Title: Limiting Violence
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
We went to the Holocaust Museum last week. There was a very poignant sign, reading, "This museum is not an answer. It is a question." It was a question about violence in the Holocaust. It was a question about how a nation could allow such to happen. It was a question about why we so often refuse to "get involved" in uncomfortable situations. It was a question about where along a growing trend of violence against a sector of society was the point that went too far. When it comes to violence directed against others, when do we step in to limit violence and abuse? Where do we become responsible?
Most of the Bible is not a list of commandments or even a compilation of stories telling us how to live. The narratives we find in Genesis, for example, are more about calling us to reflection. They are stories begging or requiring us to ask questions. Just like the exhibits at the Holocaust Museum, these stories are played out before us with an invitation to reflect on what was done, how we would do, and what we should do. All too often, however, we allow ourselves to be distracted by some shiny object that diverts our attention.
I recall singing in a children's musical cantata decades ago that spent a lot of energy on Joseph's "coat of many colors." There was a musical for teens about the same time whose title was about Joseph's coat. There is a bit of a problem with this. First of all, the coat is rather secondary to the narrative. It appears only to highlight the deference given Joseph and as a representation of Joseph to his father. Secondly, the idea of it being multi-colored comes from a poor Greek translation of the passage. The Hebrew is more akin to "special tunic." The only other use of the term in the Hebrew Scriptures is applied to the tunic of a princess. We really don't know what to make of the term, though some claim this tunic was like ...
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
We went to the Holocaust Museum last week. There was a very poignant sign, reading, "This museum is not an answer. It is a question." It was a question about violence in the Holocaust. It was a question about how a nation could allow such to happen. It was a question about why we so often refuse to "get involved" in uncomfortable situations. It was a question about where along a growing trend of violence against a sector of society was the point that went too far. When it comes to violence directed against others, when do we step in to limit violence and abuse? Where do we become responsible?
Most of the Bible is not a list of commandments or even a compilation of stories telling us how to live. The narratives we find in Genesis, for example, are more about calling us to reflection. They are stories begging or requiring us to ask questions. Just like the exhibits at the Holocaust Museum, these stories are played out before us with an invitation to reflect on what was done, how we would do, and what we should do. All too often, however, we allow ourselves to be distracted by some shiny object that diverts our attention.
I recall singing in a children's musical cantata decades ago that spent a lot of energy on Joseph's "coat of many colors." There was a musical for teens about the same time whose title was about Joseph's coat. There is a bit of a problem with this. First of all, the coat is rather secondary to the narrative. It appears only to highlight the deference given Joseph and as a representation of Joseph to his father. Secondly, the idea of it being multi-colored comes from a poor Greek translation of the passage. The Hebrew is more akin to "special tunic." The only other use of the term in the Hebrew Scriptures is applied to the tunic of a princess. We really don't know what to make of the term, though some claim this tunic was like ...
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