king Marduk-nadin-ahhe, who ruled from c. 1100-1082 BCE. In the center is Tiglath Pileser III, who ruled Assyria between 745 and 727 BCE. On the right is Ashurnasirpal who ruled Assyria from 883-859 BCE.

(Left) Kudurru (Boundary stone).  http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/b/boundary_stone_kudurru-1.aspx  (Center) Gypsum wall panel. Tiglath-Pileser III. London: British Museum. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=367013&partId=1&searchText=tiglath&page=2 (Right) Stela of Ashurnasirpal. London: British Museum. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/s/stela_of_ashurnasirpal_ii.aspx

Three crowns. Do they look like you imagine Saul's crown looked? Many of us have a different picture of what a crown should be. Medieval artists did as well. They created a king that looked like their own kings. The Nuremburg Bible shows Samuel anointing Saul in a setting that is more European than Middle Eastern. The crown being placed on his head is much more like the Essen Crown, an Ottonian lily-style crown that predates the Nuremburg Bible by several centuries. The creator of the German Bible was more like his ancestors than he thought. He, too, wanted Israel to have a king like other kings - the kings of his own day.

(Left) I Samuel 10 from Nuremburg Bible, 1483. Samuel anoints Saul. http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/346043 (Right) Essen Crown (Ottonische Konigskrone). Essen Cathedral Treasury. http://www.dom-essen.de/10-rote-pforte-und-domschatzkammer/

The crown will sit uneasily on Saul's head. And his downfall, of course, is that he will indeed be just like the neighboring kings. Be careful what you wish for... 

What if the story of Saul and David was turned into a network tv miniseries? Check out the Art&Faith Matters FB page by clicking the link.

For thoughts on Mark 3:20-35, click here.